Hello fellow Thiel owners & fans!
Just wanted to update you on the repair of my 3.5's Electronic Bass EQ at Coherent Source Services.
As you may remember, I began to get some intermittent "crackling" coming out of my system right around late January. I tracked it down to the Bass EQ. Contacted Rob at Coherent Source and he informed me about excess voltage accumulating in the output circuit of the unit, which causes the crackling. Sent it to him, he cleared the pots and repaired the output circuit to eliminate the excess voltage problem from ever happening again.
Without it in my system, it was clear that my 3.5's just wouldn't go as low as I was used to. Putting it back into my system, the repaired unit was not only noticeably more quiet, but had more "impact" and "slam" than before! The bass is definitely fuller, but the speed and definition has improved markedly...couldn't be a better way to spend $165 to get this improvement in sound!
Turnaround time was about 3 weeks, which I didn't mind since I travel for work during the week. I also looked at it as he was pretty busy, which is good because I'd love Rob to succeed. His communication with me, as with other Thiel owners, has been excellent! He even sent me a follow-up email with the following advice:
"The EQ is especially attractive sonically when
the switch is in the 20 Hz position. In order for there speakers to last a long
time, be sure to switch to 40 Hz position on the EQ when listening loudly.
Because the speakers are a first-order crossover, it is not advisable to play
them loudly when in the 20 Hz position, as the midrange drivers are also wide
bandwidth and this will shorten the life of the mids by sending the 20Hz
signal through them while listening loudly. The CS3.5’s are truly great, and I
hope you enjoy them for many years. Thank you for your business, and ownership
of the CS3.5’s. Your EQ is shipping today via UPS ground. Tracking number is XXXXXXXXX. Happy listening!"
Anyway, like I said, the improvement in sound with the repaired EQ unit is truly remarkable. If your EQ module has a serial number below 3770, consider having Rob service the unit as it does contain the output circuit where excess voltage builds up. You may be surprised at how much sound you've been missing!
Hope you're enjoying the music...
Arvin
