Thiel Owners

It was cool to see a CS3.7 at the bottom of the screen at 19:04 - 19:08 in Darko's Cardas video.

jafant,

I agree with Tom Thiel. I would not make any judgments about the source of Cardas copper based only on rumors. Angela Cardas states that their copper is mined in New Mexico. At this point, I have no reason to question that. 

@tomthiel  What connectors are you using with the Belden 4694R cable?

Nice bonus!

tomthiel,

I agree with you that the audio world has changed. Most consumers today seek out convenient access to music through playback systems that don't come very close to the traditional concept of high-end audio. Some audio startups still pop up these days, usually to push a specific product, but today's business climate is rough for companies that resemble the original version of Thiel Audio. 

One model that may help some form of high-end audio stay alive could be described as "strategic infiltration." Some of the more passionate and dedicated audiophiles who become hooked on this obsession as teens may be able to find work and income from jobs that have some link to the music creation business or the music reproduction business. They don't necessarily have to start their own company to still enjoy a creative life in music and/or electronics. 

I don't know if you've ever listened to "The HiFi Podcast with Darren and Duncan," but it's a great example of two young guys who are passionate audiophiles and get together frequently (usually weekly) to discuss audio gear and music for an hour or so. The podcast is currently on hiatus, but the typical podcast includes introducing themselves, describing their own audio activities, answering listener questions, discussing a selected topic in depth, and then finishing with an album recommendation. The podcasts can get a little long at times, but listeners can skim through to find topics that interest them.

Darren Myers is the senior analog engineer for PS Audio and has been the main designer of award-winning products such as the PSA Stellar Phono Preamp and the Stellar M1200 hybrid mono amp. He worked for B&W and Classe before moving to Colorado and joining PS Audio. 

Darren's buddy Duncan Taylor is a musician, recording engineer, cable designer, audio writer, and DIYer. He currently works for The Music Room as a testing technician, which gives him access to thousands of pre-owned products that come to TMR for re-sale. (Other than owning some PS audio gear, I have no direct relationship with either Darren or Duncan.)

I think that a podcast from June (Episode 89: Duncan's Next Half-Day Speaker Project) may be of interest to some of the Thiel fans on this website. Starting at about the 1-hour mark in the podcast, there's a detailed discussion of Duncan's creation of a small desktop speaker that uses only simple first-order crossovers - and sounds great. Darren has challenged Duncan to create an even better sounding speaker using tweeters he has pulled out of some large Dunlavy speakers. There's no follow-up info on whether Duncan has actually built the new speakers yet, but the discussion is still fascinating.

I'm hoping that other young audiophiles, like Darren and Duncan, can find "day jobs" in the audio business that allow them to develop and apply their knowledge and creativity to help build new generations of audio gear that can draw in more high-end audio converts in the future.  

tomthiel,

I agree with you. Even with the rebirth of increased interest in vinyl by some in the younger generations, there is still not a widespread embrace of hifi music reproduction. I'm even discouraged by old friends my age, who seem to have traded convenience for realistic sound reproduction. One of my best friends recently "upgraded" his house-wide access to music by buying really nice remote controls and mass quantities of ceiling-mounted speakers. At the same time, he didn't even bother to hook up his existing Vandersteen speakers because they took up too much floor space. That's why I'm pleased whenever a few younger folks like Darren and Duncan commit wholeheartedly to the high-end audio world.

@ronkent  Thanks for the update on your system and the advice on how an improved DAC can reduce glare and related digital gremlins in reproducing music from CDs. I've been following the comments on the PS Audio forum about the beta testing of the new DSD MK2 DAC, but I didn't know you were one of the beta testers. I currently own the original DSD DAC, and I'm very likely to move up to the MK2 once it becomes generally available. Putting together your impressions about reduced glare from CDs, together with other beta testers raving about how wonderfully musical and engaging the new DAC is, I'm thinking that a DSD MK2 may be a perfect match for taming any tendencies my Thiel 2.2 speakers might have for exhibiting any glare or brightness.

I had been considering upgrading my ancient Sony CD player to a better player or transport that would use an external DAC, but I'm just not playing that many CDs any more. My preferred method for CD listening has now changed to ripping CDs to WAV files on my Innuos Zen server/streamer. I then send the digital signal from the Zen via USB to a PhoenixUSB re-clocker and then on to the DSD DAC. The PhoenixUSB improves the smoothness and naturalness of the reproduction, and I'm hoping that the addition of the new PS Audio DAC will take my system to an even higher level. 

@ronkent  I appreciate your update on the sound of the new PS Audio DSD MkII DAC when feeding Thiel speakers. I'm using the original version of that DAC right now, and I'm looking forward to the possibility of trading it in toward the MkII version when the beta testing has been completed. I'm especially impressed that you highlighted the new DAC's sound for its richness and ease of listening rather than focusing only on its reproduction of high-frequency detail. For me, the ideal DAC has to be able to exhibit transparency, imaging, and fullness of tone (especially on voices and acoustic instruments). My own experience is that listeners are too often impressed by detail retrieval even when it is out of balance with richness of tone in the midrange and bass. I'm hoping that the PS DSD MkII can combine transparency with realistic tonality, and that it it never sounds lean or bright on my Thiel 2.2 speakers. Your comments are very encouraging.

barnett, do you get the same sound if you switch the speaker wires so that you are now using the right speaker in place of the left speaker?

I don't know if this is of help in tracking down what is going on in your system, but I do not hear the same "flutter/buzz/vibration" sound you hear when I play a Qobuz FLAC file of the Boz Skaggs track on my Thiel 2.2s at moderate volume levels. Perhaps I would hear something if I stressed my speakers at a higher volume level, but I'd rather not push them too hard.