Thiel Owners

I do have a set of sound anchors which may work.  they worked for me on my earlier generation Thiels before they came out with the outriggers for the later models

From everything i have read over the years,  Ayre and PS Audio are two of the very best when it comes to customer service.

thanks J for all you do.  also thanks for the guidance you are giving MA.

for what it is worth,  my interactions with Rob G were great. 

HI TOM,   owning 3.7's means i will not see any updates for years but it is fantastic what you are doing.  Peace Bro

thanks Beetle,   and i am definitely less adventurous.   I think that ultimately if there is an outboard crossover where we just hook the speaker cables to it and then wire right to the drivers,  that would be something i could do.  but they do sound great and part of me is afraid to tinker with them.  you do not live in NC by any chance :)

sdl4:  interesting that you should ask about ICs.  I have 3.7's and an all PS system with the BHK and ted smith gear.   i am not much on shoot outs but i have a friend who has the same system and did this pretty comprehensively and ended up with the Cardas Clear Reflection.  his comment to me "I auditioned 5 or 6 cables in that $1200 to $3,000 price range for 1m interconnects and to me I really liked not only the clarity but also the tonal balance on this particular cable the best. I am running it between all my components. I don't think you could go wrong with it. You may want to look around to see if you could find a used one pair-they pop up from time to time."   i am now using them between pre and amp and between DSD and pre.   really like them

remember to let them burn in before making a serious evaluation.  i like the Clear Reflection a lot but did not evaluate others as my friend Bob did that for me.  I was using Analysis Plus and they were good but these seemed very relaxed and detailed and natural sounding. 

hi Rosami,   i had the same issue with a pair of 2.4's years ago.  i was surprised how much i could tighten them.  have heard,  though i have not tried it, that brass screws are the best material to use.  I am a big user of Mapleshade products and brass is one of their big things

hi Arnie,   i told him the same thing.   I about had a heart attack when i first played mine as they had almost no hours on them and they sounded terrible.  the 2.7's just smoked them.  but after about 200 hours they kicked in and now they are stunning.  curious as to which REL you had.  i am running a single SHO/5 and i find it really benefits my system a great deal.  Enough so that i am considering a second one. 

in my neck of the woods

arvincastro,   you can never have too much power.  almost all damage is  done by over driving an amp and causing it to go into "clipping".  so do not worry as more power is better power.  cleaner and less distortion. 

In addition,  according to Paul at PS Audio,  not only do mono blocks let you play louder,  the sound quality is substantially increased with greater definition and a larger sound stage.

Brayeagle,  

welcome back and i hope you are feeling better.  listening to great music through a great system is definitely a real healing force and i play my system 2-3 hours a day. 

hi Brayeagle,   i think at one time that  you said you were in your nineties?  is that correct?   You are one of my audio heroes

thank you BrayEagle for  your response.  and one can never have enough classical cds.  my listening at home is all compact discs with about 50% classical,  40% rock and  folk, and 10% jazz

thank you so much for your report

thank you George

Prof:  my girlfriend says the same thing with my 3.7's (and with the 2.7's I used to have).   she says that from another room like the kitchen for example,  she thinks it sounds like a real band in the listening room when playing rock and pop.  classical not as much but then it is hard to imagine an orchestra in the house. 

amazing

I asked my friend Parke Pauterbaugh who used to be a writer at Rolling Stone if he knew anything about the experiment with Thiel and Bryston.  here is our conversation: 

PP: No, I never heard. Last time I visited the mag they were all listening to music on earbuds. The place was quiet as a church. Not like when I worked there and music was blaring from many offices.
Me: thanks. sounds like it has become a really boring place. who would listen to rock and roll on earbuds? what a waste of good music
PP: It was a boring place. I was dismayed at what a character-less place it had become.

good job MA.   keep us in the loop

here is a link to the article in the newest issue of Copper magazine which is a free magazine produced by PS Audio.  Great stuff.  This article is a summary about the demise of Thiel over the past few years.  Many here already know this but it is quick review.  https://www.psaudio.com/article/thiel-the-final-chapter/

indeed.  i am  grateful that TT and RG are still part of the Thiel family. 

he is a really nice guy.   used to talk with him occasionally back when he was with Thiel. 

Gary Dayton is the person i think you are talking about

thanks Tom.  "drank the kool-aid".   what a bunch of morons.  I am glad the Gary is doing well at Bryston as i do have good memories of him. 

Happy Summer and happy listening to all us Thiel guys. 

hi tom,  i second Jafants advice.  i had one of those big bad boys,  and they are  finicky and may need servicing someday.  make sure you do not pull a muscle as they are super heavy

hi Tom,   i went into my archives and found this.  not sure if he is still in biz or anything else about him at this point.  he did service and update my unit.  here is a copy of the invoice.  this is from March 2006

Subject: Sony SCD-1/SCD-777ES Mod prices.

From: Richard Kern

Reply-To: RKern70055@aol.com

Organization: Audiomod

 

All of the modifications I perform are designed to widen and deepen the sound stage

and improve imaging. The clarity, detail and transparency are greatly improved. These

changes effect both CD and SACD modes.

 

 

Note: All of the modifications listed below can be installed separately.

Pick only one clock to use in your machine. Use 1 or 2, not both.

 

1. Audiocom Super Clock 3 $295 parts $50 labor.
2. LC Audio X-03 Clock $260 parts $50 labor.
3. Audio Board Black Gate Capacitor Upgrade $370 parts $150 labor.
4. Audio Board Resistor Upgrade using Vishay S102 resistors $475 parts $150 labor or using Caddock TFO20 $330 parts $150 labor.
5. Transport Board Black Gate Capacitor Upgrade $100 parts $200 labor.
6. Audio Board OP Amp Upgrade using Burr Brown OPA627 $233 parts $50 labor.
7. Audio Board Regulator Upgrade using Audiocom Super Regulators $425 parts $100 labor.
8. Power Supply Board Black Gate Capacitor Upgrade $450 parts $100 labor.
9. Power Supply Regulator Upgrade using Audiocom Super Regulators $255 parts $100 labor.
10. Audio Consulting CD Output Transformer Upgrade (steel core) $540 parts $200 labor.
11. Audio Consulting CD Output Transformer Upgrade (ferrite core) $1000 parts $200 labor.
12. Optional power supply for the Audiocom Super Clock or LC Audio Clock $295 parts $100 labor.
13. Power Transformer shielding for the SCD-777ES $20 parts $20 labor.
14. The complete modification package with Audiocom SC3, Super Clock Power Supply, Steel          CD Transformers, Vishay Resistors,  $5098 parts and labor.

All of the above parts take one week to obtain from my parts suppliers.

Check out the reviews of my modifications on the web at www.AudioAsylum.com

www.audiogon.com & www.positive-feedback.com

 

Audiomod

Richard Kern

4390 SE Mark Kelly CT.

Oak Grove, OR. 97267

503 659-6599

503 490-8602

hi Cabinlife,  congrats as well.   they were how i started my journey with Thiel back in 1985. they can be a bit bright so pay attention to amp, cables etc.  Also i have a pair of Sound Anchors that i used to use with them as they needed them for stability and leveling.   Let me know if you would be interested in them.  

GasMan:  i have 3.7's and use one SHO-5 REL.   If i had it to do over i would probably try to get two of the SHO-3 subs.  two is better than one if it works for  your budget

hi Warren,   great story.   i  bet the 3.7's are killer with the ARC amps.  wow what a combo. 

well my PS Audio BHK amp only uses to little baby input tubes,  but it is a great amp with my 3.7's.   would almost be afraid to try something like ARC mono blocks with those tubes.  that could break the bank

warjarrett:  too funny as i am  the same way.  " Yeah, I think I was crazy. I can tell you this: I never play background music anymore, with these tubes burning. The system either has my full attention or is off. I don’t answer the phone, my wife knows to ignore me (because I will her),

hey Batman,   i have used both 2.7 and 3.7 speakers with outriggers and think they help.   however i strongly recommend testing feet from Gaia and the brass feet from Mapleshade.  i used them both with the outriggers.  However if outriggers cannot be used,  then  try those feet directly under the speaker. 

Talking about the value of our systems versus everything else,  I too had to laugh.  not counting my home,  my audio system is my most valuable asset.
True story:  in 1978 I bought my dream car,  a baby blue 1976 BMW 2002.  It was so cool and sharp.  a year or so later i got a job working in a mid and upper end hi fi store.  sold Dahlquist,  Maggies, and Infinity among others.  At this store,  we were able to get things at a special employee "accommodation price"  that allowed us to get things below dealer cost.  Oh boy.  since i really had no extra money (still in grad school) I did something totally stupid and sold the BMW and bought a cheap ass little honda cvcc (a pregnant rollerskate).  took the money that was left and bought audio stuff.  Been crazy about this hobby ever since. 

I would like to add that to my knowledge,  outriggers were not an option on the earlier 2 series such as the 2 and 2.2.  however,  if anyone needs a pair of Sound Anchors  i do have a pair for sale as i no longer needed them once i got a pair of 2.4's. 

I cannot comment on any other brand,  but i  have had great success using REL subs with my 2.7's and now 3.7's.  I just added a second sub,  and the improvement was not subtle and it is not just about more or deeper bass. 

i too measured the distance on my3.7's.front 14"back 9.75so it looks like thielrules was correct

I am an outlier here,  but i have had great success with sound using MG Audio speaker cables between the PS BHK amp and the 3.7's.  My friend Bob who has a system virtually identical to mine is much more dedicated to auditioning multiple speaker cables and interconnects. He uses some version of the Nordost speaker cable, and Cardas for the main interconnects. 

there are pairs of 2.2's and 2.4's on audiogon if anyone missed them and needs a new speaker.  https://www.audiogon.com/listings?q=thiel

hi TT,  i am a huge fan of their higher end gear,  but do not know much about the Stellar series except that it really is considered a  huge bang for the buck.

hey Guys,  for anybody interested in buying PS Audio gear,  now would be a great time.  PS Audio just announced they are going factory direct and there will be no more retail dealers.  That means the dealers are going to be heavily discounting the line to clear out inventory.  Three big boys would be:Music Direct,  UpScale Audio,  and Underwood Hifi.   Of course there are more but those are the big ones that i can think of.  This is from an email I received from Underwood:

Earlier this week PS Audio announced that they are going factory Direct and no longer selling thru US dealers. Therefore, after September 15th we will no longer be able to sell PS Audio products. PS pricing will stay the same once they are direct and they will not drop prices once this move is made.

the power cable thing is always tricky.   i use the big PS AC-12 for amps and power plants, but have had great results with the Pangea cords from Audio Advisor.  Really well make and not crazy priced

Streaming versus physical media:   i stream  at work,  but for serious listening at home with my big system,  it is compact discs all the way.  I do not know about others,  but for me,  part of the pleasure of this hobby is building a collection of music and then choosing what to play.  FDR collected stamps,  I collect cds and can never have enough.  When i get one i do not like it goes to the used record store. It is all fun.  What a wonderful hobby.

George,   you are my audio hero. 

all you Florida guys be safe. 

I did that for years running my PS Audio DSD DAC directly into the amp.then got the BHK preamp. do not ask me why,  but it improved things greatly.   Paul McGowan's philosophy  is that there is no preamp like no preamp,   unless you have a really great one.

i sold the Bose 901 between 1979 and 1981.  we also had Dahlquist, Maggies, and Infinity among others.  they were horrible sounding in all respects.  we used to say that the more you spent on bose,  the worst they sounded.  we actually liked their little 301 for what it was.  when a guy came into our store with a Molly Hatchet or AC/DC album under their arm,  we would immediately show them the 901 as we knew they were pretty much indestructible.  If he came in with classical then it was either Maggies or DQ-10's.  they were wretched speakers in my   opinion

for what it is worth,   the 2.2's were really good speakers at the time and a BIG improvement over the 2.0's that i had.  the 2.0's were a bit difficult to live with but the 2.2's were much better.  i personally really started to appreciate Thiel with the 2.4's but that came 15 years later as the 2.2's were my longest running speaker (1992-2007)

thanks for the recommendation on EC unplugged.