Anybody using tube amps to drive Thiel CS 3.7's ?

Vhiner...I own the 2.4s and I drive them with an Audio Research Ref 110. They deliver 110 wpc but more important is the overengineered power supply. No problems driving the 2.4s in a 18' x 25' room. I have the Thiels connected to the Ref 110s through the 4ohm taps and that delivers better bottom end control than through the 8ohm taps. I used to drive the 2.4s with a Musical Fidelity A5 250wpc SS integrated amp and that combination was a bit too forward, bright and teetered on analytical sound for me. The ARC/Thiel combo delivers a highly resolved, transparent and 3D sound with a liquid and natural presentation.

The only caveat is that if you are going to be using tubes, make sure the power supply can deliver ample current and has enough energy storage for peak current demands.

Hope this helps.

Cmalak,

That's very helpful! I have heard from others that Audio Research is a good way to go with Thiels. How long do the tubes last on the Ref 110's before they need to be replaced?

I drive CS 2.4s with a Conrad Johnson CAV50 in a 12ft x 15ft room with 10ft ceilings and this is plenty of power, plus the sound is superb. My understanding is that the 3.7 is one of the easier to drive models by Thiel. Any well designed 100 wpc tube amp should work well.

The 3.7's impedance drops to less than 3 Ohms. Thiel recommends 100-600 Watts. Jim Thiel once told me that his power recommendations were based on the 8 Ohm power rating of ss amps capable of doubling down. He also said that the small impedance range of his speakers worked well with tubes so long as they had enough power to compensate for their typical inability to double down, i.e., you might need double or more of 8 Ohm tube power depending on the chosen speakers compared to ss power. I would suggest that you would need about 300 Watts per channel of 8 Ohm tube power to compare with a typical high quality 100 Watt ss amp. In that I think the old adage of doubling the manufacturers minimum power recommendation has some merit, in my opinion 600 Watts per channel of tube amplification would be even better.