Upgrade for Thiel 1.6 - Or a waste of $$

Good input from all of you...
Bob - I've got a pair or REL R series subs already. They don't relieve the Thiels or the Rotel but they add plenty.

Czbbcl - You almost nailed it....

Maybe some of you thought, "Why isn't this guy talking about preamps and why doesn't he want to know about integrated amps."

Okay. Fine, I'll tell you.

I go both ways (home theater and 2-channel).

Wait, it gets worse.

My "preamp" is a Rotel RSX-1067 which also powers my center and surrounds.

Now on a whim I connected my Benchmark DAC1 directly to the Rotel amp -- so I know what my current "preamp" is up to.

Replacing it, however, would require some real money.

A better 5.1 pre/pro or a modern-ish pre that accepts 5.1 analog (way over 1k???) AND a 3 channel amp to run the other 3 channels (around $500???)

Now I've got no complaints about my home theater set up -- besides the lousy movies on HBO and Showtime.

But I know my 2-channel experience could be better -- just wondering how.

Your thoughts? Now that you know the rest of the story....

Perose - You're on the right track. The RSX-1067 offers a full analog bypass mode (which I use) but I'm sure it's not the ideal path.

I've read up on Arcam's AV8 @ AV9 but not the others you mentioned.

Wish there was a good integrated that allowed for dual use...Is there such an animal?

A dumb question, but wouldn't "relieving" the Thiels of lower freqencies (that they were engineered to deliver) change the true sound and performance of the speakers? And not in a good way, either.

I've used a bypass with lesser speakers but I was under the impression that it was more or less a gimmick meant to make mass produced audio sound/preform better.

Thiel's own sub offering uses an inline filter that doesn't change the signal to the mains....I'm pretty sure.

Okay, just for fun I set the Pre/Pro to Stereo (from bypass) and told it the main speakers were small/60 and then small/80.

The effect was less than wonderful. The Thiels lost detail and the soundstage crumbled. I did pick up a hefty amount of bloated bass from my REL subs. Didn't hear enough to get me on my hands and knees to dial them in. I'm sure the pre/pro didn't help either.

I'll keep an eye out for a tube pre with HT bypass....it seems like a logical next step.

I hear the logic behind the low freq shuffle, but can't let go of the simple fact that a speaker is engineered to achieve a certain level/type of sound across a known range of freq.

If we change that range - wouldn't we ideally want to change the speaker design to take advantage? When the low freq are no longer present, how can a vent or port function as it was meant to?

It's probably painfully obvious that I'm a writer by trade -- and not an engineer.

Oh, and I can afford the Thiel Bypass Box -- but the Subs are another story.

I've only heard the monster one at the local dealer and that was with 7.2s -- so I don't know what I was actually hearing.

A Soprano! Of course!

Great point - almost makes me miss grad school.