2. amps-preamps
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Peamp/Amp for Thiel 3.7

I recently acquired the Thiels when I moved to a larger hifi room. The electronics I currently use are a Aesthetix calypso and a Primare A32 amp (250w/ch). The sound of these components was perfect for Wilson Sophias I had before I moved overseas but seem a little light on the low end now. I did not percieve the 3.7s to be thin on the low end when I auditioned them. In any event, I am considering upgrading my amp/preamp to better units to take advantage of the glorious coherence and soundstage of the 3.7s. If I have a budget of say $8-9000 for both, what would be a recommendation. 3.7 owners' opinions especially welcome.
teeshot
cmalak
681 posts
 
Teeshot...waht did you audition the 3.7s with?
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samzx12
1,220 posts
 
For sure a Krell amp. Either the FPB series or older KSA "S" series. I have two buddies who have the KSA's and love them for their Thiels. One has the 3.7's and the other the 7.0's.
For preamps I would say either a Krell or a BAT. At your budget maybe a VK50 or higher SE series would sound great if you want a tubed preamp. I am sure there are alot of nice preamps that will be recommeded that go with Krell amps. Also maybe a Thor or Dodd preamp could be a winner. Of course this is just my 2 cents.
yyz
98 posts
 
I am getting the same speakers soon. I will be using my existing BAT VK-42SE pre and the Bryston 7B-SST. I may spring for the 7B-SST2 or 28B-SST2 if I the stock market is good to me.

I auditioned the 3.7's with all Classe gear and it also sounded great.
teeshot OP
123 posts
 
I auditioned them with a Classe preamp and Mac monobloc amps. The room was heavily damped. I like the idea of the BAT option. I was thinking about the Vk51se/600se combo.
cmalak
681 posts
 
Teeshot...if you look at Yyz's threads and check out his "Forward Speakers that Rock" thread, he posts a alink to a review of the 3.7s done by James Tanner (VP of Sales at Bryston) who basically describes the 3.7's tonal balance as being very neutral (meaning no emphasis of any of the frequency bands). And in this link he describes that if you have the 3.7s in a room that has a low freequency suck out (i.e., it dissipates the low frequency information at certain frequencies) than the speakers will sound a bit thin (as more of the mid/treble region is coming through). The fix therefore may be as simple as experimenting with speaker placement. Furthermore, you could also look at acoustic room treatments that could address bass suck outs. Just a thought. I do agree though that you will need a lot of high quality power and look for an amp that doubles its output as the impedance is halved, as the 3.7s do dip down to 2.4ohms at 125Hz (according to Stereophile's measurements), while Thiel's website states the minimum impedance hits 2.8ohms. The Primare A32 puts out 250wpc into 8ohm and 400ohm into 4ohms (and ? @ 2ohms...no info on their website). So this may also be the issue as well. Just some thoughts. Good luck.
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