Best electronics for Thiel CS3.6 ?

If you want to get the most of Thiel CS3.6. Buy an amp whose manufacturer lists a 2 ohm power rating. The higher the rating the better, I would pick an amp rated at about 800 wpc into 2 ohms.

Blue Circle BC26 and Sim Audio Moon W-5 are perfect examples and you should be able to find either one for
2500-3000 used. The Blue Circle BC26 will be more musical and Sim Audio W-5 will exert more control over the speaker but the Moon isn't a slouch in the musicality department either.

Take note of the impedence curver in the stereophile review to understand why this is so important.

http://www.stereophile.com/printarchives.cgi?225

Preamps are another issue altogether. I would pick the power amp first and let the input impedence, gain, and voltage sensitivity of the power amp guide your selection of a preamp.

> Thiel says that the classic combos with thiel are Conrad > Johnson, Audio Research and McIntosh.

I'm an owner of Thiels 3.6. Unfortunately with my amp MF A300 (150W) I cannot get decent bass from them. I had much better bass with older version 3.5. Somebody said that new Thiels would work with Conrad Johnson, Audio Research and McIntosh. Will Thiel work with Cary 805C (only 50W), work I mean decent bass, etc. Do someone have any experience with such combo?

Davidspeed, Thiels are not rolled off at the top like some other speakers, as such, with bright associated equipment they will sound bright. As for "hard to drive" that depends. Thiels usually don't vary much with regard to impedance load, so in tht regard they are not hard to drive. Most newer Thiels drop below 4 Ohms for a good part of the time, and will require an amp that provides ample current. Older Thiels like the CS-2's (6 Ohm nominal/ 5 Ohm minimum) and 3.5's (4 Ohm nominal/ 4 Ohm minimum) were more forgiving in that regard.

Davidspeed, The Theil 1.6 is a real departure from typical Thiel brightness - even with Krell. Unfortunately, maybe too little, too late from the way local dealers are dropping the Thiel line.

A question a little off the topic but .... I have a 12 year old pair of thiel scs's - smaller bookshelf style speaker, but have never heard another pair of speakers by thiel. Are all thiel's prone to brightness and hard to drive? Any information out there about my speakers? Thanks

Outstanding amplifier and preamp from BVaudio P1 and PA300, the excellent combination and the best value for the money unless you want to pay a "name" for $5,000. This is the ultimate configuration I have ever heard, compared to Krell, Gamut, Pass, you name it. Bryston 4BST is excellent amplifier way above the other amps there , I was using it for 3 1/2 years , but I have to say that BVaudio is soudwise above that.

Think about a BAT tube preamp and VK-500 amp, it's in your price range and I'm guessing it would be a great match although I haven't heard this particular combo.

Most powerfull Pass X series you can afford?

Two key elements must be present: 1)high current capability in the output stage to avoid midbass sluggishness (big torroids and large banks of capacitance) and 2) Tubes in the input stage or the preamp to bring out the soundstaging and liquidity that the CS 3.6 is capable of. Of course you know to keep them at least 3 feet from back and side walls and use sound anchors or points. I am currently using a LLano 200 amp which uses tubes in the input and has two 1.25kva torroids with hexfets in the output stage with excellent results.

I am running Thiel 3.6's with a CJ MF2500A and a CJ Premier 16ls II pre-amp. I find the combination extremely revealing and detailed with a soundstage the is both wide and deep.

I have used a CJ 17ls in the past and found that to be a very good combination as well.

Chuck

Get the Gamut monoblocks for sale here. You rarely see these and they are powerful and tube like.

Remember the Thiel CS3.6 will only sing with enough juice, if you don't give it enough power then you'll run into the problem of sounding bright or edgy. No matter what don't skimp on the amp it will make or break your system with the CS3.6

My dealer who sells Thiel says that the classic combos with thiel are Conrad Johnson, Audio Research and McIntosh.
The thiel tweeter is hyper revealing and it doesn't take much to make it sound bright. The Bryston amps (st versions) are some of the most dead neutral amps I have ever heard I suspect it may tip the balance of your system towards too bright though. I am not familiar with the Audio research gear but from Cj you can pick up a 17ls and a CJ ss amp for your budget. Should sound great and look beautiful to boot!