Thiel/Crutchfield

Whatever one's opinion is regarding Thiel's actions, one thing for certain is that Crutchfield and Thiel are profitable enterprises and probably know a little bit more about making money in the audio market than most of us.

But I can't help thinking that Thiel may be cutting its throat in an attempt to mass market themselves via a prosumer electronics market. After all, is this not how Bose endeared themselves to audiophiles?

And Thiels' bad reputation among some audiophiles (borne mostly of those who make the serious mistake of coupling subpar electronics to their speakers) will, sadly, probably further erode an already unfair image of the company. But then again, I'm not in the speaker business.

Gs5556, I agree with you. You would think Thiel would see its reputation from the same perspective. And still, the deal was struck. Oh, the delusion that all profit is money!

I agree regardind the Crutchfield pricing - usually, their home stuff is at MSRP. Also, living in Virginia, means that I get to pay sales tax on top of their prices. However, they do have an outlet store in Charlottesville, VA. It may pay off if they discount the returned speakers in price enough to make the trip worthwhile. But, I do remember seeing their selection of Polk RTi and LSi speakers with the price tags taped onto the cabinets with packing tape. Eeek! That's a horrible way to treat real wood veneer.

Pops, I only based that on the responses I have gotten when commenting on Theils in the past. I only know one person who actually owns them. He is mostly into rock, so go figure.

I always got the impression that people were attracted to them for their very good soundstage and huge amount of detail. Whatever works in this wacky obsession of ours.

"Thiels are a non-mainstream sounding speaker with treble that many find downright irritable"

I used to sell and own Thiels, both. The speaker's trebble isn't harsh, and infact, it's well balanced! And, infact, you need an extrememely revealing speaker if you want the potential for high-end sound. That said, what you mate the speakers with can't be bright or edgy, but must be well balanced too. With less than perfect equipment (tubes works well), you can send any of these highly analytical and transparant sounding speakers over the edge!!
I've heard people for years say that Thiels, Wilson's, JM Lab's, Maggies, etc, were bright!! Well, my friend, it's all a matter of system matching (key), acoustics (another key), setup, toe-in, aim (yet another key),and just basically knowing what you're doing! You can walk into a dealer or customers home, who's got them set up wrong, and make assumptions. And they're just that, assumptions to the unknowing.
Hell I can take any number of high end speakers, that are VERY REVEALING, and make them sound too bright to listen to!
You simply use some edgy sounding amp or inteconnect, and that's it!
Yeah, the speakers AREN'T BRIGHT! It's "USER ERROR!"
Now, I don't own Thiels any more, but that's the facts, Jack