Thiel Owners

I had a pair of 3.5 (or 6)...anyway, my wife passed and I needed a present so I replaced them.....but I really thought they were wonderful.

should have checked before my last post.
they have:

CS 2

CS 3

CS 3.5

used gear shop u district Seattle almost always has a pair or three at fair prices..

Hard to go wrong with used thiel these days.  Especially with the right amplification.  I may pick up a pair a t some point as well 

Listening to my pair of Thiel CS2.4s connected by Audience AU24SE to the 4ohm tap of my phi upgraded VAC PA100/100.  

Btw, great thread. 

Gentlemen, I agree,  the Thiel's are an incredible value on the used market,  great speaker's in general, ahead of their time really. 

^The CS 5's are wonderful, but besides the need for an appropriate room, they really need a large amplifier budget.

Unsound...
Thanks for the information,  I was not aware of that.  The only thing that would make me move these into storage would be moving up the food chain.  I've been watching a pair of CS5's....but they're too large for my current domicile.  *sigh*

Do Model 02 count ?
IMO Jim and Richard Vandersteen are on the short list of engineer / designers / music lovers who get it..RIP Jim

We moved a bit of Jims stuff with Audionics CC2 amps....back in the day..

Hi jafant,  I'm working my way this year to a new front end and speaker's,  an endeavor I dread! , likely,  build my own speaker's to compete with stupid money speaker's,  you know,  they have state of the art machine shop's here in mobile,  al,,, thinking cabinets like magico! 

oblgny, the older Thiels such as your 3.5's (I'm a big fan) were much more accommodating to tube amps  with very steady impedances that didn't drop below the 4 Ohms. Thiels such as the CS 5's, and later ones with concentric drivers presented a very different load to amplifiers.

oblgny-

Yes, Pass Labs is a terrific sonic match indeed. I want to demo their integrated amps for sure.  This is the 2nd or 3rd time that I have read about Transparent cabling being use w/ Thiel. Also, good to learn that Transparent matches Pass Labs.

Keep me posted & Happy Listening!

lp2cd-

Many Thanks! for sharing your listening experience. This is the 1st time that I have read about Classe' being used w/ Thiel. Very nice intel indeed!

Keep me posted & Happy Listening!

jafant...
I've driven my Thiels (2.2,  3.1,  and currently 3.5's) with both tube and solid state amplifiers and have found that they are excellent with either.  The one complaint I have with these "vintage" (minty!,  in eBay parlance) designs is the speaker cabling,  specifically where Thiel located the binding posts themselves.  On the bottom!

This rules out using the "garden hose" variety of speaker cables since keeping them off of the floor proved to be problematic.  I've used Goertz Alpha Core,  Transparent Music Waves,  and now I have AntiCables level 3 - which I've long been a fan of.  That aside,  very few loudspeakers have impressed me as much as Thiels do.  My 3.5's are full range,  20hz - 20khz,  and I've never used a subwoofer.  They still continue to deliver outstanding sonics.

I think my favorite match up with mine was a Pass Labs X150.5,  150 watts into 8,  300 watts into 4 ohms which the Thiels are.  My listening level is very conservative,  and I've had fun listening with a McIntosh MC275 Mark VI tube amplifier,  75 watts per channel into virtually any load.  Also a Rogue Audio Cronus Magnum integrated,  100 watts per channel.  In retrospect I think I have to give the nod to the Pass Labs.  Having all that extra headroom made me believe I was treating them right even if my listening level wouldn't stress a modest amp.

I've just purchased a Peachtree Audio 220SE integrated which will out put 350 watts into 4 ohms for the heck of it.  (Pretty good deal direct from them.)  I'm also looking at an Audio Research 300.2 amplifier - which is class T,  capable of 500 watts per channel into 4 ohms.  

One thing I will never do is part with my 3.5's again.  The first pair I owned I gave to my nephew when I purchased a pair of Counterpoint Clearfield Metropolitans,  an Alfred Von Schwiekert design.  They were physically HUGE speakers.  A few months ago I found another pair of the 3.5's right here not he gone and bought them without contacting the seller first.  Regardless of price Thiels are some of the best loudspeakers out there.  I love 'em.  Good luck with yours!

^classe and Thiel classic for sure.  Congrats on knowing what you like and liking what you know!!!  Rare amongst audiophiles.  

How about Thiel 2 2s (no decimal point)? Mine are 20(!) years old now, and whenever I hear another pair of speakers that sound really good, I go back and listen to the 2 2s, and realize that, nah, it really doesn't get much better than this, at least not for any rational amount of money. I drive them with a Classé CA-200 amp connected with Kimber 8PR cables. The system also includes a Mirage BPSS-210 sub, and its active tune-able crossover crossed @ 60 Hz, which isn't loud but is undistorted and remarkably flat and enables the system to go cleanly well below 20 Hz. State of the art at the time, and still darn good! Not so good with most turntables, however. Infrasonic TT rumble can make the sub nuts to the point I have to take it out of the system.

I haven't spent much time auditioning the newer Thiels since I bought the 2 2s, but at the time it was certainly the case that Thiel speakers in general, being rather inefficient and often a bit challenging to drive, were decidedly best with solid-state amplification. Pairing them with a Classé amp was, and likely still is, a match made in audio heaven.

Thank You! dgarretson for the "special sauce" of this SE loudspeaker.

Do you own Thiel speakers? Have you DIY'ed the ESA product(s)?
Or know someone whom has performed this mod?

Keep me posted & Happy Listening!

Much Thanks! guys-

everyone has been very helpful. Yes, I will welcome any comments, thoughts or impressions on Thiel and the gear that makes them great!

Pops, you nailed it on timbre' and tone- this is the upper hand of these speakers, IMO.

Congratulations jafant, you finally getting a system together, I like to come listen to your system when you get done building it, cheers. 

Unsound you are correct and good call out!  Straightwire Maestro II is the most consistent match that I go back to alot - it is also my base to compare other cables.  It does everything I like.  I owned SW Virtuoso for a while but it was a little grainy compared to Maestro.

I also like and own Goertz M-2's, need new zobel networks, mine are broken.  I tried the M-3's but the larger AWG seemed to make them more on the bright side.

Cabling is apparently my thing also - I have tried maybe 20+ pairs of speaker cables and almost as many IC's, all different price points.  You know because you know Thiel, they have a very revealing, slightly lean, but extremely coherent sound.  If mated right I have never heard a speaker with better timbre and tone to my ears.  I do think lean is a slightly unfair description.  They have such a clean midrange it can accentuated with cables or equipment with the same qualities.  That IMO is why they can sound lean.  

I am am currently using Kubala Sosna Fascination IC's (musical but clean), KS power cords which add clarity and no bloat, and Stereolab Diablo SC (small copper AWG, revealing yet musical - don't know how he achieved that, and very fast similar to Nordost.  This is the best combo I have used.  Although cables addicts like us can never say I am done haha...

3rd note;

how do I clean/maintain the Vermillion maple finish on my speakers?

Second note;
I am interested in the newest Mark Levinson integrated amp No. 585 as well.
Anyone own or demo?

Keep me posted & Happy Listening!

Much Thanks! guys-

I first auditioned the 2.4SE (2) years ago in NC and was hooked.
At that time the dealer/retailer- Audio Video Excellance in Raleigh
used Anthem, Cary and Audioquest gear.

(3) years ago i got my 1st taste of the CS 2.4 w/ Creek , NAD and Audioquest gear. I was hooked then as well.  I feel the "SE" is a little sweeter to my ears.  Of recent I have read about Conrad Johnson and Pass Labs being a sonic match. I am interested in both companies and each makes a new integrated amp. As we all know their separates are superb.  Above all, cabling is my "thing". It is going to be a fun ride!

Congratulations,  have never heard the 2 series but have always been curious.  I own CS6 and 3.6 and actually prefer the latter.   It will be interesting to see what electronics and cables you choose.  Be sure to feed them properly and you will be rewarded!

Enjoy! I love the demo 2.7's I picked up a couple year's ago. I run them with an integrated Wyred4Sound, Wyred DAC and Auralic streamer. I think I'll stay with that arrangement for a long while unless I could ever be convinced tubes would be better for the Thiels. Every move I made to get to this system was a noticeable improvement.

Congrats, I may have been looking at those very same Thiels myself.....Texas?  I went with Proac instead.  I do think about my old Thiels often though.  If I get a larger room someday, I'll probably look for a pair of 2.4se or 2.7.  Enjoy and keep us posted.

Nice , Same boat here . Picked up a pair of cs7's and cs2's on Craigs last week. Still working out the kinks though . What gear are you liking with them ?