Upgrade for Thiel 1.6 - Or a waste of $$

Long ago I tried an Acurus 250 with a pair of Thiele 2_0's.
Pretty much unlistenable as the speaker revealed the acurus as being very harsh and "unmusical"...

I replaced the Acurus with a McCormack DNA 1. Much, much better. Of course the price (used is closer to $900 than the $499 for the Acurus.

On the other hand you do buy into great product with a proven upgrade path (SMC).

Just for yucks I looked as to what DNA"s were currently on the market. Found an $850 DNA from Tyler !!!
Wow - ya couldn't have much better karma than that - an amp designed by an industry legend (who happen to be a great guy) from a great speaker designer who also happens to be a great guy.

What are you using for a pre-amp? You might consider starting there.....such as a tubed cj unit. In my experience cj equipment works very well with Thiel speakers very smooth and detailed.

Good input from all of you...
Bob - I've got a pair or REL R series subs already. They don't relieve the Thiels or the Rotel but they add plenty.

Czbbcl - You almost nailed it....

Maybe some of you thought, "Why isn't this guy talking about preamps and why doesn't he want to know about integrated amps."

Okay. Fine, I'll tell you.

I go both ways (home theater and 2-channel).

Wait, it gets worse.

My "preamp" is a Rotel RSX-1067 which also powers my center and surrounds.

Now on a whim I connected my Benchmark DAC1 directly to the Rotel amp -- so I know what my current "preamp" is up to.

Replacing it, however, would require some real money.

A better 5.1 pre/pro or a modern-ish pre that accepts 5.1 analog (way over 1k???) AND a 3 channel amp to run the other 3 channels (around $500???)

Now I've got no complaints about my home theater set up -- besides the lousy movies on HBO and Showtime.

But I know my 2-channel experience could be better -- just wondering how.

Your thoughts? Now that you know the rest of the story....

You know, there are three multichannels amps i've HEARD good things about: Butler, Outlaw, and AKI.

Their power ratings, their weight, and the selling price, all are quite good. They may not be prestige brands -- but maybe they may do the job well... ASAIK, you can buy as many channels as you need.