Thiel Owners

stevecham - can you please elaborate on your choice of amps?  I am interested in the Stellar M700s and wondering how they sound compared to other amps you have used with the Thiels? Thanks ahead of time!

Just checked hifishark for the thiel integrator...boy they don't come on the market very often!

As some may recall, I was outspoken and against Class D amps for many years, having heard only a pair of Rotel monoblocks at a local dealer about 13 years ago. My position was that there was no way a switching design could outperform Class A and A/B designs due to all that high frequency noise. Fast forward to late 2018...

I have owned amps (integrated, stereo and monoblocks) by conrad johnson (tubed and solid state), Parasound, Bryston, Krell, Musical Fidelity, Denon, Marantz, NAD and most recently, Manley Labs. After reading about PS Audio’s Stellar line, and in need of a dedicated preamp as I was downsizing, I decided to take them up on their trade-in and home trial offer and I am so very glad I did. The M700s "woke" up my Thiels in a way no other amps ever have. I know, that’s quite a statement, but I have had several of my audio buds come over for a listen. They were all familiar with my other amps through my Thiels. All said by far the best they’d heard. It’s not so much the power and oomph they provide, indeed they’ve got that, and certainly the Krell FPB 400cx had it, but it’s the quality of the music they produce. I don’t listen loudly anymore, typically peaking in the low 80s SPL by my ratshack meter. These sound like tubes, and I know what tubes sound like, but they are also very micro and macro dynamically revealing, very sweet once broken in, and best of all, I have never heard so much front to back and left/right resolution. I’m also a musician, and I have never heard in any of my systems, acoustic guitar that sounds like it’s in the room like that. If this is a good as it gets from here until the end, I’m totally satisified. There is zero noise, even with my ear up to the tweeters at a level that would be deafening. By far the highest value purchase I’ve ever made. Same with the Gain Cell DAC preamp. PS Audio absolutely rocks! Anyone who is in the market for a preamp/DAC, stereo amp or monoblocks really should consider their home trial offer. I’ll bet VERY few get sent back.

beetlemania
this one is for you my Audiophile friend. Today, I spent a beautiful sunny afternoon in Buckhead Atlanta, visiting HiFi Buys. Owner Alan Jones has been in audio retail for 25 years and counting. In fact, he was the southeast Thiel Audio dealer/retailer until Mr. Jim Thiel's passing.
Alan has a very nice photo with Jim in his office. I have known of his excellent reputation from his days of operating Audio Alternative.
I wanted to audition Ayre electronics, which has been on my short list, for many years. I am glad that I waited because the current operation has much better sound rooms than the older establishment per Alan.
Specifically, the Ayre AX-5 Twenty peaked my interest. The rest of the system- Monitor Audio PL100 speakers, Ayre QX-5 Twenty digital hub, AudioQuest Niagara 5000 power conditioner (much needed in downtown Atlanta), Audioquest Hurricane and Tornado PC, Audioquest Castle Rock  72V SP, and Audioquest XLR 72V IC (green connectors thus I did not see the model name). 
No physical cd/sacd player  on-hand for this demo, although my next audition will include an Ayre DX-5, so I can really dial-in the combo. The DX-5 is the only spinner where Ayre stocks  spare critical parts (drives/laser assemblies/transports)  per the late Charles Hansen.
Now, the fun begins. Selections via ROON and Tidal included my reference title Jamie Cullum 'Twentysomething', various Ben Harper, Daft Punk, Kate Bush, New Order and The Rolling Stones 'Get Your Ya Ya's Out'.  The combination of gear and speakers was excellent. I was pleasantly surprised by the full range sound of the MA monitor speakers.
Excellent air, instrument separation, little to no distortion, was appreciated. Excellent bass and treble extension heard. The system was slightly warm of neutral all around. I detected zero dry, lean nor thin characteristics all around. Overall, an excellent presentation.
Today's goal was to evaluate the Ayre Integrated amp on a first time demo. I look forward to the next installment with Ayre's own spinner to compliment my massive cd/sacd collection. 
Alan concurred that Ayre is a sonic match for Thiel Audio loudspeakers.
Further, he stated that I could not go wrong with an integrated or separates from a current/power output perspective. Distance was around 8 feet from set up and volume was set to 30 (plenty loud for close proximity).

Happy Listening!