Thiel 2.3 VS Meadowlark Shearwater HR

I listened to both and felt Thiel 2.3's were clearly the clear winner. They were also built better, the Meadowlarks had sloppy workmanship on the grill cover-this was true on several models and 2 different dealers. Thiels were more detailed/accurate, but I would recommend a tube power supply as some people feel they are too detailed/accurate and non forgiving. Overall they appeared to me to give the best rendition of the source.

Audio_sm - I'd be very hesitant to try to drive the Thiels from a Marantz receiver, regardless of the ratings. I have no hands on experience with the Thiels, but they universally are said to need power / current. My experience with larger Dynaudios, which also like power and current, is that you don't even come close to the full potential until you feed them right. I was driving them with 100 w/ch Krell KAV-series and then went to the 250 w/ch two-channel amp. Even though I rarely listen above modest levels, the speakers REALLY opened up. I believe you'll find the same thing with the Thiels.

If you like the Thiels sound, there's no doubt in my mind that they're worth the extra money if you can do the amplification properly - it's a whole different level. Don't take my comments wrong, though - everyone has budget concerns, so the fact that the Thiels are more demanding upstream doesn't mean that you won't enjoy them even if you can't do it all at once. I'm just saying that, if you buy them, you need an ongoing plan to improve upstream, especially the amplification. -Kirk

Audio Artistry Dvorak here on the A-goN for 2+K, add few more amps, and no speaker will come even close! Guaranteed!

The responses to my original question are greatly appreciated. They are very helpful in my decision process. There is full consistency of the issues and results. I have for many years been aware of the problems with one speaker or another being well matched both to room and an amplifier's ability. Many years ago, I was able to stay close to the developments in the industry. Currently, however, living in a small town (now a small city) which as a friend of mine once described as "being in the middle of nowhere", I really did not know where to begin in looking for speakers. I know the type of sound I am looking for (but probably not the best words to describe it). I mostly listen to classical music,(mostly symphonies), some rock from the 60's-70's, "light" jazz, folk music and a few female vocalists. In order to enjoy these diverse types of music I need a speaker that will need to be lively, responsive and without harshness/ edginess. An underpowered system also will not work. Following the input in prior posts, I think that if I add a second power amp and running both my current Marantz preamp/amp and a new Marantz reference amplifier in mono should give me 200 watt/channel into 8 ohms. I will need to check into whether this combination will be able to handle (with stability) the low ohm ratings of the Thiel 2.3's or not. Based on the responses, I'm sure that the Thiel's are the better speaker and plan to listen to these later this week. (The closest Meadowlark dealer is approximately 400 miles in the opposite direction) If I like the Thiel's I will no longer consider the Meadowlark line. I looked into the Audio Artistry Dvorak's, looks like this system will be a great alternative. I will likely consider these as well. Since this is an efficient bi-amped system it given me much greater flexibility in choosing a second power amplifier.
Thanks again for all the help.