Best affordable amp for Thiel CS3.6

Tom,

to answer your question, I have a feeling it is more of a "McCormack vs. Classe" thing, vs. the benefit of a monoblock. I can't remember if the McCormacks of that era were able to double down, and they were at a lower price point than the Classe. On the monoblock topic, I have heard of others having good luck with Thiels and their Classe 300 or 400 series stereo amps. I suspect it is a matter of good compatability between brands.

I have made several other big upgrades to the system (the Thiels have been the only constant over 10 years) and I have always been amazed at how the 3.6's reward you when a higher quality piece of gear is inserted upstream. The Thiels are probably still not my weakest link in the system.

Bill

I think you mentioned being a Progressive Audio customer in one of your posts. I know they have their Thiels primarily powered by Spectral gear in their showrooms. I ended up purchasing a Spectral/Thiel system. I have very little experience, so I'm wondering if you (or any one else) have heard this combo and what you think of the compatability. Have you considered Spectral?

Actually, no. I had not considered Spectral, and I had forgotten that Progressive carried them. Which model Thiels do you have? The word that I am receiving is that the CS3.6's are some of the hardest Thiels to drive, and that in fact, they rank up there with some of the hardest speakers to drive. They spend a lot of time down in the 2 Ohm range, and being very flat across such a wide frequency spectrum, they can place a lot of demands upon an amp. Progressive's #1 recommendation for the CS3.6 so far has been Krell. Theta is close, they say, but for slightly more money, a Krell would work better. They do believe that McCormack would be a very large step in the right direction, though, and would bridge the gap cost-wise between Adcom and Krell.

Do you recall the price range of the Spectral gear? I know very little about them. Interestingly, the last time I was down there, I heard Thiel speakers as part of three separate systems. Two of them used Krell gear, and one used Rotel gear. I ended up buying a Rotel RSP-1066 because of how close it came to matching the Krell Showcase. Amp-wise, though, I'd put Rotel fairly close to the same league as Adcom, and since I am looking for an upgrade, here, I hadn't really thought about Rotel. Still, they may be worth listening to again.

Thanks for the feedback. I have been shopping at Progressive since my college days back in the late '80's, and I have come to really trust and rely upon them.

Later, Tom.

Try a PS Audio HCA-2. There is a Positive Feedback.com article on this same speaker/amp match.

Really?! I had thought of the HCA-2, but wouldn't have thought that it would have enough juice for the CS3.6's. I will try to check out that article.

Thanks, Tom.