As I posted early on this thread; I owned Thiel 3.5s. Flew to Seattle, WA from Juneau, Ak then ferry to Bainbridge, Island, then drove to Silverdale, WA. Auditioned them at "Nuts about HiFi" with a pair of large Krell monos which I could not afford but sounded Wonderful !! Bought them, knowing that I had MY speakers! Air freighted them to Juneau. Only the grill frames were damaged. Kathy Gornick sent me a new pair include shipping for $70. Visiting family in Chicago for Christmas, I bought a pair of Forte' model 7, class A monos. Were not the big Krells but were CL A. Still own them. Kept me very happy through the long winters. Blew midrange and tweeters (seemed at least (1) each year.) Kathy would send the needed driver before I could get the damaged driver sent to her ; under warranty / no charge. Thiel will never be the same again w/o Kathy and Jim.
Played the Thiels with and without the equalizer. Mostly liked them with the eq at 40; 20 made them too muddy. Finally moved back to Chicago. Packed the Thiels in my van ( was not taking any chances w/ MY speakers! Finally got a Spectral system ( DMC 12, pair of DMA 90s used as bridged 200 watt monos) MAGICAL combo! No longer used the equalizer. When Kathy sent my last midrange driver with a letter saying this would be my last driver under warranty after a full 10yrs ( I bought them used) I sadly sold them to a guy that was very happy after a (1) LP side audition. Took me 8-9 years to finally settle on the Avalons I now own. Reading this thread; as long as "Rob" works and is allowed to work; Thiel owners should be OK. But I would start my search for a new pair of speakers before he is gone. Without Jim and Kathy, Thiel will never be the same. Will take time to find a new speaker! Suggest you might start with Avalons.
