Best possible separates for Thiel CS 3.7

As the saying goes, and as Charles alluded to, there is an exception to every rule. And from a technical standpoint I don’t find it surprising that the Aries Cerat Concero 65 SET amp can provide excellent results with the CS 3.7.

First, while the speaker’s impedance is of course very low, as well as challenging in terms of phase angles at certain deep bass frequencies, it is relatively flat throughout most of the frequency range. Which will minimize the tonal consequences of impedance interactions with the amp, that would be problematical pairing many SETs with many other speakers. Second, both the amp (apparently weighing 220 pounds per monoblock) and its power tubes (each of the paralleled 813s has a plate dissipation rating of 125 watts) are monsters. And given the 65 watt rating of the amp the tubes are probably being run conservatively, in a region that provides better linearity than if they were being pushed closer to their limits.

It would be interesting to know the output impedance of the amp, or equivalently its damping factor. (The output impedance of the 4 ohm tap would be approximately 4 ohms divided by the damping factor). If that is relatively low (for a SET), say in the vicinity of 1 ohm (equivalent to a damping factor of 4 or more), it would further account for the amp pairing well with the CS 3.7.

In any event, if you purchase that amp keep away from the wire that runs up to the plate cap on top of the power tubes, as can be seen in this photo. It probably has around 2,000 volts on it. Probably only around 1,000 volts or so on the plate cap of the driver tube, though. 😉

Good luck, however you decide to proceed. Regards,
-- Al

Hello Al,
As always, thanks for contributing consistently intelligent and thorough technical analysis. I knew that Aries Cerat (AC) is in an unique category of tube amplification due to its near over the top approach of engineering, design and execution. As Thieliste mentioned above this is the goal of its designer/builder Stavros. 440 pounds of amplifier to yield 65 watts of SET power. As Al keenly observed,  very powerful tubes intentionally run very conservatively to keep them in their most linear operating zone. Utterly rational design decision. I have no doubt they sound sublime driving the Thiels 3.7 just as Thieliste described.

In the vast majority of cases involving these speakers I’d heed the advice of Unsound and George in terms of amplifier selection criteria. Thieliste I am admittedly curious to see how the esteemed CH Precision solid state components listening experience compares to the AC. Aries Cerat has established an  extremely high point of reference.
Charles

CH Precision is my absolute favorite SS pre-power combo at any price but i'm afraid if i decide to go this route my wife will kill me lol.It will be very difficult to convince her to go CH because she absolutlely loved the Aries Cerat combo with the Thiels.I have to take into account her taste, this is a 2 persons decision.I think she is right because that would leave me enough money to purchase a SOTA DAC + server like the Totaldac d1-Twelve mk2 and great cables.

Thieliste, 
Does your wife have extensive listening experience with High End audio or a musician background? A lot of women seem to have a knack (experienced ears or not) for identifying what many would reefer to as a natural sound. Does she also prefer Aries Cerat to Ypsilon as you do? I've heard Ypsilon components and I'm really impressed with them. I haven't heard Aries Cerat. 
Charles 

Charles my wife is not an audiophile but since i dragued her to many Hifi shows, at dealers and many classical music festivals for the past few years she's starting to have pretty good ears.Yes she does preffer tube sound therefore Aries Cerat is her choice right now.She has listened to the CH I1 integrated.She does not like CH Precision as much as i do.