Thiel Owners

@yyzsantabarbara  Ok well if you are not considering integrated forget about Gryphon, the separates are too expensive for Thiel owners IMO.Only Diablo 120 or 300 is worth considering for CS 3.7s owners.

Congrats @jafant

Jadis I88 is also another good tube option.

@jafant  Are you considering any streaming device for Qobuz or Tidal in the future or are you going to stick to your Accuphase CD player ?

@jafant  Why do you need two cd players for ?

I was looking at Hegel H590, would be interesting to try this one out with 3.7s.It also has a buildt in DAC for people who want a very simple rig.

@yyzsantabarbara  I'm also going to get a R2R DAC and the one on my shortlist for my Thiel rig is the Aqua Formula xHD v2.Check out Totaldac they make very analogue sounding R2R Dacs too.

Hi guys, happy new year to all Thiel lovers.

Today the Audionet dealer is coming to my place to demo the Audionet Max monoblocks and preamp in my system.

This is going to be interesting to hear how my Diablo 300 compares to the Audionet separates.

Pretty soon i will also have the Cardas distributor come to my place to try Cardas Clear Reflection IC and SC and who knows perhaps Clear Beyond.

Anyone using Coda amps with Thiel speakers ?I'm looking at the new Coda 16.0 and 41.0 stereo for CS 3.7s.Would the 16.0 be the best match for 3.7s with up to 100w in class A  and very high current.
Class A vs monster class AB with the 41.0 that is the question.

I'd love to audition the Coda 16.0 with it's 07x preamp but very difficult to find a dealer anywhere near me.This combo could be a good alternative to the Diablo 300 for me.Problem is that the Coda combo is not cheap and the Diablo 300 can be had used for 7.5k that's very difficult to beat.

@yyzsantabarbara  Yes the Diablo 300 is very easy to resale and i'm very familiar with the Gryphon house sound.But since i'm not in a hurry i can still investigate on the Coda pre-power.Please report back when you will have auditioned the 16.0.I would have to travel to southern Italy to audition Coda amps, that's too long of a drive for me so i will have to fly there when possible.

Guys have you ever seen this guy's youtube channel :

https://www.youtube.com/user/adadasd42/featured

He has the biggest amount of Thiel speaker systems i've ever seen in my whole life very impressive.It would be nice if he could come share his experience on this thread.

@jafant  I would also be very tempted to have a second pair of older Thiels like the CS6s or CS7.2s but if going that route you really need to get the right amp in the first place to drive these bad boys otherwise it's not worth getting a second pair of Thiels.The 7.2s would worth getting but very difficult to find a pair, there is a pair of CS6 on audiogon.

@yyzsantabarbara  Congrats on the RAAL SR1a, i have demoed these headphones in 2019, they are indeed very special but not for everybody.I found them pnenomenal in the treble but not very good in the bass or nowhere near an Abyss 1266 Phi TC in that area.They are obviously the most open sounding headphones on the market but i still prefer a well balanced Thiel CS 3.7 system.Cheers

@yyzsantabarbara  I've heard it on Viva Solista speaker amp.My favorite headphones are still the Hifiman Susvara but it's to much dedication for just headphones therefore i prefer to save my money for speaker gear now.

@jafant  Well for me nothing special just waiting patiently for the funds to pull the trigger and build my rig.
Other than that a fellow audiophile asked me if i could go audition the Wilson Benesch Resolution at my dealer's so i will do that for him and report back.

@silvanik I've had them on my 3.7s but didn't like the sound at all.

It sucked the life out of my Thiels therefore i sold the Gaie feet and put back the original feet.

Hi guys, 10 days ago we did a shootout in my rig between my Gryphon Diablo 300 and Audionet Pre G3 + amp monos driving my 3.7s.

At the end of the day the Audionet combo was not able to beat my beloved Diablo 300 integrated.

I still prefered my Diablo 300 because it has more meat on the bone than the Audionet combo and with my 3.7s it is more engaging.

But the game is not over guys, guess what the Audionet dealer will soon come back to my place with this time around the Audionet Humboldt.

This is going to be a lot of fun, i would suspect my Diablo 300 will be smoked by the Humboldt but who knows let's wait and see.

Will keep you guys posted.

I will also be demoing cables in my systems very soon to find out if another cable brand can smoke my Gryphon cabling.

My Diablo 300 - Humboldt shootout will take place feb 20th stay tuned.

Yep

Hey guys, well i'm happy to announce that i'm back in the Thiel game.Just scored a mint pair of 3.7s in Amberwood finish.They will be driven by a Gryphon Diablo 300.Will update when i order the rest of the gear probably in april.

@prof  Thanks, i've owned 1.5s, 2.4s and 3.7s.Started my Thiel journey in 1997.

I've had 2 pairs of Amberwood CS 3.7s since 2014 and i prefer the second pair because it is darker, absolutely beautiful!

A nice pair of 3.7s is up for sale on Audiogon, looks like Amberwood finish.

Who's going to pick them up ?

Hi Guys, I'm trying to find out if a Vitus SIA-030 integrated amp could handle the load of CS 3.7s ?

A dealer told me Vitus being very smooth and liquid sounding it would be more musical paired my 3.7s compared to my Diablo 300.

 

 

Tomorrow afternoon i have a home demo of the spectacular Audionet Humboldt in my system, will keep you guys posted.

Hi guys, yesterday i was fortunate to have the Audionet distributor at my place for a Humboldt demo in my system.

I can now say it is the best integrated amp at any price and will even outperform very expensive separates.

Never heard my Thiel CS 3.7s sound so good musical and smooth.

Hope to be able to afford this beast one day, this is end game.

I never thought Thiel CS 3.7s could offer such level of performance when paired with an uber integrated.

 

 

Hi guys, i finished my cable shootout in my system and the winer is Cardas Clear Beyond.

Just ordered Clear Beyond SC and IC.

Best balance between high resolution, organic sound and huge slam.

@jafant My Gryphon VIP series SC and IC went against Odeion Sigma, Kubala Sosna Sensation, Cardas Clear Beyong and Tellurium Q Statement.

The best all around cables in my system were the Cardas Clear Beyond and therefore ordered them, should receive them whithin 3 weeks.

My Gryphon VIP series are up for sale.

 

I had the proof that Thiel speakers are not the bottleneck in a system when i compared my Gryphon Diablo 300 to the Audionet Humboldt in my system.

My Diablo 300 felt like a broken amp compared to the Humboldt driving my CS 3.7s.

That's how much of gap there is in sound quality between the two amps, insane.

I will keep on upgrading the pre-power part of my system for sure in the future.

 

Well it is surprising but the Humboldt had much more grip than the Diablo 300 on my 3.7s.

Bass was much deeper, detailed and full body with the Humbold, the Diablo sounded lean compared to the Humboldt.

In Europe the Humboldt’s MSRP is 42K, i cannot think of any separates that could compete within this price range.

 

Hi guys, just a quick question regarding positioning.

How far apart were you able to set your Thiels from tweeter to tweeter without having a hole in the soundstage ?

Is it 9 or 10 feet or more ?

I have my 3.7s 8 feet apart as recommended in the owner's manual and pointing straight ahead as i have a lot of room from the side walls around 6-7 feet.

 

@unsound Yes seems that we have similar rooms, my system is long wall placement and i'm sitting close to the back wall about 9 feet from tweeters.

My room has very good acoustics as i have wooden floor, thick carpet under the system and thick curtains.

I use my dad's paintings as absorbers on the walls and furniture.

I'm lucky to have a wife that let's me use the living room almost like a dedicated listening room lol

I will try 9 feet apart and see how that goes.

Ok just tried 9 apart, indeed much better than 8 much more air between the instruments, sounstage is spectacular.

I have best results with very little toe in.

I cannot try 10 apart because my carpet is not wide enough but very happy with 9.

 In the next few years i should be able to have a dedicated room and therfore everything will be done for the system, 10 apart will not be a problem.

Check these out guys, a beautiful pair of McCormack Monos.

 

Thanks guys, IMO a single Coda#16 would easily outperform 2 AHB-2s driving CS 3.7s.

Anyway i will start by demoing the Gryphon Essence stereo pre-power combo and see how that goes against my Diablo 300.

Since i now have Cardas Clear Beyond IC and SC in my system this has brought my Diablo 300 Thiel CS 3.7 combo to another league, absolutely insane level of performance!

 

Hi guys, i'm happy to announce that i received all my gear to build my reference system.I'm just waiting for the audio stand to arrive before i start unboxing.

Well guys that's it my new system is all set up and burning in, all of the gear is new except the 3.7s obviously.Enjoy : https://systems.audiogon.com/systems/6322

@jafant and @unsound  thanks guys it took me many years of patience to put this system together but i finally did it, i cannot be happier!I'm also in the process of buying a new house for october so will have a bigger room for my system and will do some room treatment then.Cheers

I did a new upgrade for my Qobuz and Tidal streaming.I took my fanless Intel NUC from my headphone rig and installed Roon Rock on it and added an Sbooster MKll power supply to power the NUC and some audiophile grade ethernet cables.The result is absolutely phenomenal, before i used to run Roon from my desktop PC and the sound was not so great.This streaming upgrade is not very costly and will make you very happy.

Hi guys, what distance do you typically position your Thiels from back wall ?And are they pointing straight or are they toed in towards you.
Thanks

@beetlemania Wow 6 feet that's far from the back wall, don't you lose bass ? right now i'm working between 2.5 and 3 feet more than 3 feet doesn't work for my room
@jafant  You are rignt i also find pointing straight is the best position for good imaging.

I also have problems with a not ideal living room right now with lack of width.My speakers are 7 feet apart instead of the ideal 8 feet.Soundstage is not bad at all if speakers are firering straight out.In a couple of months i'm moving in a new home and should have a bigger living room but will have to do long wall placement this time around because the width is only 13,6 feet.

@yyzsantabarbara  Can you give the prices of 3.7s tweeters and baffles.One of my friend damaged one of the baffles on his 3.7s
Thanks.

@yyzsantabarbara Thanks for the price of the COAX, how about the price of the bass baffle, the one just above the passive radiator ?

Ok thanks i'll ask Rob.

What do you 3.7 owners use in terms of speaker cabling and interconnects ?

I have to start looking for other cables as i'm not satisfied with my Gryphon cabling, they are way too clear for the 3.7s and therefore i find the treble agressive.

I will ask 2 dealers to lend my one set of Audience Front Row and Tellurium Q Statement both of them 100% copper.

If you guys have any suggesttions please chime in.

 

Kimber Select 3035 ?

Tellurium Q dealer is going to send me Statement speaker cables to demo in my system.

100% copper this should be very good.

Keep you guys posted.