Thiel Owners

Great to hear from you as well RB. Glad to help anytime.

Dave

Happy Friday- All.

Seem to have a sound approach about amplifiers and I'm pretty sure you both have one or two.

Good to see you Dave. I think I will seek amplifier advisement from both you and unsound the next time I get hit with the itch to change.  

Corvette01,

I started my obscession in 2011 when my son gave me a subscription for Stereophile in a school fundraiser. Little did he and my wife know what they started. I purchased an Exposure integrated amp and CD player based on Stereophile budget system recommendations and shortly after, made my first Audiogon purchase, my current Thiel CS3.6s. Since then, I have gone through numerous amps, preamps, sources, and cables....most of which were purchased preowned on Audiogon.

Several points to consider. The Thiels have stayed in my setup. All other speakers were bought and sold after a short time. Also, buying and selling preowned is much more efficient. The Thiels have sounded good with every setup including the little Exposure 2010S integrated at low-medium volume. Once I decided I liked the sound of Audio Research tube amps/preamps, I was able to slowly step up the ladder by selling, then buying better preowned components (I previously tried high powered Krell and Bryston).

I agree with the others. I have received a lot of advise based on reading reviews, but mostly on forums like this, and my decisions have been based on listening in my listening rooms under ideal conditions...i.e at night, with a dim room and a glass of wine ;)

corvette01-

take your time in selecting gear for your Thiel speakers.  The hobby is not a sprint, but, a marathon. Get out to your local dealers/retailers and listen, listen, listen.  Keep writing and posting your listening thoughts, impressions and advice.  Have fun.

Happy Listening!

Specs are okay, at best- unsound.

There are plenty of power amps that do very well and spec less than impressive. As always, let our ears be our guide through this Audio journey.

Happy Listening!

I guess my point was that I shouldn't obcess about my amp choice for now,I'm getting good sound for the time being.I have over 25k into 2 systems that I use often.I just have to be a little more thrifty with my choices as my kids are older now and costing more.I thought xpa1 s might be my free lunch,however they are not!I will in time, find an amp that doubles down.Anything else than that I've had already.I am disappointed with many main stream amps that come up short!

Oblgny,well said!Amen Brother!

dlcockrum...

I will verify that "any old amp" sounds good with Thiel.  Subsequently,  it's the Thiels that make a body crazy afterward trying to find the mo' better amps to appease the audio gods. 

At the very least Thiels are addictive.  While almost everything in my current setup has been changed the Thiels remain unchanged.  I've tossed Musical Fidelity monoblocks at 'em, a CJ MF2200, Pass Labs X150.5, and maybe even a few others at 'em and the speakers stayed. (Even after a few switches - Maggie 1.7 and .7's, Von Schweikert VR-4's...) Thiel just does everything "right" for me even though my curiousity about other components is a weak spot. 

Just for sh*ts and giggles I hooked up an old Pioneer SX1050 receiver this weekend to my 3.6's and ya know what?  Damn if it didn't sound good. Love these freakin' speakers. 

Jafant, I hope you noticed the Anthem 225 specs. Losing power from 8 Ohms to 4 Ohms hardly qualifies it as "high current" (with an * for short term, no less!). Heck, there are some tube amps with more current.

Jafant,letting your ears be the best resource is quite profound indeed!While listening to my 3.7's and my Xpa 5 today I was quite surprised how good it sounded!Mcintosh worthy,no.Similar to taking out the garbage-not at all! I need to stop obsessing about every last detail and start enjoying what I paid for!I think I need more music before anything else .I do believe everybody on this page  already has great speakers!Enjoy!

Not sure about Class H- corvette01 ?


There has been much written about Class D becoming the future in amplification.  Let your ears be your best resource. Happy Listening!

As I have read about it- Anthem has several new products hitting the marketplace in the Fall.  New amps, new receivers and new processors.
More to follow.  Happy Listening!

Thanks! for sharing- unsound.

Happy Friday- All.

Stereophile Aug issues reviews Emotivas new class h amps?An actual 2 ohm rating is given.Still doesn't double down though.Class h?Im having a hard enough time considering a class d.Are these really going to be the amps of the future?

oblgny-

I, too, do know how I feel about Class D amplification. I have only been exposed to the Anthem 225 and Primare I-22 integrated amps.

I am certain that Primare has made great strides in the newer 32 and 34 series of electronics, in particular, its CD32 spinner.

I can report that the Anthem 225 is very high current. So much so, that it easily drove the mighty CS 3.7 without clipping. I do listen at loud volumes.
Louder = better.

Happy Listening!

Good to see you again- pops.

Agreed, an integrated can certainly work w/ Thiel speakers. It is a very good thing to have options.  Happy Listening!

Very nice locale -corvette01

you have access to many, many excellent Audio shops in IL, WI and MN.

Happy Listening!

corvette...

A little while back I was driving my 3.5's with a Primare A34.2 class D amplifier - I forget which preamp I was using at the time - 150 watts into 8ohms, "almost double that" into 4 ohms. (The "almost..." quote direct from Primare when I inquired regarding the manual's lack of providing a 4 ohm rating.)

While I can't fault the Primare for anything it did or didn't do, I fall back on my preference for the Pass Labs X150.5 solid state amp with the 3.5's.  It's just a "me-thing" with Pass, even now when I'm happy with my Simaudio 330i integrated which is "only" 200 watts into 4 ohms. I hasten here to reiterate that I listen at VERY conservative levels, and I've never blown an amp or a speaker in my life. 

I have used Thiels many years and always had high current solid state amps with tubes in the preamp.  Currently using Mcintosh 501 mono’s with a pair of CS6 Thiels.  Also occasionally match them to an old Classe CA 200.  Both drive them equally well, have never used Class D’s.

I have however heard 3.7’s driven with a very modest NAD integrated amp, don’t remember the model, and it sound plenty robust to me.    

Has anybody used a class d amp with Thiels?Ive heard technology has come along way.Thiel rep told me to look for an amp that doubles down,not limiting current.A lot of respectable amps still don't,but some class d amps do.Not fully doubling down is why he didn't like Emo amps,they don't.Xpa 1 is 600 at 8 and 1000 at 4, no 2 ohm rating,limiting current he said!

Jafant,I'm right outside of Chicago.Thanks for complements.I really do enjoy audio and have for along time.I just wish I could have learned more sooner,would have saved a lot of money!My Thiels are the best and the worst speakers I ever heard!Every change,good or bad makes a difference!I still have noticed more of a difference changing preamps rather than amps.Im burning in new rocket 44 cables and a big sur off my dac,so I need to leave it alone for awhile.I started thinking about selling xpa 1's to go back to one amp?I didn't get the wow factor going to monos,but my 805's are really happy with them!

As William suggested a few months ago- you guys list the serial numbers for your Thiel speakers.  As above, I would certainly keep those Les Paul Edition 3.7 speakers.  A very rare production model indeed. Beautiful as well.

Happy Listening!

corvette01-

where are you located?  I have enjoyed reading your input on this particular thread! Keep writing and Happy Listening!

The easiest to drive Thiel speaker I've ever used or heard of is the older Thiel 02 speaker (which I still have).  90 db sensitivity, easy impedance load, these things live and breath almost like a high sensitivity speaker, even with lower powered tube amps!  Still sound absolutely gorgeous.

Prof,I had people from NY,Florida,SF,and Canada beg me to ship them.Add said cash and local sale,will not ship.finally someone with real money in Texas wanted me to ship them and I said no!I wanted cash in hand when they left my house!I guess that was too much to ask?If the got damaged,there isn't another pair.Maybe keep both pair,one upstairs and the other pair downstairs?👍

I hear you corvette01.

I had to sell my Harbeth Super HL5 Plus speakers recently, wanted local sale (I'm in Canada) and it was all the local sale people who hummed and hawed.  Ended up selling them to someone in the USA.

Though, literally 1/2 an hour after I secured the deal to ship them to the USA, the local guy got the money to buy them.  Would have been soooo much easier, but I'd already committed to someone else.

I'm going to have to go through this again, probably not that long from now,  when I decide whether to sell my 3.7s or my 2.7s.

I've come to terms with the 3.7's.Garbage in,garbage out.ive realized that not everything will sound good on them!They add nothing to the music.Sometimes there is very little bass,then I change the song and say where did all the bass come from!Its that dramatic.If its there they will play it,if not it won't.

Prof,yes nothing but stories is what I got,wasting my time!I wanted a cash,local sale only and I'm sure that didn't help!Not everybody has 7k for used speakers!Also the finish is not for everybody!Not every wife what's Jimmy Page in the living room!Mine likes the finish and said not to sell them.Listing them for free on usmart was a mistake.I should has listed them here!

corvette01, I was seriously thinking of making an offer on your 3.7s back when I first saw these, but I just couldn't justify the extra money for the Les Paul edition. At the time, I was about to buy a pair of 3.7s in Atlanta (driving distance for me) for a couple of thousand dollars less, but they sold during my indecisiveness. I really want to hear a side-by-side comparison of my 3.6s with the 3.7s in my listening room.

oblgny, I am tempted to give the X250 a try in my setup, but I think that I will keep money on reserve just in case a pair of 3.7s (or possibly 2.7s after reading prof's helpful input) show up on the market. The X250 is 13 years old and amps over 10 years old always concerns me. There are numerous used components that I have bought and sold after a short audition when they didn't meet expectations, only to loose the cost of shipping. That is one of the benefits of buying used, but I sometimes wonder if age related sound degradation is why expectations were not met.

corvette01,

So if I understand correctly you got only really lowball offers?  That seems weird, since as far as I can tell 3.7s have sold fairly well over the last couple of years (and now are all the more rare).  I wonder if people are wary of a custom finish or something?

jonandfamily...

I'm currently using a Simaudio integrated with my 3.6's and find it pretty damn good, 200 watts into their 4ohm load.  I sold off my second X150.5 and a BAT VK3i preamp simply because I grew weary of all the wires and what not. 

I started  out with a First Watt M2(?) ss amp and almost immediately moved to my first X150.5 when I got my first pair of 3.5's. I've had a few AR preamps and they pair exceptionally with Pass and Thiel.  The X250 for sale here is an early model, followed by the 250.5, and the 250.8. From what I've discovered, at least with the 150 series, there is no manufacturer upgrade path from one to the next. Obviously, Pass commands a pretty steep entrance fee - the 250 for sale here is as much as a used X150.5 goes for currently, but with a LOT MORE power on tap. 

Yes, I'd say the Pass 250 is more than well suited to your 3.6's.  

The add was mine!I had a lapse in judgment!At the time I was sick of b.s. offers and was ready to give them away!Im keeping them and would no longer let them go for that! I was ready to back to b&ws,not any more!I haven't ever seen another pair like mine yet!I think someday I'll leave them to my son.

oblgny, I have tried other solid state amps including Krell and Bryston with by Audio Research tube preamps, and ended up selling and going back to AR tube amps, now with a Ref 150. I'm always looking for better. Do you think the X250 would match up with my AR Ref 5E preamp and my 3.6s?

Undoubtedly unsound will offer wise advice/suggestions regarding powering the 3.7's appropriately;  his past advice regarding my former 3.5's was useful and utilized. Toward that end I have to once again offer my opinion on Pass Labs - if the cost is in your wheelhouse.  Right now there's an X250 up for grabs here for $2500 - pretty much the same amount I paid for my two, on separate occasions, X150.5's.  I believe the X250 is 250 into 8ohms, 450-500 into 4ohms. Pass was by far and away the most neutral or colorless amplifier I've owned to date, IMHO a perfect match for Thiel loudspeakers which share the same sonic descriptions - colorless, neutral, accurate.  

Per unsound's spot-on remarks, the 3.5's were/are possibly the easiest Thiel model to drive without stressing the amp, 300 watts into 4 ohms and I never stressed a hair remaining on me head. 

Funny how we evolve our systems around these excellent speakers, ain't it?

I always wondered if those Les Paul 3.7s sold or not.  It can be hard to tell when trying to track sales of speakers.

There was a pair of 3.7s Les Paul Edition speakers on usaudiomart a few months ago for sale for $6800. The ad expired (never said sold). Does anyone know if these ever sold. They were a nice looking pair. I can no longer repond to the seller, since they're expired. If you go to the website and enter 649304777 in the search line, you can see them.