Thiel Owners

tomthiel -
as always, thoughtful perspectives. On my first listen to a Thiel, I certainly "got it" or was  "it got me"? As luck played its part, I had heard the Vandy 2 series a few times previously. To my ears, any differences between these (2) brands were not subtle. I found my loudspeaker brand on that Spring day. Not only was the weather beautiful there in Baltimore MD so was the aural experience.  Testimony,  is the highest compliment.
Happy Listening!

beetlemania
Thank You for the continued hard work and testimony regarding the XO trials.  Happy Listening!

I don't know if I get the time/phase coherence thing or not.  I don't think I could describe it but maybe it's why I find Thiels so relaxing.  When I changed from B&W to Thiel there were some obvious differences that I could describe but also a sense of being able to sit back and relax without being tempted to lean forward or put other effort into listening that I hadn't experienced before.  Maybe that was me getting it without realizing what was going on.  

Jon - as I've mentioned before, I have made a study of auditory neurology and experimented with who hears what how. I would say that you 'get it' and in a manner that was formative to Thiel taking on the challenge of coherence way back when. We experienced and observed not only your "relaxing", but also emotional, memory and other musical connections in the coherent presentation which were not present in the phase-time-scrambled (normal) presentation. So, as a subject, your experience would have supported our study, even before we knew what we were studying.

One reason "it" is hard to explain is because "it" is not analytical. In fact the analytical brain prides itself at the descrambling task and a different kind of pleasure built around that cognitive success of restructuring a cohesive sound from its parts. I am drifting toward epistemology - how we know what we know - which is via very a broad count of different mechanisms. I say that the phase-time thing connects us to the music in a more direct, primal, whole manner. And you are experiencing that as relaxing. I call it 'coming home'.  

jon_5912
I,too, crossed into the light from a B&W 805 model. Richer textures and timbre caught my earbrain instantly. I saw no need to further research other loudspeaker manufacturers. Oh, Happy Day!