Are Thiel 2.3 much better than the 2 2's?

You should consider 3.6's, they are a big step up from the 2.2's. Mine aren't bright at all, I'm using cj pre and classe amp with silver ic's and kimber speaker cable. I have not heard the 2.3's so I can't offer a comparison. You can get a used pair of 3.6's for 2k or less - Thiel still makes them. Buy em and the quality of your source components will never out grow em... just an opinion...

Great information from both Art and Obriander - one point worth a second is the accuracy and sensitivety of Thiels. I have changed several ic's, speaker cables, and a couple of power cords..and the change is immediately apparant with the Thiels, so is movement of an inch!! My MIT speaker cables just malfunctioned and I replaced them with a backup - Kimber 8tc. The whole context of the system changed - I've done this very thing with Polks then Vandy's and the change was noticable but subtle. Also, my classe amp at 200 watts drives 3.6's aplenty....good luck.