Thiel Owners

Hello everyone...Happy Holidays!

I have been enjoying a vintage pair of Thiel CS 3.5's for well over 2 months now and can honestly say that I am absolutely thrilled with them. Their ability to play so cleanly with that incredibly wide and open soundstage never fails to amaze me as I re-discover my music collection. They truly are full-range...the bass is deep, clean, precise and authoritative. The other thing I've found is that as difficult as they are supposed to be to drive, my Denon PMA-2000 IVR (160 watts @ 4 ohms) integrated seems to be getting on quite well with them. I am using the tape loop in my integrated to play through the Bass Module. The Thiels do like to be driven, though...they really open up and "clear their throats" as I turn up the wick. Truly stunning performers!!!

If I were to have one issue, it's that the Thiels expose poorly recorded material in a ruthless, almost non-correctable fashion. For instance, I have many CD's from the early days of the format that now have a harsh, irritatingly "bright" sound to them. What's even worse are digital files. I've been re-ripping my CD collection to loss-less FLAC, but any "lossy" files really are exposed in ways I never noticed as much before. Of course, Hi-Res files, DSD and MQA Master files from Tidal are played beautifully!

My current set-up is decidedly "Mid-Fi", but has everything I need to get very good sound:

- Denon PMA 2000IVR Integrated Amplifier
- Denon DVD-2900 CD/DVD-Audio/SACD Player
- Denon DJ VL12 Prime Direct-Drive Turntable with Shure M97xE (MC) & Denon 103R (MM) cartridges
- Thiel CS-3.5 w/Thiel Bass Module
- Toshiba Satellite laptop w/Meridian Explorer 2 USB DAC (MQA capable)
- Roon and Tidal digital-file playback/streaming applications
- AudioQuest Golden Gate interconnects
- Gotham SPK-8 speaker cables with Eminence E400 banana plugs
- Pangea Audio AC-9 (amplification) & AC-14 (sources) power cables
- Tripp Lite LCR2400 Line Conditioner

My current plan is to move towards separates. While I truly enjoy my integrated, I have an inkling that something like vintage Adcom, Threshold or Krell amplification will open-up the Thiels even more. What I do wonder is if what I really need to tame the harshness I get from some music is tubes...maybe something vintage from Conrad Johnson or Audio Research will work? 

I've posted several photos of my Thiels and little listening area here:  

www.usaudiomart.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1340

Thanks for any feedback or suggestions!

Arvin

Welcome! arvincastro

there are many experts here on the CS 3.5 loudspeaker.
I look forward in reading more about your system and upgrade path from integrated to separates.
Happy New Year!

arvincastro...

I am also a BIG fan of the 3.5's.

As to your comments regarding how these speakers reveal flaws up and down the chain,  particularly with digital formats,  I can only state that the existing issue is not the speakers.

So far as tossing "vintage" separates at them to improve everything,  I have had a Threshold 400A amp mated to a BAT tubed preamp and the results were very good.  (I've tossed a pretty good amount of stuff at my Thiels,  in fact.)  My favorites?  For amplification,  hands down Pass Labs.  (X150.5 model) For pre-amps?  I really believe that Audio Research and Thiel are great matches.  I like having tubes in my preamps for Thiel.  ARC just has this "punchiness" that I like.  LS3 and LS3b (tubed) models can be found on here at VERY fair prices.  And they can still be repaired if an issue ever arises.

I actually sold my Threshold fairly cheap because the meter lights weren't working - or so I thought.  Turns out I wasn't throwing enough power to the speakers.  (3.5's)  As unsound,  another member here and a wealth of things regarding Thiel overall related once,  the 3.5's are one of the easiest models to drive.  For the record,  I always left the bass equalizer in operation.  A few members have offered that they sound better without it,  but I disagree.  The speakers were designed to have it in use,  so who am I to argue with Jim Thiel's design?

Pass Labs,  even pre-owned,  can be expensive.  I've had two X150.5 amps,  paying a little more the second time around than the first,  approximately $2500.  A bargain,  given how well Pass mates with Thiel.  It just DOES for me.  I have since moved back to a BAT integrated with identical power ratings to the Pass Labs,  and it's working out fine.  Pass Labs integrated are difficult to find on the pre-owned market.  The INT150 has been discontinued but appears once in a while on the Renohifi site - a retailer I can highly recommend.  Mark is a gent and a good businessman.

I am currently selling my 3.6's because I miss the 3.5's so much.  I am hoping to find a local pair of 3.5,  or perhaps even a pair Maggie 1.7's.  I have a soft spot in my heart/head for both these brands and what they do so damn well.  

I forget to whom I offered the guts of the last pair of 3.5's I purchased here.  The cabinets were pretty rough and both midranges were inoperable,  so I gutted them and keep the raw drivers,  crossovers,  bass eq,  and grill hardware.  The midranges LOOK fine,  but they're dead - still repairable at around $300 apiece.  The woofers and tweeters are in fine condition, 100% operational.  Sequential serial numbers were on the cabinets as well.

Anyone willing to pick them up is welcome to them free of charge.

Good to see you- William,

I knew that you would chime in here to assist Arvin.
Happy Listening!

Thanks for the welcome, jafant...and Happy New Year to you & yours as well!

oblgny:  Thanks for your very detailed post...a lot of information I plan on putting to good use!  You've pretty much confirmed what I was suspecting...that the Thiels are simply reproducing what's been recorded.  

As a child of the 80's, I grew up in the world of Japanese "mid-fi". And while I have always been one who lives by "It's about listening to music", I cannot help but now feel that what I'm really needing to do is move into the realm of Hi-Fi.  The Thiels represent the first truly Hi-Fi piece of equipment I have owned & I can now understand why component matching becomes so critical as one "moves up the ladder."

It's a journey I will be excited to make...

Arvin