Attention Thiel CS3.7 owners

...well I have to apologize. I ment to post these comments in the other thread asking about TAD vs Thiel... Sorry.

So to answer your question. I have heard the thiel 3.7 on a few amps.

Mcintosh MC252. Poor bass control and did not inspire me. Maybe a bigger Mac would have worked.

Very pricy Audio Research ($35,000+) dull, I could have fell asleep. It just lacked dynamics. The sound stage was nice and details good but no slam, no life. I felt the same way when it was hooked up to the Sophia 3 and I know it is a common pairing.

Classe, can't remember the model but it was around 400 watts. It had good body and texture. Lacked some of the fine detail of the AR but had more life for my modern/rock music.

I would try to demo Ayre gear or Pass Labs if you have the money.

James63,

Thanks for sharing your experience with those models. It's very instructive and tends to support some of my prejudices. I am currently auditioning a number of amps and will post my impressions when I've finished this phase of the quest. In the meantime, keep the stories coming, please!

Thiels are very good speakers, but they can be bright and forward. They are difficult loads for amps. Bryson tends also to be bright and forward. I would look at a used Audio Research, Mac, BAT, the more power the merrier. Whatever you decide on, either pre-hear it all together to see if it is to your liking, or have the option to return it.

A friend drives 3.7s with Parasound JC-1s. The combination sounds pretty great to me and is, comparatively speaking, reasonably affordable.

As a long-time Thiel owner, I have found that the Thiels sound really sweet with high quality tube amps, particularly if you listen to a lot of classical music (which I do). I have auditioned, but do not currently own, the CS3.7 with both solid state and tube amps, and the tubes produce the more natural sound IMHO. Solid state electronics produce a more "etched" sound with almost holographic imaging, which can be impressive, but live music does not sound like that in my experience.

VTL and ARC are good choices but others may work well, too. I don't care for E.A.R, which I find to be very dark sounding. Just be sure the amp is good at driving low impedances because the Thiels are not particularly easy loads to drive.