2. speakers
  3. 159184-118174

Looking for new speakers

I'm looking to upgrade my Thiel CS3.6s -- I never thought I'd say this, but I think they are not good enough for the rest of my system. 

Within the last two years, I've upgraded my amplification to a Luxman L-509x integrated amp, and upgraded my turntable to a Luxman 171a. Overall my system sounds pretty good --- MUCH better than before the upgrade. However, there are some recordings on which there is definite distortion, particularly especially well-mastered 45s. For example, Diana Krall's Look of Love has so much distortion it's almost unlistenable. Even in the 33s, I can now hear a low-level distortion.

My theory is that when the Thiels were manufactured, the electronics were not quite as good as they are now, and definitely the recordings were not mastered as expertly, so these weaknesses did not show up. They were great speakers in their day, but, alas, I think maybe that day has passed, at least in my system.

I'm looking for something in the $10K - $15K range. Not sure if there's anything in that range that would be enough of an improvement, but I'd love some suggestions. It's been many years since I've looked at speakers, so I'm not really up on what's available at that price point.
theo714
tomic601's avatar
tomic601
13,089 posts
 
Jim T understand driver breakup had two components, one completely unrelated to drive level, so the drivers you already own are really good :-) 
jackd
1,074 posts
 
As your Luxman integrated has pre outs and main ins I would look at the Vandersteen Quatro CT. Same first order crossover concept as your Thiels with the addition of the built in subwoofers. But first as tomcic said check with the people on the Theil thread and see if yours just need some TLC. 
jond's avatar
jond
5,916 posts
 
If you're having distortion listening to records it's most likely your turntable setup if there a professional near you who can check it out?
twoleftears's avatar
twoleftears
5,320 posts
 
1. ignore first respondee.
2. as others have suggested, address audible distortion issue first.  If the Thiels and everything else are performing to spec, you shouldn't hear this.  Try and isolate it by swopping/swopping over components.
3. There are lots of 10-15K speaker threads on here already.  There's a LOT of product out there.  You can run the gamut from Harbeth to Wilson.  
theo714 OP
11 posts
 
I really don't think there's a problem with the turntable setup -- the dealer set it up in January when I bought it, and I basically have not touched it. The cartridge is a Koetsu black moving coil. It's so new I doubt it needs replacing or tweaking. However I can ask the dealer if he'd be ok with checking out the setup (I am not a person who enjoys fiddling with devices!).

The reason I think it's the speakers, or something beyond the amplifier, is (1) both devices going into the speakers are almost new and of excellent quality and (2) the distortion increases with the excellence of the recording, i.e., Analogue Productions 45s or the like. You can just hear that there's MUCH more information coming through. You can hear that it would sound absolutely fantastic if that information could come through distortion-free. And something can't handle it. Now, there's the possibility that it's the speaker cable, which is the only thing remaining from my ancient old system (the CS3.6s, purchased from eBay, were an upgrade from Thiel 2.2s purchased in 1992!). I plan to try new speaker cables first, but I seriously doubt that's the problem.

I'll see what information I can find out about having the Thiels checked out, and I'll take a look at some of the speaker threads on this site. Thanks for your input!

More to discover