i have thiel 3.6. i used them with a krell 200c (now up for sale on audiogon) until about a year ago, when i moved to a bat 75se (75 watts per channel).
i chose the bat partly because it's one of the few tube amps that can easily go to low impedence levels, which the thiels need. (and it doesn't hurt that at lower impedences, an amp gives up a more power.) i chose the bat also because i wanted an amp that didn't get too tubey. i've never felt that i had too little power with the bat, but then, i don't listen to music very loud.
the differences i hear between the krell and the bat with my speakers are essentially those fundamental differences between solid state and tube amps. for example, joni mitchell's voice is more sensual and fleshy with the bat amp - yeah, sounds more real! - but the drum kit playing in the background has more punch with the krell amp - whoa, that defnitely sounds more real! (maybe the "kick" in the drums is an issue of power?) i also like the broader soundstage i sense with the bat, but on the other hand the krell enlivens the images within that soundtage (the bass, man!).
at least with these two amps, you're always trading off realism in one area to get realism in another. ultimately i've come to see it as a zero sum gain between these two amps. for me, however, i value listening to, say, miles davis in glorious hi-fi much more than, say, keith moon. that is, i'm okay listening to the who on a boom box, but less so miles. now the difference between these two amps is all in the nuances, not boom box versus hi-fi, but at this point it's those nuances that we chase after. so i've stayed with the bat because it's the more appropriate amp for what i most like listening to in hi-fi.
i think the choices available to you in tubes with the thiel 3.6s are very limited. if i had fallen in love with another tube amp at the time - one that wouldn't have worked as well with the thiels - i might not have gone tube because bulky speakers like the thiel 3.6 are hard to sell.
today, if i could very easily sell my speakers and get new ones, i would give it serious thought - not because i don't like the 3.6s, but because now that i've committed to a tube set-up, i suspect that another speaker might be a 100% match instead of 90% (am making up numbers here). but then again, maybe not - i really don't know, but i would appreciate hearing feedback from people on this point.
i chose the bat partly because it's one of the few tube amps that can easily go to low impedence levels, which the thiels need. (and it doesn't hurt that at lower impedences, an amp gives up a more power.) i chose the bat also because i wanted an amp that didn't get too tubey. i've never felt that i had too little power with the bat, but then, i don't listen to music very loud.
the differences i hear between the krell and the bat with my speakers are essentially those fundamental differences between solid state and tube amps. for example, joni mitchell's voice is more sensual and fleshy with the bat amp - yeah, sounds more real! - but the drum kit playing in the background has more punch with the krell amp - whoa, that defnitely sounds more real! (maybe the "kick" in the drums is an issue of power?) i also like the broader soundstage i sense with the bat, but on the other hand the krell enlivens the images within that soundtage (the bass, man!).
at least with these two amps, you're always trading off realism in one area to get realism in another. ultimately i've come to see it as a zero sum gain between these two amps. for me, however, i value listening to, say, miles davis in glorious hi-fi much more than, say, keith moon. that is, i'm okay listening to the who on a boom box, but less so miles. now the difference between these two amps is all in the nuances, not boom box versus hi-fi, but at this point it's those nuances that we chase after. so i've stayed with the bat because it's the more appropriate amp for what i most like listening to in hi-fi.
i think the choices available to you in tubes with the thiel 3.6s are very limited. if i had fallen in love with another tube amp at the time - one that wouldn't have worked as well with the thiels - i might not have gone tube because bulky speakers like the thiel 3.6 are hard to sell.
today, if i could very easily sell my speakers and get new ones, i would give it serious thought - not because i don't like the 3.6s, but because now that i've committed to a tube set-up, i suspect that another speaker might be a 100% match instead of 90% (am making up numbers here). but then again, maybe not - i really don't know, but i would appreciate hearing feedback from people on this point.