Thiel Owners

I was always a Thiel fan until I tried to get help with a problem. I emailed them 20 or so times and never heard back. Now I have a piece that sits in a closet with equally dead AV receivers. 

Can we get more of your story- danvignau ?

If you own an older Thiel product (legacy) then Rob Gillum in Kentucky is your guy to contact.

Happy Listening!

As we enter August and move towards the end of Summer, hope you guys are having a music-filled Thiel weekend.

I've been following the new Thiel store on eBay for sh*ts and giggles and their most current offerings indicate the smarmy direction the new ownership has taken. 

The description on the new model is utterly void of any technical information, offering only bad marketing copy that resonates best in mass market publications or cheesey websites.  

*Sigh*

Can we get together a crowd-funded takeover attempt and preserve the legacy?  All Thiel owners MUST crank it up this weekend!

Theil is over, they tossed out the lady who ran it with Jim and now it's just sad...

Yes, Thiel is indeed gone - surprised they even kept the name.

It's times like these, when you need to revisit Louis Rossman's rant on YouTube for some giggles. 

https://youtu.be/SkR5lAl22kk

The bug strikes again, opportunity knocks?

There's a very nice looking pair of CS2.4's up for sale here by a good retail shop for $1995.  It's within striking distance of my home. Well, 70 miles or so...

Quiry:. Do I move up from my CS3.5's or...?

As a previous Thiel CS 2 2 owner and still a fan to this day, I agree with Jafant.  Good luck!

Oblgny, the 2.4's will be smoother, more refined in the upper midrange/treble, the 3.5's are more coherent throughout, have deeper bass and is much easier to drive.
http://www.stereophile.com/content/thiel-cs24-loudspeaker-measurements#koJxkckLClGEdits.97
Many, if not most would choose the 2.4's, I much prefer the sealed box 3.5's.

Thanks! for sharing- unsound.

I was waiting to hear what unsound would say...  

For me, going from the CS2 to the CS2.4 was a no-brainer. There was enough bass extension and tightness to make the jump. 

The 3.5 (or 3.6) is tricker because of their aforementioned attributes.  I'm not convinced I'd hear the difference at the top end, so it'd come down to the aesthetics of the slimmer design, smaller footprint, and refined craftsmanship.  

Oh, and having the cable connections at the back, instead of the bottom!

^I prefer the bottom mounted cable terminals:-).

Thanks! for sharing- saffron_boots

yes, going from the CS2 to a CS 2.4 is quite a jump in quality from the top octave to bottom octave.  Happy Listening!

I can see both pro & con to bottom-mounted speaker terminals.

Finally, after three changes of management at Thiel since Jim and Kathy, a review in this month’s Stereophile of Thiel’s new $7K TT1 flagship. Higher order crossovers, Chinese cabinet, Norwegian or Danish drivers. The design has no apparent connection to the legacy models save the nameplate.

^ 

yes it it is a sad state. 

dgarretson-

whom owns the Thiel name now? Is the operation still based in Nashville TN ?

We know that for the legacy models, there is still a function in Kentucky.

Another thought;
do we want any other entity carrying on Jim/Kathy designs ?
I do not, as it would never be the same.

Owned Theil 3.5s; never liked bass booster/ equalizer. Definitely more transparent w/o it. Straight ahead, 8-11' away, 200-300watts SS and they will sing! Kathy wrote me that warranty was at its end as she sent last midrange driver. Sold them; Went through ProAc, Wilson then ended with Avalon

Sounds like an interesting journey- nkonor.

Does anybody know what the theoretical frequency range capability is of the 3.7's coax?  Rob G. told me 3k, but I think he misunderstood my query, and just gave me the mechanical crossover point. i.e how low can it actually go?

Final note why I was sad to part w/ 3.5s.Had midrange " to die for "

Thank You- dgarretson for the info. Yes, that is quite a few hands that have changed in a short period of time. Happy Listening!

I did not know about the changing of guards from John Wittman to
Thomas Malatesta though.

saffron_boots

I want to say that Stereophile reviewed and measured the CS 3.7 loudspeaker. I will try to decipher the exact issue #

Tomic601,,,,I would advise to be careful of the tilt.  Floors are generally not level, and the difference accurate alignment is ...especially on phase correct speakers... is very noticeable.  Get a laser pen, put it on top of the left speaker, move it left/right to shine on the opposite wall.  Put a post-it on that wall, mark an X where the laser is.....do the other side and raise/lower one speaker to match the X on the wall. 

jafant,

i know that Thiel crossed it over at 300 Hz and sloped it off accordingly to around 70 Hz. But i was really wondering about the physical capability of the driver.  i.e. If you were to create a mini monitor with it, alone, what could be the usable response as a "full range" driver?  

Interesting query- saffron_boots

I do not have an answer. Have you tried a google search?

The seller of the 2.4's I'm thinking about is going to allow an audition which I will probably be able to schedule this Friday. This will be the very first time I've been able to hear a Thiel before I buy!

The 3.5's are extremely difficult to best - I love 'em.  Then there's this Coda amp on here...

Laughing...
decisions, decisions oblgny.  I for one, am very interested in your upcoming demo of the CS 2.4 speakers. Specifically, I am curious to read about your session and impression(s) compared to the 3.5s that you already own.

Take your fave tracks or LP/CD/SACD for  your demo. Pieces of music that you are intimately familiar, know upside and downside, to ease your experience. 

Keep me posted and Happy Listening!

I wanted to take a moment and thank all of you guys on a thread, dedicated to Thiel Loudspeakers, well done!  Old or new, these are phenomenal speakers at any cost. I have learned much here and the enthusiasm keeps growing- Happy Listening!

Quite easy, Jafant

"Cyril Davies" - Ginger Baker, off of "Why?

S'all I need for any speaker. 

Oblgny, I'm confident that you would find that Coda amp very satisfactory with either Thiel.

I look forward to your review -oblgny

unsound-

can you suggest a Coda dealer/retailer? I had read that these guys started up from Pass Labs/Threshold background.

^I can't help you with that.
 Yes, some of the Coda guys came from Threshold, and the some of the similarities are quite obvious.

I was tortured by NY/NJ traffic to get to the place where the speakers were, but that's typical. 

Physically speaking they were as expected for their age with no deal-killer imperfections to be concerned about. We listened through an amp with a similar power rating to my current one, 300 watts per channel.  

The biggest difference I found was in the mids and highs which were different, not necessarily better nor inferior to my 3.5's.  No mistaking they were Thiel; if my 3.5's were ailing or unrepairable I would have scoffed them up immediately. I could not justify replacing my 3.5's for what I can at best describe as a nuanced or subtle improvement. The bass was equally good, albeit not as deep as my 3.5's - that would not have factored in whatsoever given the aforementioned scenario. They were beautiful sonically. 

I cannot help but feel a little bummed by the fact that Thiel is no longer what it was as I write this. Knowing there is a "guy" with his name on the equipment is a reassuring aspect of owning good stuff. Thiel is great stuff

Thanks! for sharing- oblgny

can you describe the system, including cabling, in which your demo was conducted?  Happy Listening!

How long did you demo? Did you use CD/LP/SACD?

Jafant...
I'd say 30-45 minutes overall. I believe the cabling was Cardas.  I brought along my Astell & Kern AK100 portable player simply because it sounds excellent. 
Being so familiar and impressed by Thiel in general simply didn't warrant the expenditure at this point in time. There is no need for me to replace my 3.5's just because an opportunity to "move up" was geographically desirable. They are so damn good I'll require a true "wow" moment to pry them away from me. 

I've learned from past audio experience that I'm more curious than sensible sometimes, a trait that has me regretting letting go of my Pass X150.5 amp for...I forget what!  Aaaargh!  

I will however continue to explore more Thiel as opportunity and disposable income make possible; I'm hooked. For now my 3.5's will carry on. Extraordinarily difficult speakers to beat. 

^IME, moving from a 3 series to a 2 series is not "...moving up...".

Much Thanks! guys-

oblgny, how long have you owned the 3.5 speakers? Did you buy them new? What years were this model produced?

No doubt that any Pass Labs amp would satisfy these speakers from a power and current perspective. I am torn between separates and their integrated models...?

^Some of the Pass Aleph series amps might not be suitable.

unsound-

I was referring to the newer models like the .5 or .8 amps.
I like both the x-10 or x-20 pre-amps as well.