Thiel Owners

Thank you all for the responses and especially for the link to the google doc.  It gave me a lot to think about.  Tom's point hits a little close to home ("fullness, richness, lushness, warmth").  The pursuit of such "ideals" has led me to consider B.A.T. and PS Audio for their promised "tube input stage".  But is distortion really the goal?  And how do I know I'm getting the "right distortion", haha.

The consistent message I've seen is that Thiels (including my OG 2.3s) like current, so I've been looking in the 400+ wpc @ 4 ohms range.  But the rears (OG PowerPoints), while still rated @ 4 ohm, have recommended specs more in the 100 wpc range.

So maybe the most cost-effective (but kludgy and/or boring) option for me is to replace my pre-pro with a good AV receiver (Looking at Denon, possibly Anthem), use the onboard amps for the rears and possibly height channels in the future, and then just use the three still-working Krell amps from my old Home Theater Standard as the front three.

Just as a note of caution, the direct correlation between SINAD and overall sound quality for amps and DACs has not been established, and I would be careful not to believe everything that Audio Science Review says or implies. Over-interpreting small differences in distortion at levels well below 1% may not be the best way to choose an amp.

Fortunately, the sound quality of audio gear has improved significantly in recent decades compared to the typical amps produced in the 1970's and 80's when Stereo Review's worship of ever lower levels of distortion prompted many audio engineers to design circuits that measured well (at least on standard measurements) but sounded bad. I certainly hope that we don't embrace a future that forgets what we learned in the past.

Measurements of audio gear are important as part of the design process, but designing gear that actually sounds like real music to the human ear/brain should be the ultimate goal.

@tmsrdg re Thiel SI-1 (from 12/15)
I purchased an SI-1 about two years ago to integrate a pair of JL Audio f112s with my 3.7s. It's in perfect working condition, and I have yet to experience any problems with it. Sounds like I'm lucky on that score, and hope that doesn't change. @tomthiel, it would be great if a repair option for the SI-1 does eventually arrive.

The SI-1 replaced a PXO that was driving a single SS1. In my experience, both the PXO and the SS1 deliver perfectly (to my ears) seamless integration with no fussing around. However, the active SI-1 noticeably improves the mid and top end performance of my 3.7s relative to the PXO. The high end stays sweet to well beyond any volume I'm interested in hearing. At the time, I was concerned that switching from the SS1 to the JLAs would mess up the integration, but there's no sign of that audible to me.

If ultra low distortion is so important for SQ why isn’t Halcro widely regarded as the best ever? 

All

check out the ad over on eBay, a pair of CS 2.4 in Custom Silver is avail in Oklahoma. Very cool looking. I hope these loudspeakers find the next good home.

Happy Listening!