Thiel Owners

The Wilson approach has certainly won the day
 

Could be argued their success is partly an artifact of their pricing. Here is Charles Hansen’s take on Fremer (and most of the audio press, by extension; from an audioasylum post):

a) The more expensive the product, the better it must be. 
b) Wilson loudspeakers are the best on the planet, presumably because they play really loud, have super spectacular bass thump created by the +10dB bump they all exhibit at 70Hz, and are ungodly expensive (see (a) above). 
 

@tomthiel thanks to you and Jim for bringing a superb level of performance at price points that most can afford!

Again, Charles Hansen from an audioasylum post:

The high-end wouldn't be where it is today without the contributions of Jim Thiel and Richard Vandersteen.

Charlie had it right. he used Vandy model 7 to wring out his designs and RV in turn ran MXR for years while developing his M7 amplifier… of course as a 7 and 7 owner, I am biased…

I share your bias @tomic601 

If I win the lottery, probably go straight to Vandy 7 and MX-Rs. Until then, very happy with my modded 2.4s and AX-5. IME, gotta spend a lot of money to shore up the few weaknesses of my system. In fact, the most cost effective fix would be to add Vandy Sub 3s which would shore up bass extension and definition. But not motivated to add two more large boxes to my living room.

@goldbehen - I’ll go so you don’t get left in the dust. It can pile up quickly here.

The 3.5s, like all Thiel speakers are designed to be wide-dispersion transducers. So their off-axis environment is more critical than many other designs. They should be well away from boundaries, particulars depending on your room size, proportions, materials, etc. If you don’t have the setup manual, it may be online, or specific questions can be addressed here. In general try for at least 2’, preferably 3-4’ from tweeter plate to wall behind and at least 3’, preferably more to side wall with those two dimensions being different from each other.

I am only guessing about your ’wall cavities’, but any hard edges near the speaker will add diffraction distortion. A niche behind the speaker may provide an opportunity for absorption or diffraction treatment to help reduce diffraction.

If you mate with a subwoofer, try using the 40Hz EQ setting as your crosspoint.

Good luck and keep up posted.

TT

@beetlemania For sure ! Dont sell the amazing VX-R amplifier short. Mine was excellent, especially w Twenty modifications. I recently added a Sub3 with Kento grade teflon caps with DBS high pass filters to my Treo system. The high pass does amazing things for midrange clarity…more Thielists would imo greatly benefit from this approach and the filters are adjustable w built in DIP switches to hit < 80 hz if desired.

another tip for others building or modifying crossovers, log cap leads and no conformal coating and or damping = ring…ring…ring… which some ( many ? ) confuse with air or extension…

Wonder coat if available is a place to start…

best to all

Jim