Ayre V-Kxe and Thiel 2.4s

Unsound,
The obvious point is steve`s CJ amp drove ithe Thiel and the OP`s Pass amp apparently struggles. Among other choices perhaps he may want to at least considerThe CJ amp or something very similar based on steve`s great sonic result.
Regards,

It's a funny world out there... wish we could all just take disks/equipment over to each other's house to examine the true state of affairs. Even since I made this thread, my INT-30A has kept improving (I'm about a month into ownership but leave it on constantly), and it is simply jaw-dropping spectacular a lot of the time. I'm growing increasingly concerned that the only thing I'll like better on the next amp will be the bass control and I'll only notice that when I listen to the very specific types of music that the deficiencies noticeable.

Unsound, sorry, but can you elaborate on how knowing that the Pass is a 15 amp draw will help me?

Russellrcncom, the placement of the volume knob might not be meaningful with re: to the respective differences between power output of the different amplifiers. The amplifiers just might have different input sensitivities for full power output, and your preamps might be providing that much or more or less than that much output at a given setting to drive your amplifier to full or near full output at less than the preamps full output. For example: one amp might need 2 volts to achieve full power output, the other amp might need 2.2 volts to achieve full power output to achieve full power output, while your pre amplifier might be able to put out up to 7 volts at it's maximum setting, and up to 2 volts at it's 8 o'clock setting.

Charles1dad, we don't know of Steve's great sonic results, only of his opinion of such. Thiel recommends more power, Pass recommends more power, and there hasn't been anything but an anecdotal reason to suggest otherwise. The measurements provided by Steve don't seem to suggest that the c-j or something very similar, would be as good, never mind better than what the OP has already tried. I would think that the point OP started this thread was to expedite the process of selecting the appropriate amp for his needs. With that in mind, I think it fair to point out that the c-j or something very similar, for the reasons I've already posted, is not as likely to satisfy the OP to that end as much as some other alternatives.