Thiel Owners

@tomthiel, The Benchamark amps set the bar for SINAD when first intorduced. It has been surpased by a few since then. But it's become rather academic, as those in the know claim that some where between -115 to -120 dB SINAD becomes inaudible to human hearing even in anechoic conditions. The Benchmarks also allows for user adjustabillity to permit playing nice with a variety of accompaning components. All in all, a rather very, very good prouct....In the right applications.

Benchamark does not spec their stereo amp to below 3 Ohms, and their bridged monos to below 6 Ohms. Neither of these amps meet Jim's recommended minimums into the actual load of a speaker like the CS 2.4's. I'm not sure what ..."They maintain their operating characteristics to below 1.5 Ohms."..actually means? Is this similar to the marketing techno babble of "stability"? I don't think halving the length of speaker cable in domestic situations is going to change that. And, I don't imagine such advice is all that practical in most domestic situations.

I don't know how much using uniquely customized amps to address the need for inexpensive amps for musicians to drive the more difficult Thiel loads really is?

I get it...ultimately we are in this for enjoyment, and if these amps provide that, so be it. But the Benchmarks, while less expensive than many competitiors, is still not cheap, especially in bridged mono mode. At these prices I think there are better reccomendations available to maximize the potential of the more difficult Thiel loads.

unsound - the 1.5 figure is from John Siau, the amp's designer. Their feed-forward topology maintains stability until it doesn't - when it interrupts the circuit. BTW: I'm all ears for your 'better recommenddations'.

The 6' speaker cables came from my feedback to John re the looser bass of the bridged mono configuration. Clearly audible improvement chopping my Straightwire Octave 12' cables in half. I use my 6' cables from my centered amp stack.

I suppose the old amp thing is my personal hobby. There are so many GFA555s out there for a couple hundred bucks and with a few more hundred bucks, they greatly outperform whatever these 'normal', non-audiophile people are using. That solution appeals to me.

I wish two things. Larger BM amps, which John Siau rejects the need for, and higher impedance loads from Thiel speakers, which Jim Thiel rejected the need for. That's a long talk in itself.

@tom thiel, I expected as much; the 1.5 figure had marketing speak stamped all over it. Well I suppose it's an improvement from the old "Flame Linear" days, but can they just make an amp that delivers the goods, without cutting out in self preservation? Imagine if your automobile engine worked like that 

 Reccomendations would include old recently recapped/refreshed stand by's like some of the Krells, Levinsons, Thresholds, etc.. Amps that Jim used himself when he was developing these speakers. 

Standard cable lengths tend to be between 8'-10'. Most users use the shortest lengths that they can. Most can not go much shorter and still allow for domestice accomodations. Cable length can affect amplifier performance, but at these lengths with typical cables, not by that much, Not likely to add lots of Watts to the output at lower impedances

I too appreciate old amps, Just as some old houses have better "bones" than some newer construction. And, many if not most could use a refresh of new caps, etc.. That they can weight quite a bit, shipping can be expensive if not perilous. I think it most economical to try and find one that has varifiable maintance recently completed.

I agree with your assemsment of the Adcoms. Perhaps the least expensive amps that could actully properly drive some Thiels. I will say that I did have one for long term loan once. Though I had thought due to it's grooved face plate sans rack mounts, that it was a Mark II, I now realize that the time frame preceded the Mark II. I had much easier to drive CS 2's at the time, I have to admit that I found it flat, grainy and lacking dimensionality. I also found myslef just not listening to my system as much with that Adcom in the my system, Still for the money, for someone looking for something to tide them over until the could aquire something better, it could be the least expensive option worth considering. Here's another outfit that has had a good long standing reputation for Adcom mods:

Adcom (musicalconcepts.com)

I share your wishes. I humbly think Jim went in the wrong direction with regard to impedance. Interesingly the previous generations were especailly easy in that regard. I think amp manufacturers don't want to make capable amps due to the costs of beefier power supplies, additional costly heat sinks. While Class D has made many strides, load variance has been a bit of a bugaboo for them. Until very recently. There's been promise of a high power low impedance option from Purifi, but these things always seem to take much longer than projected to actually make it o market.

I have a pair of 1.5s and 3.6s, I used to run these with 

2xYamaha M80s bridged. I am not a loud listener but

It was apparent that 1 x M80 didn't cut it. I wanted to

get 2 x AHB2 amps but it was beyond my reach so

I chose 2 x Purifi 1ET7040SA Buckeye Amps instead

And I'm very happy with it so far. 

A lot of amps do not have published specs in the 2 Ohm region but that does not mean that it can operate there. My Benchmark AHB2 x 2 on the Thiel worked well but it did not make the low end shine.

My new speakers are easier to drive and I will like to get an AHB2 again because I miss that sound. I do like my current amp, the CODA #16 which would be great on the Thiel's.

I have a Magnepan LRS+ in my office ($999). It is a killer speaker but very had to drive like my old Thiel CS3.7. No way I would even try the AHB2 on it. It took me a while to find an amp to drive them. I now use the Sanders MagTech amp which is 500 and 900 at 8 and 4. It does not have published specs at 2 but given the explosive way it drives the LRS+. I am sure it is good at 2 Ohms. I was thinking this amp would be great with the Thiel CS3.7. 

I bought a used MagTech from the Sanders web site for $4k. Thiel users should consider it.