Thiel 2.3--bright or harsh ?

Hello I have experienced the same problem with my Thiel 2.3s and was ready to replace them with ProAc 2.5 which would also look good in our living room. The Thiels have a High WAF. I too am running a Krell, but the KST 100 Power amp which is surely not helping the brightness problem. I went to a VTL 2.5 tube preamp which helped a great deal. Then I switched to MIT MH750 speaker cable, this made them sound very good, not at all harsh. I might at some time try replacing the Krell with a different amp BAT or PASS etc then swap out the cables to which ever gives the best sound. Ever wonder why when you see Thiel 2.3s at a dealer they have them matched with Audio research tube power amps and tube preamps and sometimes MIT? I just heard about the driver replacement and was wondering the cost of the upgrade? But at this point the sound is quite natural yet detailed so I would mose likely hold off on the speaker replacement. The Thiels require careful matching which could be expensive to try to get the sound right butr it can be done.

Gjrad is right. Don't ever expect Thiel speakers to sound lush and romantic. The 2.3 will always be a struggle for you unless you like a clean, slightly "whitened", slightly lean sound - but teaming the 2.3 with Krell is not likely to work well, and will more likely tip, what I have described above, over into brightness. Perhaps a 50W tube integrated, or a change of speakers will be best in the long run. If your budget isn't ready for that for a while then experiment with some MIT cables by all means, but I feel you will have to deal with amp or speakers eventually.

I do agree all the above comments on the Thiel speakers. If you are looking for lush or warmer speakers, then please check with something else. Speakers sould be the center of your systems, but maybe tube pre and power amps could do the job too. Tim

I have Thiel 3.6's - they aren't bright in the least but I've got lots of ss power and warm tube amp (classe ca200 and cj pre). I've also got meridian digital which isn't in your face at all, very unfatiguing. They are the most tonally correct speakers I've ever had in my room, also the most open presentation for a dynamic speaker. The Krell might not be the right match, I've never heard that combo though. Classe is an excellent match, I've heard Aragon is also, a tube preamp IMO is a necessity. Before you spend lots of money on cables I would try to audition a different amp if possible. One thing for sure even on my system a crappy CD sounds like crap! Thiels don't lie! Good luck.

Hi Pops. I have Thiel 3.6 driven by the latest Plinius SA250 in one of my systems and they do sound great (and not at all bright - as you say. But the 2.3 is not in the same ball-park and tonally leaner IMO. I feel the Plinius is better than either the Classe or Aragon, but with the 2.3 I would tend to use a tube power amp.