Tube Amp recommendation for Thiel CS1.6 under $2k

Are you open to new and used?

I had those speakers in my system and would not recommend tubes to drive them and especially not in a room the size of yours (Thiels in general are not tube-friendly speakers).  I drove them with both a robust 100Wpc (roughly doubles into 4 Ohms) and 200Wpc amp and the 1.6es opened up more with the more powerful amp.  If anything I’d go with a hybrid integrated like a Unison Unico, etc.  Just my experience FWIW, and great speakers BTW.

@uthlidian 

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soix is correct , especially with your budget .

I agree with @soix . Tube power is not likely to be the best choice for money spent on these speakers. Those power reccomendations are for standard 8 Ohm power ratings with the assumption that the amps can double down with impedance. As a bare minimum in a small room I would suggest ( as 3 Ohm ratings are the exception ) 200 Watts into 2 Ohms, and in a room of your size; double that or more. The power rating into actual impedance is more important than the 8 Ohm rating. Be leary of amps suggesting "stable into X impedance". Such a statement only means that the amp won't go into oscillation when presented with such a load. It does not suggest power output or distortion levels there.

Thiel CS1.6 loudspeaker Measurements | Stereophile.com

These are lovely speakers for smaller rooms. You can probably get more from larger Thiels in your room.