Thiel Owners

The 3.7 grill is a flat piece of perforated steel, covered in fabric, and attached to the front of the speaker with magnets.  I've never thought about this before but the grills on my ATCs are also perforated steel with fabric covers.  I've listened to both with grills on and off and didn't hear a meaningful difference in either.  Maybe a very slight difference but nothing better or worse.

As someone who went from the B&W 800 series to Thiel about 10 years ago I will be the first one to tell you that you're making a bad decision.  I found the Thiels to be better in every area I cared about.  The B&Ws will play louder and have more (lower quality) bass.  The Thiels have more defined bass, clearer, more intelligible midrange, less peaky tweeter, better imaging, more realistic soundstage, better transients, and a difficult to describe relaxing quality that may be due to their better phase behavior.  

I find my 3.7s very lively and satisfying at low volumes.  I've read that the superior drivers didn't need the very complex crossover that earlier models did.  I also run stereo amps bridged mono so the gain is high and I have found that to result in a livelier sound.  It might just be that I find the increased distortion pleasing but whatever it is I prefer it.  

Maybe it's my imagination but it seems like there's way more Thiel than usual on ebay right now.

Don't see this every day


Thiel Audio CS3.5 3-way Speakers w/ Electronic Bass EQ & Manual -... (craigslist.org)

This makes me wonder if a cheap crossover is why I never warmed up to my MCS1.  I bought it off Amazon in 2012 or later during the brief time Thiel was on Amazon.  I love my 2 2s and 3.7s but I never found the MCS1 to be on the same level.  I bought it as a center channel for movies and I don't really watch that many movies so that's part of it.  It could just be that I typically ran it off of an HT receiver but I ran my 2 2s off of one and still found them great.  hmmm.

@snbeall - get those from The Music Room?  I saw some there a few days ago, wanted them, but I just don't need more speakers.  I figure they'd be spectacular as computer speakers hooked up to my 20 year old Creek 5350SE and Cambridge DacMagic.  

The 3.7s on ebay are serial numbers 97 and 98 so it's an opportunity to get a pair with an original Lexington crossover.  

$500 - I want them but can't justify it.  

Thiel SCS4T tower speakers For Sale - US Audio Mart

I have a pair of 2 2s, they were the first Thiels I owned.  I got them for a living room system about 10 years ago.  I consider them the best audio bargain of my life.  They aren't for AC/DC fans but at moderate volumes they're just so enjoyable.  They're fantastic for acoustic jazz or classical, any small scale unamplified music.  They're clear, relaxing, just slightly warm, I  could go on and on.  They don't need a ton of power.  They were a revelation to me.  Over time I had to accept that I preferred them to my far more expensive B&W 802s.  I'm sure not as good on paper but if you just want to listen it wasn't even that close.  

I don't have a lot of experience with many different Thiels but my favorites are probably my 2 2s.  My 3.7s are technically better but they're kind of a pain.  I'm currently between amps and now am trying to find reasonably priced, high powered, and high performing amps that will last.  What a hassle.  The 2 2s sound great with moderate power.  I can hook them up to a moderately priced receiver and enjoy the heck out of them.  Their inherent qualities sort of encourage listening to music and ignoring audiophile foolishness.  

How many different materials did Thiel make cabinets out of over the years?  I know most are MDF but my 3.7s are curved plywood(I'm pretty sure, some kind of layered, curved wood product, very rigid.) and aluminum front.  The Powerpoints were aluminum, as were the viewpoints and powerplanes.  I believe the original 7 had concrete baffles.  I tend to follow ATC as well and they've followed a similar trajectory.  They've made a bunch of speakers out of aluminum but have returned to MDF.  They've been making a lot of curved cabinets in recent years but still some kind of wood composite.  

My guess is that for companies that aren't making cost-no-object products, wood of one type or another is the best option.  If you're a luxury brand, it's a different world.  The main reason you make cabinets exotically is so sales people who don't understand anything can appeal to the vanity of rich consumers who don't understand anything.  They have zero understanding of the tradeoffs, importance of various factors, etc.  The sales process is just some sort of ridiculous social ritual.

3.7s have the crossover housed in a little compartment in the bottom separate from the main box.  Thiels are "small signal systems" but they're so good at it.  My guess is that nobody alive today could design a better version of the 3.7s for anywhere near the price.  

Maybe some Thiels are bright but a big chunk of that is about something else.  Maybe personal or political or oven some sort of ethnic thing.  They're mostly not bright and mostly not that hard to drive.  My 2 2s were slightly warm hooked up to a <1k HT receiver.  What 2k pair of speakers required a 10k amp?  When was this?  I'm not trying to be combative I'm having a hard time believing it.

tomthiel - they sound great in bad rooms.  I put my 2 2s in a reflective living room in a townhouse.  It was a second system, not something I put effort into.  Yeah, if you stand a foot away and change elevation you can hear dramatic changes.  Other than that they're great.  Resolution is limited by the room but that was taken into account and they still sound great in low rez rooms despite the limited detail.  Compared to other brands I've owned they're so clearly better, the imperfections  are there, but completely overwhelmed by the strengths.  

I just bought a pair of viewpoints off ebay for a few hundred bucks.  They've been there for a while.  I'm trying to stop being a dick on the internet but that's a great driver combo/crossover in a metal box.  And I'm just buying it because I know it's gonna be great, I don't know what I'm gonna do with it.  

Just hooked up the Viewpoints to my computer system.  They're on the B speaker output of my 2001 Creek 5350SE.  Audio is from PC through AudioQuest dragonfly red.  The A output is on my 2010ish VA Mozart Grands.  I've got $7k MSRP worth of speakers that I paid $1,040 for.  Great value is available on the used market if you keep your eyes open and know what to look for.

These couldn't be more different.  The Thiels have the usual crisp, clear, coherent sound.  Not much bass but that's fixable.  The VAs have a lot of bass but it's kind of slow port bass.  I think they're getting relocated.  I wasn't sure I was gonna care that much since it's just a pc system.  Even with the very limited bass it's easier to follow the bassline on the Thiels because they're so much more distinct.  It's funny, I usually don't like the Thiel sound until I listen for 10 or 15 minutes.  They sound off a little bit off at first but once I get used to it again everything else sounds wrong.  They have better upper bass punch.  It's super quick compared to what I'm used to here.  Much more even and balanced, the VAs bass sounds too disconnected from the rest by comparison.  That little coax really was a great driver.  

Alright, had to go get an adapter but I hooked up an idle psb sub series 100.  It's a tiny sealed box sub but it's working great in this setup.  It gets me to 40 hertz with no problem at as loud of a volume as I'll ever need nearfield.  I went to an online tone generator sight to figure out where to set the volume and crossover.  This system is at a whole new level, how fun.  

listening to these bass covers and the sub is integrating nicely and filling out below around 100hz where the speakers start to drop.

 

A few days in and I'm really enjoying some solo cello on my computer system.  It can't be a coincidence, I never listen to classical here.  And I'm sure it's low res, poorly recorded or something.  Whatever it is I'm really enjoying it here and I wouldn't have before.

 

I'm once again listening to my <$1,000 Viewpoints and enjoying them beyond what seems right.  So many people passed up this opportunity.  What's the matter with you?

 

 

You can't really appreciate this on other speakers.  It's a real problem.  This is so much better than whatever else it out there.  It's so much better.

 

 

@roxy54  It's hyperbole but not kidding.  It's my limited experience, I know it's not comprehensive.

@roxy54 it seems like you should have some sort of response.  If you say nothing and wander off you'll be assumed slow.  Is that what you want?

I recently got some viewpoints for  a few hundred bucks off ebay.  I'm enjoying them way beyond what a normal person should be allowed.

I'm listening to Chick Corea and Gary Burton Tiny Desk Concert on my Thiel Viewpoints.  I'm listening nearfield.  It's youtube, I'm sure low bit rate or whatever but it's so good.  

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15IHNYq6stw

The 2.7s definitely aren't down 3db at 23 hz.  Stereophile says 35 which sounds right.

 

https://www.stereophile.com/content/thiel%E2%80%99s-new-cs27

This is an absurd bargain if you live in the area.  MCS1 x 3 and a pair of the SCS3 for $699. 

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/266382945012?hash=item3e05a92af4:g:RewAAOSw8Xxk2ROk&amp;amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAA4G0sDcLtl5nUSpbKSbcCHdKr3Bocsem7W6JoxGtjVG9HP4xZ7TTYgdEqV%2FjcDBNeqFgX1KBq0hXB1%2F40H%2FgvaMmoWNIEQQmfEqg5MzrWD2AJnBIwwhnzTHc7p5pwg%2BI1qEGWIyA7miIT1v8WBLgltfW%2BlGFhYyw7Veu2lZLDwAM05JO49el%2Bxp3s6NGIxeUEmXDBjTpyQm%2FaOOFL4kSfXz11TKY3juf2xv%2B9n%2BKf5gCh411tNkIh2HhYbU9H3QiDDn19NGkW%2BIPdQCImof0unY9qp7K%2F4YU4h4f6b9y5FNkE%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR7CK1u_HYg

I'm listening to my Viewpoints through my Dragonfly red and Creek 5350 SE and it's so great.  Not good, great.  Hardly anyone gets this, appreciate it.

I have better sources, I like the video I think it adds to the experience.  My trusty Cambridge 840s are still doing great as monoblocks.  Benchmark DAC 2 is good enough for me.  Bryston BP26 preamp is also good enough for me.  I just want to be able to enjoy the music.  This system is great for me.

I mostly try not to act like a weirdo on here but I got my 3.7s hooked up and I'm listening to the brandenburg concertos on youtube.  Nothing is better than this.  

 

Bach: Brandenburg concertos, BWV 1046 - 1051 (300 anniversary) | Václav Luks & Collegium 1704 - YouTube

I'm not the only one to appreciate the Cambridge 840w as monoblocks.  Doug Schroeder reviewed them that way when they came out and thought they were exceptional, describing them as "the best sounding SS amps I have used regardless of cost."  I'm not a reviewer and haven't heard dozens of amps in my system but I've never been tempted to upgrade.  They replaced a pair of Classe CA200s and I thought they were better than those.  This system is so good I'm never really tempted to replace any of it.  If anything I'd upgrade the room treatment but it hasn't been a priority since kids.  I think I'd have to spend a fortune to get a significant upgrade and I'd miss the money more than enjoy the improvement if there even was one.

Cambridge Audio Azur 840E Preamplifier & 840W Monoblock Amplifiers Review - Dagogo

I understand the concept of time.

Norm Macdonald Compilation (youtube.com)

 

this should be removed.

Chick Corea & Gary Burton: Tiny Desk Concert (youtube.com)

 

This is so good.