What McIntosh Amp With Thiel 3.6 Speakers?

We are Mac dealers - so let me prefix this resopnse with that statement.

Definitely do not drive the Thiel's with anything less than a MC-352. For two reasons - one power rating, and two autoformers. The MC-352 is the smallest amp Mac makes with autoformers, and they really help on speakers with erratic impedance such as the Thiel's. The autoformers effectively add impedance to the circuit which makes the speakers easier to drive and less onerous on the amplifier in terms of current demands, even when the speaker's impedance dips. Also you need raw horsepower to drive those speakers, particularly current. The higher up you go on the chain of Mac amps, the better off you will be sonically. The MC-352 is a great sounding amp and a very capable one at that. But frankly with your Thiel's you could enjoy better sound by moving up to the 652. You don't _need_ to, but it would be worth auditioning. I think you would find the improvement over the 352 significant.

Mitcheft is correct in his discription of MC-300. I used to own it myself before I upgraded to the MC-352. Although it may look like the amps should be similar, they are totally different in character. The MC-300 is a bit brighter in the upper mids and the treble, sort of glitzy, nice, but not perfect. The mids are nice but are a little higher pitched than the rich mids of the MC-352. MC-352 has beautiful, nicely resolved treble, a little recessed upper mids, rich and refined midrange, great bass with excellent extension and control. Both are wonderful amps, but MC-352 is a much better unit. It walks all over its older brother in transparency, dynamics, bottom end extension and control. At the same time it's lush and musical, never sterile or uninvolving. The bigger MC-602 is very similar and I really don't think it's worth the price difference, and I can't imagine any speakers that would significantly benefit from from such increase in power. The 350 watts of the MC-352 should be more than enough to drive even the toughest loads.

The 352 is a great amp and I agree it is a good choice here and anything above in the Mac line would be slight overkill but certainly if money is no object than the 602 would be nice.

Symphony Sound - Just a note: The Thiel's impedance is not "eratic", it's just low - under 3 ohms through most of the range, about double that in the low bass. The curve is actually quite flat, and the electical phase characteristics are fairly benign. But you are probably right about what to use.

Zaikesman, at the risk of being the victim of your wit for repeated offense, I belive the word eratic was used in the less frequently used sense of deviating from standard. Your point is well made and I'm sure you clarified this too many who otherwise may have been misled.