Thiel Owners

tmsrdg

"I realize this is getting somewhat off the forum topic, but the folks at Berkeley Audio tell me that they run the Alpha DAC directly into Spectral amps, with excellent results.So right now, I'm looking at the Spectral DMA-300. "

Without being cheeky I think your making a good decision ,
one less interconnect cable , one less power cord leaving 
more $ for your amp or speaker cable upgrade .
I use a passive preamp because I need an attenuator and selector .
 I'm one of the minimalists  , less between the music and the speakers . 
You should look into other forums on the topic passive vs. active ,
in your case preamp or no preamp that is the question .

And The Band Played On 

Rob

Hello all!

This past weekend, I finally got a chance to hook up the second ARC D240 MKII amp to my system. In bridged-mono mode, the amps effectively double their power to 480 watts/each at 8 ohms...very powerful indeed!

This was immediately noticeable in the way my 3.5’s performed...low level detail and clarity was outstanding as was the overall "slam" on bass-heavy passages. Also peculiar was the effect this had on the Thiel Bass Equalizer: before, I didn’t really notice a difference between the 40Hz - 20Hz settings. Now, there was a definite change in the character of the presentation.

As far as the rest of the performance, the soundstage seemed to grow deeper, with instrumentation more layered and pronounced than before. I never got the sense that the Thiels "disappeared", but they are definitely less "in your face" than before. However, the details and nuances in well recorded materials are even more noticeable, even more defined than before.

The overall sense I get is that the extra control and headroom that this bridged-mono configuration has on my speakers has been well worth the wait. I had been searching for the better part of 18 months for another amp to match with my own and in this case, patience was well rewarded. Before, I had always wondered "How can I make my Thiels sing better?" Now, I am completely satisfied in knowing they are getting all the power and current they need.

For reference sake, here’s what my little listening area looks like:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/arvincastro/sets/72157713245305663

Going into this, I set a price limit for $1000/component to see how good of a system I could assemble on a modest budget. While I know I am decidedly on the "vintage" path in terms of ARC gear, the high-quality, fit and finish and performance remain as good as anything I could hope to get for the price. Plus, I just love the way it sounds!

Thanks for letting me share...Hope everyone’s doing well!

Arvin C

arvincastro

Thank You for the system update. Excellent pics of your room as well.

Happy Listening!

Arvin - thanks for sharing. An old-school engineering audio tech informed me, after working on my Classe DR9s, that it shared essentially the same circuit as the ARC solid state amps. Who knew.
Regarding your room. Nice. This detail work I have been doing on Thiel Classics has underscored the vertical lobing problem. The problem is that phase angles and resultant amplitude irregularities get worse the farther off vertical axis one's ears are. The closer you get to the speakers, the more critical the geometry becomes. Nothing new. The target ear height is 90cm or 35-36" with the speakers flat on the floor. It seems that your ears might be high, sitting in that chair at close range. I have the same problem. I clamp a carpenter's square to the side of the cabinet with its top edge 90cm from the floor, and then tilt the cabinet until I can sight to my ear-height target in my listening chair. Sound and measurements get appreciably better.

Just a thought. Enjoy. Nice rig. Tom

Thanks for the kind comments, jafant and Tom...truly appreciated!

Tom: Wow...your wealth of information in all things Thiel is truly a blessing! I have limitations with seating position due to my ground floor family room...basically, I’ve split it in thirds lengthwise, with a sectional facing my flat panel taking up the "front" 2/3's and my listening area taking up the last "back" third, but arranged width wise as you saw in the pictures. I am sitting a bit closer than I’d like for my taste.

Where your comments on ear height ring so true is that I used to have a chair where I did sit lower, but my wife hated that it was so beat up, so we junked it but never truly replaced it. So, I’m using the spare office chair you saw in the pics. I have noticed that my 3.5’s have become more "touchy" with certain material where higher frequencies have become much more grainy and pronounced. This wasn’t always so, but I chalked it up to switching cables or the addition of the Bluesound Vault and its on-board DAC. I will try your suggestion regarding ear height...Thanks again for the suggestion and your invaluable information!

Arvin C