2. amps-preamps
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I've been gifted a pair of Thiel CS2s

So, I'm starting with the speakers first. :D

They'll more than likely be sitting in an 10' x 8' x 9' (height) room, which hopefully is big enough for them.

Since, as I understand Thiels crave a lot of power,
I'm looking at amps that will double down to 4ohms.

My budget is probably about $1000 for both the amp (or integrated amp and a pre-amp.

I'm currently looking at Aragon 4004.
I'm wondering if this will be "too much" power,
as I live in a condo and it seems a number of sellers are selling the high power amps because they are downsizing.

Anyhow, what would be a good matching pre-amp for the Aragon 4004, in the $500 range?

I've also considered:
< $500 amps: Acurus, Anthem MCA2.

$500-$750:
Rotel RB-1080, PS Audio HCA2, McCormack DNA 0.5, Anthem MCA2 (here as well)

$750-$1000:
Bryston 4B (but it sounds like the ST or SST would be better, but more costly), Conrad Johnson MF-2200, McCormack DNA-125.

I've been reading a lot and learning some.

All opinions welcome.

Thanks,
Mike
mrfarnham
marakanetz's avatar
marakanetz
5,473 posts
 
Thiel isn't a light 'trailer to your truck' so I'd second to Belcanto Ref1000. Wyred4Sound or Sunfire 2ch amps may be even more budget oriented choices.
newbee
4,751 posts
 
I guarantee you'll hate this response. Getting those, or any for that matter, speakers set up in a room that is 10x8x9 is a major undertaking if you expect to obtain high(er) quality sound, especially a full range speaker not intended for such small space. Room acoustic's and speaker set up will be a bitch. I would think that your choice of an amp will be the least of your problems, and considering the room's size even a small amp will allow you to overdrive the room easily.

Assuming that you do not have an amp yet why not just buy a smaller integrated amp (tube or SS) which has high resale potential and play with set up and room acoustical treatments to see if the room can be used at all with these speakers. The are fine speakers but I don't think they were really intended to be used as nearfield monitors and that is what would work best in a room that size.

FWIW.
krell_man
827 posts
 

Mike,

I agree with Newbee. I wanted the 2.4's but the specs and the dealers said that you need to be 8'-10' away from them so that the drivers will be able to integrate properly to your ears.

Your room is too small for these or Magnepan 1.7 or 3.7.

Chuck
charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
10,230 posts
 
Newbee,
That`s very thoughtful advice.That speaker in this particular circumstance, room management is by far the first priority. I see no need for a very powerful amp in a room that size.Quality rather than watt quanity in this case is the route I`d follow.
Regards,
rcprince
3,059 posts
 
Newbee and Chuck are right. I had thought your room was larger than it actually is. You are supposed to sit a fair distance from the Thiels for them to sound their best, and while they don't go much below 40Hz in frequency response that's still a good deal of bass for a smallish room. Experimenting as Newbee suggests is a good idea. I like the Thiels, and in the right room they're pretty good speakers, but they might not work at their best in your current room.
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