Cables for Thiel CS6

Lez,
thanks for your very detailed history that help more than a bit.
As a CS6 expert what are the amlifiers you tried out? I have been told from many sources that Thiel are avid of power.. I'm looking for the right cable but I do not have the feeling that the 100W of my ARC Vt100 are not working. In the opposite way in my room, that is small, I have very very good resolution at low levels I'm not sure I would get from a SS amplifier. Very interested to know your feeling on that one. In one week from now I will have other cables to try out and will post my impression.

Marco,

Thiel speakers are very power hungry. The sensitivity is given as 86 dB but for 2.83V/1m, (2,83 is the square root of 8, normally manufacturers use this if the speaker's impedance is 8 Ohms.). Because of the fact that the CS6 has a 4 Ohm impedance, the actual sensitivity of the speaker is 3 db less: only 83 dB. This is a really low value and if we add that the minimum impedance is near 2 Ohms then there is no question anymore: we need lots of power. The actual need of power of course depends on the room size and our listening habits too, however my experience is that 200W/8, 400W/4 Ohms is the minimum these speakers neeed in ANY room setup. I had a Mark Levinson No. 331 before and it has almost ran out of its reserve and was not capable of driving the speaker to its full potential. I am not talking of not being loud enough, of course I could not pump up the volume to the max. even with the 331, but at that the same volume level the bigger amps were much more relaxed and had better control and did not lose anything from their imaging.

I tried the No. 331, No. 333, Pass Labs X350, X250. The best were the 333 and the X350. The X250 is hardly enough, sometimes I feel that the 331 may has better control, but the X250 has the power and never collapses.

As far as tubes are concerned, Thiel recommends approximately the double of the SS power when you use tubed gear. The VT 100 is a great amp and sounds good, however I doubt that its control is enough, no matter how small the room is. Of course this is only my interpretation... The only tubed amp that I listened to and offered tremendous power was the VTL MB 1250 Wotan and the VTL Siegfried. The latter was the best tubed amp I ever listened to, faster and more dynamic than most SS amps. In your search for the right cables you might as well give a try to the Pass X350, it definitely worths considering.

I am using a McCormack DNA-2 Dlx (300 8ohm, 600 4ohm) with good results. Bought it used for $3000. I'm not saying its the end-all beat-all but it mates well.

Why don't you try SIM AUDIO amp wich are great with my Thiels. Did much better then Bryston or McIntosh.

Some updates. I tried the Gamut D200. I have not been impressed especially for bass (lack of) performance. POwer surely not enough. My Vt100 is much better. I Will keep you posted on the next steps.