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Don't think I'm crazy but...

I think I am wanting to replace my Thiels. I have the CS2.3's in a system I recently purchased a few months back. I started out with a set of B&K Sonatas driving them and kept blowing fuses/running out of power. My buddy talked me into buying as he puts it "more balls" so I bought a Bryston 14B SST which came rated at 969 watts pc @ 4 ohms on the run off sheet. Plenty right. Well I still don't think my system is "loud" enough. My other components for refernce are a Denon 2900 SACD player and a Denon AVR 3805 which I use to drive my other Paradigm speakers (I think the center channel is a cc570 or something). My room is big (35x25x8) which doesn't help I'm sure. Anyway someone else told me I need to be looking for more effecient speakers like say in the upper 90 or around 100 db's not more power. Any thoughts or recommendations? Sorry I'm just getting tired of throwing my money away. The Bryston guy told me I could drive anything with that amp but I've had it clipping out if I'm not careful. I guess I'm sort of deaf, wonder why eh?
kalkid
aball
2,016 posts
 
Higher efficiency will definately help your problem. I use JM Lab Electra 926s which use WAY less power than my previous Paradigm Reference 100.2s. My McIntosh meters never read more than 50W even when I have it really loud. At that same SPL, the Paradigms used 150W+. Look into Electra 936 or 946. They have clean clear sound like Thiels but more musical in general. Good luck!
sean
6,231 posts
 
Several problems here:

1) That's a big room and will be hard to pressurize.

2) Your speakers lack surface area ( drivers ), sensitivity and are of low impedance.

3) You bought a Bryston amp. If you want to know what i mean by this, look up some of my previous posts here and at AA about Bryston's inability to drive low impedance loads with authority. While I had stated this several years ago and others thought i was nuts / just bad-mouthing Bryston, Stereophile confirmed this with their review of their 500 wpc @ 8 ohm amp*.

4) You need more efficient speakers with more surface area and a more versatile amp. Sorry for the bad news. Sean
>

* Could someone please make Stehno aware of this fact. Contrary to his ideas, the multitude of "generic statements" that i make aren't just "random thoughts tossed into the wind" or a "plot to undermine and destroy" certain companies and individuals. Most are well researched ideas based on personal experiences & logical deductions arrived at through careful technical analysis. As time has proven, many of my comments are quite often verified by outside sources at a later date, much like the situation here.
holzhauer
201 posts
 
I used to be a volume nut too. And a smaller pair of Theils (I think they were 1.2's) that I owned left me unsatisfied. Now with larger speakers that can go deeper in the bass department I find myself not needing the volume as much. I'm sure the big Theils that Mstram mentioned could play loud with a large enough amp but the bass would still be on the weak side.
jayctoy's avatar
jayctoy
4,056 posts
 
If you want to keep the thiel,try the Stratos Extreme
Monoblocks Oddyssey, this are the best combination
I have ever heard,The krell FPB300 dont match, a bit
bright,the X250 are too dry dont match.The stratos
musicality is really good,Hope this helps.
danielk141
489 posts
 
Check out the Montana XPs for sale here on Audiogon today.
They are in a different league than the Thiels, for efficiency. The info link in the ad should answer all your questions. And Montanas sound excellent, in my opinion.

*I don't know the seller, I'm just a happy owner of Montana SPIIs.
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