Tube Amplifier for Thiel

I had Thiel 3.6 speakers for a number of years and used them mostly with a Classe CA-300. I found the combination generally unsatisfying and kept wanting to try tubes with the Thiels. I managed to audition some custom PP 300B monoblocks that sounded really good. In retrospect, I should have bought them when I had the chance but at the time I focused on how they didn't have quite enough power or bass control. A few years later I bought an old Dyna ST70 on a lark and, lo and behold, I preferred its sound on the Thiels to the Classe. The Dyna was again limited in maximum loudness and bass control, but the sound in all other respects was much more "real." That experience convinced me that tubes were the way to go. I ended up selling the Thiels and getting more tube-friendly speakers. However, for a happy owner of Thiels, I would say this---try a push-pull EL34 amp like a ST70 and see what you think. It will hardly cost you anything and you may just find that it really delivers what you're looking for.

Thanks for the comments. My room is about 12'W x 15'D.

I also enjoy listening to tube sound. Does anyone find using tube pre-amp would help introduce the tube "sweetness" into the system, even through SS power amp?

Salectric, I am curious to know what pre amp you used when you still had Thiel CS3.6.

I read this online "If the amp clip, the AC current become DC current and the voice coil of the speakers burn out super fast with DC". Does it not even worth to try some less-powerful power amplifier (like many tube ones) on Thiel CS3.6? Please advise.

Using a tube preamp with ss power amps does give you some sense of "tube sound" but the amps are even more important in that respect. Most of the time I had the Classe amp, I used an ARC LS-2. Probably not the best match but that's what it was.

That room might be a little tight for the 3.6's. Long wall placement might be worth considering, do use some absorptive treatment behind the listening position if you do.
The bad news is that the 3.6's impedance level is below 3 Ohms most of the time. The good news is that the phase angle isn't too harsh. Still, not a typically a good load for most tube amps, or even many ss amps for that matter. This speaker demands an amp with real grunt, and don't skimp on the power. Such amps exist, even within your budget, but if you intend on using a tube pre, then you have to consider the input impedance and voltage sensitivity for full output of the amp. Many tube pres have a rather high output impedance for the typically low input impedance of most ss amps, and many tube pres have a rather high output voltage for the high sensitivity of many ss amps, rendering the volume control of such a pre with limited range. It can be done, and done well, but one needs to take in all of the above considerations, not to mention how it all actually sounds too boot.
Finding a suitable tube amp for these speakers becomes costly. So costly that one should seriously consider if the money spent would reap better sound with higher level Thiels and ss amps.

Conrad Johnson.