Thiel Owners

after 35 years of having Thiel,  I agree with Tom that the best sound is pretty much straight ahead,  or maybe a tiny bit of toe in.   i have my 3.7's set up with a distance of  9'  between the coaxes and 8' from my ears to the coaxes.   i got a lot of good info from MapleShade plus i really like their Sampson rack and brass feet.  http://www.mapleshadestore.com/freeupgrades.php

Bluetone - I would like to add some perspective for  your 3.5s.
As Ketchup alludes, the design is dated in the sense that each product builds on and improves the groundwork laid be its predecessor. Add the problems of replacement drivers, and there is a pretty big pickle. For this conversation I am going to assume that the 3.5s are your speakers which you would like to keep.

One of these days I will get access to a 3.5 midrange or two, perhaps I  might borrow Oblgny's or similar to take measurements. Perhaps Thielrules and I with guidance from this community can zoom in on a best replacement. Rob needs one for just such circumstances. Perhaps between our resident DIYs and myself, we can tweak the XO well enough. If such a team were working on the problem, I suspect we could find a solution better than abandoning your 3.5s. There are probably still over 3000 pair out there which could benefit.

I also want to address Ketchup's assessment of "shouty and harsh". My experience with 3.5s in scores of rooms and shows and studios is that those adjectives do not apply when the system is right. Large excursions of the midrange do come with the first order territory; indeed Thiel midranges have always carried that load - still do in all models. Indeed they eventually fatigue. But within the past year, I have heard stories of people still 'blown away' by 3.5s even when compared with some highly regarded current speakers.

Perhaps you guys on this forum could take on various parts of the task and we might develop a pretty good 3.5 solution.

Thanks @tomthiel, I appreciate your words.  I do want to keep the 3.5s, and I would hate to see them fall out of favor because of lack of replacement components.  I have the curves of the common replacements, and maybe the original (see my post above).  I'll publish them on my website at some point.  I'm also working with Oblgny to retrieve the components he so graciously offered, and I have an email out to Rob to inquire as to if he can rebuild them (assume he can).  Maybe what I could also offer is that once the original mids from Oblgny are rebuilt, I could divert them to either you or whoever could analyze them for a week or two.  That might be a start, no?  

Yes.

Damn!


I've been switching up my speakers with some others I own, like the Waveform Mach MC monitors and then my old Thiel 02s.


Sometimes I think I shouldn't do this, because every time I throw on the Thiel 02s I'm bewitched.  I think "THAT'S what I'm looking for!"  They have a magic tone, actually a sort of rainbow of tones, where cymbals and horns pop from the mix in shiny metallic, warm hues, guitar strings sparkle and sound EXACTLY like an acoustic guitar, with a woody body, voices sound beautiful, and drum snares sound so organic and have that papery "drum snare" pop and texture, bongos the same thing.  They have this magic ability to give electric keyboards, and electric guitars (no distortion) a beautiful shimmering quality like I hear in real life.   Strings have such beauty and texture.


And they image wonderfully.   Though they do have a slight upper midrange peak that helps give that glow and palpability.  They aren't as coherent as the bigger Thiels.  


But when I hear them I can't help but think "have we really come that far?" in terms of speaker design.


My 2.7s are wonderful and produce a far larger, richer sound.   But in terms of sheer tonal beauty, and in terms of the palpability and sense of life, I find myself leaning towards the 02s!


Then again, leave anything in the system long enough, the flaws come out and it's time to switch.  But...jeeze...there's a reason I just can't sell these things.   "Thiel 02s...girl!...I can't quit you!"

:)