Thiel 2.3--bright or harsh ?

If you haven't sold your Thiels by now, try changing your speaker cable first. I cannot tell you how important speaker cable matching is to your speaker. If you want to audition cables, I recommend the Cable Company. They will send you burned in cables to audition for very reasonable rates which can be applied against a future purchase. Dial 1-800-FAT-WYRE. Just for your info - a close friend had Theil 2.2s for many years and used Purist Audio Design cables to great advantage which yielded a smooth non-glare sound with terrific imaging. Of course, he also had Audio Research tubed preamp and a SS Audio Research amp.

I do not know the specs of the Krell KAV 300i nor have I heard it connected to the 2.3s. That being said, Thiel 2.3s require a high current amp. I have heard these driven with a Forte amp and preamp (class A electronics; 50 WPC!!! but high current)and they did not sound bright or harsh at all. Classe, integrated amps included, is also a good choice. Also heard these with Krell separates (I don't recall the models) and they didn't sound as good as the previous mentions. Cables may be a good first choice before you change your entire system. MIT cables may work. Hope this helps. Good luck. Dave

I think the problem is in your amp. My experience with a Thiel/Krell combination has not been good. I felt the sound was too harsh. I currently have a Thiel/Classe/Cardas combination which does not at all have any harshness to it. The Cardas Golden Cross cable are an excellent match for Thiel speakers. If you can afford them, The Cross model works well also. I have also heard McIntosh amps with the Thiel and think they have an outstanding sound.

I also upgraded my CS2.3 coaxial drivers. The new drivers are definitely not as bright. They are more laid back in the upper midrange and highs. Has anyone else upgraded? What did you think? Do you think the coaxial driver has overall design flaws?

I have to agree that Cardas cables are a good match for Thiels. I have a pair of 3.6's and auditioned several cables before deciding on Cardas. I've also found that my Thiels are very placement sensitive. Moving them even very slightly produces noticable changes in their sound. Mine took quite a bit of patience to get them positioned right. Having said all that, I've never been happy with their sound when listening to poorly recorded material. They seem to be very unforgiving in that respect.