Attention Thiel CS3.7 owners

Vance, if the Hegel H30 at $15K is too steep I'd strongly suggest checking out their H20 which lists for $5,750. It is an excellent amp that has received universal praise in reviews worldwide. I can't answer your question as to which amp Thiel recommended, but several speaker manufacturers have chosen to demo with the H20 at various shows.

Bill,

Always good to hear from you! The HD20 does 375W into 4 ohms, which, based upon past auditions, is the very lowest power I'll consider for the 3.7's. I will look around for an in-home audition opportunity. The buzz I'm hearing about Hegel is promising. I hope it would mate well with a tube preamp.

I've had a chance to hear the 3.7s with alot of gear. IMO, hearing them with the Hegel H30 at RMAF a couple years ago, was the best I ever heard them sound.

Regarding matching the H20 with a tube preamp, I have heard it used with the Manley 300B preamp several times and it proved to be an excellent combination.

Maybe if I'm patient, an H30 will come up on A'gon for $8k....and not from some unknown character in Germany. ;-) There was an H20 up for $4100 on Audiomart a while ago and I believe it was legit. Hope springs eternal.