Thiel Owners
@jafant In response to your question about my systems... System 1 (main system, with the 2.3s) - this is a combined home theater / 2 channel system. Focus is more on vinyl, but I also stream here and spin a silver disc occassionally. System 2 (computer room) - this is where I spend time in the morning, drinking coffee, catching up on emails and other stuff. It's a near field system. I primarily play grade records here and catch up on new music releases on Qobuz. System 3 (home office) - 95 percent of my listening here is to FM radio while I work (news and jazz). It also has a turntable and a DAC connected to my laptop but these rarely get used. System 4 (bedroom) - mostly streaming, also listen to headphones. This is also a combined home theater two channel system. |
prof circling back around to your query;Yes, I have been playing around with low-tier Cabling that I borrow from a friend. All gear and speakers are dialed-in, into my room, as such.In between time away from work, I am in the process of auditioning Reference level cables/cords. Still, have not settled on a definitive brand at this time. Too many Cables/cords, so little time. It feels good to have the gear portion completed. And yes, the presentation and sound are fully satisfying. Reference cabling will elevate to the next Aural level. I seek out every nuanced detail in the Music. A perfect balance of clinical and musical. It can become accomplished. Happy Listening! |
@sdecker thank you for the suggestions and information. I'm still forming impressions about the 2.3s. The Ref 1s are imaging and soundstage champs and a little warmer. The 2.3s also excel in both areas. The Thiels win on scale. Even with 4 subwoofers, the KEFs can't do that as well. I have some room constraints in terms of setup. I can't move the speakers very far into the room and I think the sealed design of the 2.3s is a plus vs. the rear ported KEFs. |
Thanks. I'm sure I'll love it. I have the opportunity to get a couple of the other top DAC's that I've been thinking about. I need to get the Brinkmann in. If I have a shot at getting the Rockna Wavedream in, I will audition it based on what I've been told by a few friends I trust who have heard it. The price would need to be special as I can't afford to lose money when selling gear. |
@big_greg Interested to read your adding CS2.3 to your KEF Reference 1. I recently added KEF LS50 Metas to my CS2.3 and CS2.4. Both of us are new to our new brand it seems, and we both have ’enough’ watts for all speakers. While the Reference 1s are 5x the price of my LS50s, it seems there’s enough to warrant comparing to the 2.3s. One could argue the 2.3s are a floor-standing Ref1 with aluminum coax mid/tweet in a waveguide (tho the uni-q far more technically advanced) and vented aluminum woofer, and their (projected) current pricing probably similar to each other, though of course the Thiel time/phase coherence is the biggest design difference. I’d be curious how your listening impressions develop, and surprised if you find the 2.3s overall so much the better speaker to the point of selling the Reference 1s! Certainly elements where the Thiels will have an ’edge’, especially once you grock the benefits of full coherence. I’d add that the 2.3s aren’t particularly bright in the sense of a rising treble/tweeter output, but have an upper midrange that is (to exaggerate for clarity) too forward, unrefined, unruly, and tough to tame, the ’edge’ you describe, so aiming them straight ahead is best, away from walls. This doesn’t really show up on various frequency response plots, but is the biggest difference to the 2.4s, where that trait is completely tamed. The 2.3s image better than the 2.4s and I wonder if you find them better than your KEFs in this respect. (I find my LS50 Metas ability to throw a soundstage into the entire room much better than my 2.4s) I’d say the key 2.3 setup parameter is their distance apart from each other versus their (minimum 8’) distance to the listener. I find my KEFs sound best in the the exact position I’ve set up my 2.4s for the long-term. Also tweaking the distance to the back wall for some bass reinforcement as needed. Have fun! |
The only reason I liked the Vandersteen's over the Thiel's years ago was because the Thiels were a spec bright. Nothing I couldn't live with and have fun with, but just a bit more than the Steen's. I ended up with Proacs for their imaging etc..., but the local Thiel dealer in Newington, CT (The Audio Store) is a great little shop. The owner, Bernie, owns and LOVES them. With the right source and electronics, they just sing as a good phase and time correct speaker will do. Many don't hear the time and phase deal, but if you are sensitive to it, then you have to have a speaker that does it right. VERY few choices back in the day as well as now. |
I just added a pair of CS 2.3 speakers to my collection and was pleasantly surprised. I've read that they need tons of power, but they seem to do fine with my Herron M1 150 wpc monoblocks. I've been in love with my KEF Reference 1 speakers since I got them, but the Thiels do some things better. The Thiels have great imaging, soundstage, scale, and detail and a great midrange. I'm not ready to sell the KEFs yet, but the Thiels seem like they are going to give them a run for their money. I have read numerous comments about them being "bright", which I am averse to, but I would not call them that. They do have a little "edge" when pushed to very loud listening levels, but many speakers do and that's not how I listen. I usually keep it around 65-75 db and they are fantastic in that range. These are all first impressions with only a couple of hours of listening and no experimentation with setup. I set them up with almost no toe-in on the advice of the previous owner and that seemed to work great, but I plan to experiment. |
Ok, update. I found a demo Brinkmann that is totally up to date. From a dealer who just brought in Playback Design's Dream DAC (wish I could afford this one). I have two 'dream' DAC's other than Brinkmann. Had to do the play on words. I want to audition the Rockna Wavedream and the PD"s Dream DAC's to see if they will be better than the Brinkmann. If so, I'll just sell Brinkmann for what I paid and get the one I want (if I can find either at used cost in the future). I can't wait to get the Brinkmann in. As for streamers, the soon to be released The memory Player by Laufer will be a killer. I currently own their most up to date streamer/server and it's amazing. It's close to the Taiko and once their new design and top end case is released, it will be a more real player vs Taiko and other top end servers. I'm lucky to own the one I own. |
Hello fellows Thiel lover, even if still perfectly sounding, I would improve the tweeter section in the crossover of my 3.6s, specifically I thought to start with the three resistors of 20, 6.5 and 3 Ohm, all ten watt. My choice is for Mills MRA12, ( that are non inductive type), but only because I have read of their satisfactory performance from other DIYer that made this upgrade over different loudspeakers brand. What do you think about my idea, any further and or better suggestions on this matter? Thank you in advance for your contribution. |
Doing awesome my friend. Yes, Johnny can be trusted. He down sells more than anyone I know. He always tries to get folks into things under their budget, which isn't always the best, but I fully get it. I'm in the market for a DAC and am looking at the Brinkmann Nyquist mk 2, DCS Bartok, MSB Discrete with extra built in power supply and ProUSB dongle, Bricasti M1SE and the Meitner MA3. Some used, some new. Haven't heard the DCS or Brinkmann in years. Going to hear the Bricasti and Meitner next week locally. Never heard the MSB, but loved the MSB Select I believe it was a few years ago when it came out. Dont' want to make a mistake here, lol... |
In case anyone is interested, TMR has listed a morado pair of CS 3.6 for $1399 + $399 for shipping to contiguous US. Condition listed as 8 out of 10.
Serial Number: 3961, 3962
https://tmraudio.com/speakers/floorstanding-speakers/thiel-cs-3-6-floorstanding-speakers-morado-pair... |
Hi Guys. I claim no knowledge of silver interconnects, but would like to pass on some relevant Thiel experience. During the development of the 3.7, Jim and company compared all the potential wires and configurations for internal hookup. They settled on solid copper in twisted pairs as sounding better than silver plated. Relatedly, in developing the in-house drivers, silver plated voice coils lost out to solid copper in the lower ranges and copper plated aluminum in the tweeters. ScanSpeak tells me that conclusion is widespread. The Goertz flat wire that Jim settled on for speaker cables was copper. Knowing that silver is a better conductor, any comment I might have would be conjecture. We must also remember that Jim was extremely value oriented, so the high price of silver would have weighed heavily in his value equation. |
Sorry about coming in from left field; back on July 23, I wrote: Stager Silver Solids. Quote from Marc Stager:Anyway, for me, in my system, the honeymoon is over with Stager silver solids. My wife is out of town, so without adult supervision, I reinserted my old Synergistic Research Alpha Sterling interconnects and I am glad I did. Better bass and more texture throughout the audio range with the Alpha Sterlings. I guess I mistook the treble edge of the silver as providing more resolution. Not true. Anyway, still want to try more interconnects. Anybody out there who has can suggest a step forward from Alpha Sterlings? Trying to mate with PS PMT, Mystique DAC, CJ 17LS2 , DNA-500, and Thiel CS5i's. Thanks for listening, Dsper |
