Affordable Power for Thiel CS 2.0s

Another thought might be Classe'. Not my favorite of the three lines I mentioned, but, a worthy consideration.

I've had CS 2's for years. IMHO warm solid state is the way to go. While the 2's might just be the most tube friendly of all Thiels, the ported bass can be a little soft. I've had wonderfull results with conrad-johnson solid state. You might find used c-j ss in your budget right here on Audiogon. If your want to add tubes upstream the input impdeance of these amps are very accomodating of tubes.

With all due respect to the previous posters, I'm not so high on McCormack with the CS 2's. The McCormack amps have some wonderfull qualities, dynamic, deep, tight, smooth and liquid. On the other hand IMHO they can be a bit forward and even shouty. A GREAT match with Vandersteens and perhaps newer Thiels. The CS 2's were more of the old school Thiels. The newer ones seem to be a little more refined. This is not meant to disparage either the McCormack amps or the Thiel CS 2's. Both of which are IMHO amongst the very best bargains on the used market.

I'm dissapointed with myself for not mentioning these earlier: Forte' 5 and 6. There are others in the line, but, I think the power or the cost make them less appealing in this application.

More thoughts keep comming to mind. The next two are guarded recommendations. For some reason I seem to like the Bryston 3B ST much more than most others. With that said the 20 year transferable warranty sure makes it a sound used consideration. The VTL amps with their 5 Ohm output are a natural for the CS 2's. The VTL's tend to have better bass than most other tube amps. That said they don't work for me, as I find them too forward and pushy on the CS 2's. YMMV.