amp for thiel cs1.6??


hello all - quite lucky to have picked up pair of thiel cs1.6 over the holidays, and now that i've had them for a while as you might guess i'm unhappy with the rest of my setup. have rotel 971 cd player and older top o'line harman pre/amp. sounds a little too bright overall for me (play all kinds but get picky with jazz vocals and classical), and am hoping that new (used!) amp section for about $1500.00 or so should be well worth the investment. leaning towards integrated or entry-level pre/amp combo as best bang for buck. Mid-size room and they are very effic 4ohm speakers, but would like at least 40wpc or so. considering linn majik, but open to suggestions re: cary (i think i would like the 'warmth' of tube, but concerned about losing the low-end with these speakers), krell, musical fidelity, parasound and still wondering about spectron. unfortunately am not near a location where i can demo anything, so any comments appreciated!!!
new_wes
Hi,

Take a look at the fine amps from Consonance that were such a big hit at CES2003 in Las Vegas.

audiolon.com
Dear new wes,
I have the amps for you. VTL 80 watt mono's. I use them with my Maggie 1.6's(84db). They sound great! Tube magic while keeping the highs and lows intact.
Let me know
Bill
Hi,

I inherited a pair of thiel cs2's from my uncle a couple of years ago and at the time had an acurus a100. I had a similar experience with the Thiel's being very revealing a little on the power hungry side they sounded a little cold and harsh. I upgraded to an aragon 4004 mkII which is 200 watts at 8 ohms and 400 watts at 4 ohms! I have been very happy with the setup. My uncle heard the setup and said they had never sounded that good when he had them, and he had driven them with an adcom 200 wpc amp and pass monoblocks with 100wpc. I think you'll find the 4004mkII typically around $800 on this site and the 8008 around 1200-1500. Definitely worth checking out.

good luck
Hello,

You might want to consider one of the fine integrated amps from Consonance. These amps caused great excitement at CES 2003. The C1 (120) watts for example was used with the excellent Buggtussel speakers and was picked as one of the top four rooms at the show. The C1 sounds great also with the 1.6s.

audiolon.com
When I had the Thiel 2.2s, I had hooked them up to a Forte 6 (the 200wpc version of the 4A), Krell KST-100, and Pass Aleph Os. The Aleph Os (60 watt class A) had the best midrange, and overall warmth that made them a great combo. I've since upgraded to the 3.6, but still kept the Aleph Os. It's not powerful enough for the 3.6, so I have relegated it to powering a pair of Unity Signature 1s in my second system. This great amp is designed by Nelson Pass and put Pass Lab on the map of high-end. You should be able to find it for under $1500 these days.

FrankC