beetlemania
Responses from beetlemania
| What are the best entry level integrated amps and speakers? Is the $1500 for both or each? Years ago I had a NAD receiver and it was excellent at its price but moving up to a used Ayre AX-7, for example, is a *big* jump sonically. I told her if you're willing to get used equipment of high quality you'll ge... | |
| Thiel Customer Service - New ownership is terrible!!! - WHAT HAPPENED TO THIS COMPANY ? At risk of further muddying the waters, this is from Tom Thiel in a PM to me: My preferred solder is 4% silver in 96% tin. Lead is damaging both the our bodies and the sound. | |
| Thiel Customer Service - New ownership is terrible!!! - WHAT HAPPENED TO THIS COMPANY ? I friend with reliable ears told me the voicing on his Avalons changed when he replaced a tweeter. He used his audiophile-preferred leaded solder but the OEM solder was unleaded. Moral of the story is to stay consistent. Tom Thiel informed me that... | |
| Thiel Owners I’ve never heard ATC. Maybe they’re onto something? But I’m skeptical. As Tom Thiel wrote, the steep filter lets you operate a driver in the range of pistonic behavior. This is *highly* desirable (and also requires diaphragm material up to the tas... | |
| Thiel Owners Note that I am aware that some might want to go farther afield with cost no object components and others may balk at the significant cost of my choices. My vision is to find affordable solutions that reach the next performance / cost plateau. I w... | |
| Thiel Owners Actually, yea or nay *might* well work for everybody :)In the case of the CS2.4, Tom Thiel has worked up a one-sided layout for internal installation and a two-sided layout for outboard installation, the latter to save space and enhance the chimne... | |
| Thiel Owners @unsound Glad you find my updates informative. Your CS3.5s must be close to 30 years old - I understand your concern re: cap life. That should further incentivize you to seek Tom Thiel's upgrades as they become available. | |
| Thiel Owners more urgent for older models as their cross-overs are likely to be needed (due to age) Good point! I see that as a secondary benefit. The intention of the upgrades is to notably increase the quality of the passive parts and, thereby, the SQ. As T... | |
| Which 30K Speakers Would You Give Up For Tekton Double Impacts? Guess I need to hear some Tektons if people think they are as good as $30K speakers but it's hard for me to believe a speaker with 20 drivers can produce a coherent sound. I'll look for them next time I'm at RMAF. | |
| Thiel Owners boxes strewn on the floor? Voting options should include "It depends"? :^)No manufacturer can be all things to all people but there could be more DIY options given that these will be "kits". If Mr. Thiel does go outboard it would probably not be t... | |
| Thiel Owners Thanks for posting, Tom!The external XO in an ~8" cube would be unobtrusive to include in a living space. I am even more interested now that I know the dimension. Given that my goal is to optimize the SQ, adding this small cabinet behind the speak... | |
| Who makes the best "Coaxial" Tweeter/Midrange design? Best current production has be TAD or KEF. Thiel was also excellent. No longer in production but Tom Thiel, brother of Jim, is re-engineering the crossovers and these should be available by the end of the year at Coherent Source Service, the survi... | |
| Thiel Owners Those cross-overs do look cool. Put me down for yea. Woo-hoo, let's twist Tom's arm! | |
| Thiel Owners those outboard crossovers are HUGE on the Avalons! Those were arguably the best speaker on the planet when new, certainly on the short list. A three-way with high-order filters takes a lot of parts. For my CS2.4s, I imagine a XO cabinet would b... | |
| Thiel Owners I would be interested in upgrading the newer speaker. Mr. Thiel is targeting the older models first partly because he thinks the X.7s are starting with better technology. Just guessing here but it will probably be late summer or fall before the fi... |