Anybody using tube amps to drive Thiel CS 3.7's ?

The 3.7's impedance drops to less than 3 Ohms. Thiel recommends 100-600 Watts. Jim Thiel once told me that his power recommendations were based on the 8 Ohm power rating of ss amps capable of doubling down. He also said that the small impedance range of his speakers worked well with tubes so long as they had enough power to compensate for their typical inability to double down, i.e., you might need double or more of 8 Ohm tube power depending on the chosen speakers compared to ss power. I would suggest that you would need about 300 Watts per channel of 8 Ohm tube power to compare with a typical high quality 100 Watt ss amp. In that I think the old adage of doubling the manufacturers minimum power recommendation has some merit, in my opinion 600 Watts per channel of tube amplification would be even better.

I drove a pair of 3.6's with a cj premier 11a (70wpc). That amp did a very nice job driving those speakers. Plenty of volume.

Chuck

I tried a Ref 110 with my 3.7s. If you do, do not plan on playing anything more than a medium volume. I like orchestral music and even moderately loud sections drove the amp into audible clipping. FWIW, I ended up with 300 wpc monoblock amps (600 into 4 ohms) which sound great. I have struggled trying to make the 3.7s sound as good as I heard at my Thiel dealer but the super-powerful amps are the key in my mind, plus a preamp with superb low end definition.

Teeshot,

What brand and model are your monoblocs? My Classe is 400 into 4ohms and works very well with the Thiels and my Connie. I'm quite happy but every time I hear tube amps in another person's system, I'm beguiled. I guess I'd like to introduce a little more tube magic into my system without losing the bottom end grip. I'll never forget going to a tube preamp for the first time. I'll never go back to a solid state pre. I agree that power is critical with the CS 3.7's....which is why tubes might be out of my monetary reach.

I may have a chance to audition some NAT Generator monoblocs but not for a while. They're push/pull 275 wpc into 4 ohms.