Theil/Classe 6, and listener fatigue

I own a pair of Thiel 22's and I would strongly agree with most that your front end and then cables are probably your problem. I'm using the CAL Delta/Alpha comb with MIT speaker cables.

Thanks to all who responded. Much of the problem does indeed appear to be the Rotel. I am currently trying out new cd players and can already hear a big improvement. GK

Hi, I have the same speakers and preamp but also use a Classe DR15 amp. I would definitely look into replacing the Rotel CD player. Pick up a Proceed or CAL unit used on Ebay or if you can afford it, the Resolution Audio.

i used to use thiel 3.5's in my main system, & they weren't too bright, even when my adcom gfa-555 was the main amp, & not relegated to subwoofer duty! now, the thiels are doin' yust fine, in the kitchen, powered by a 35wpc audio-innovations integrated, fed from the main system thru its tape outs. hook up a turntable, & then see if the fatigue goes away. or, if ewe have a quality tuner, & uncompressed radio station, is there fatigue here, too? i'd suspect the fatigue is coming from your cd-player. when i had a solid-state preamp, the only way i could get rid of cd-fatigue was by using an ase z-man tubed buffer-stage, even w/speakers other than thiels. now, w/a tubed preamp, i don't need the buffer-stage.

The Rotel, I have one as a backup and recently replaced a Meridian transport with it while the Meridian was being fixed and my warm system - CJ pre, Classe amp, and Mit cables got considerably brighter. MIT or Cardas and a new CD source will difinetly help.

I believe there is nothing worse than trying to "tone-down" the Thiels with some "colorful" tube gear. That will simply spoil the Thiel's crispness and other strong points unless you spend thousands and thousands of dollars in a super tube amp. There are a number of appropriate ss amps that work fine with Thiels, including Classe, Levinson, and also Marsh Sound Designs. Alas, it could be that you are simply in the camp which believes the Thiels are bright and if that's the case nothing will really change your mind, in my experience. If so, my best advice would be to sell the Thiels and get something else. Although perhaps before doing so you may want to go to a couple of live music events to make sure what you are hearing is not the way real life sounds.

I disagree with joe_coherant. I find the entire Theil line to very much on the fatiguing side. Way to edgy for my tastes in the highs. I would recommend going to a tube amp and/or preamp to tone down the sizzle of the solid state gear. Good luck, I can imagine what you are going through.

Kadlec, You didn't mention any acoustic room treatments...if you have a lively room, you might want to treat the 4 upper corners, the side walls the center of the front wall, and the center of the back wall with some acoustic treatments. You can make these yourself from 2" foam and cover them with any cloth that works with your decor. Use hot glue and Velcro to stick them up. (Look at Michael Green Room Tunes for placement and sizes.) Then you can play with speaker cables and interconnects. I'm not fond of the B&K amps, they tend to be boring, 2-dimensional, and lifeless. I've heard the Theils MCS1's with Classe cd, amp and preamp and also thought they were a little too bright. But try the room treatments first, then the cables, and then you can start swapping amps or cd players.

You may also want to try and change the angle of your speakers. If they are toed in, try moving them to aim more straight ahead.

I owned Thiels for over ten years and found them to be amongst the least fatiguing speakers around. I believe this is a function of sheer accuracy. They are detailed and therefore some people who seldom listen to live music call them "bright". I suggest you try a different CD player first.

I would "blame" Thiel-Rotel "combo"!

since you have bought classe already there is no alternative but to use interconnect to fine tune the sound. use cardas or audioquest copper cables!