I don’t suppose anyone here has heard the heretical new Thiel speakers?
Maybe at one of the audio shows? If so, any impressions?
I admit that the technical goals of Jim Thiel’s time/phase coherence are compelling to me. And one of the chief characteristics I hear in my Thiels vs other speakers is that last bit of tidyness and focus, where all the acoustic energy related to an individual instrument or voice seems all lined up in the right spot to create a palpable focus and density to images. Other speakers tend to sound somewhat more "vague," imaging-wise.
I want to attribute that to the time/phase coherence of the speakers. But I have to allow that it may not be, as there are debates about the audibility of such things, and maybe even some of my listening positions mean the time/phase is less coherent. But whatever causes it, the Thiels certainly seem to have the characteristics I’m talking about.
I also find the concept of timbral accuracy a fascinating and vexing one.
The Thiels sound exceedingly "right" tonally for instruments and voices.
Though I have also heard some speakers with an almost opposite approach - e.g. Joseph, Hales, Waveform, MBL and others - produce a tremendous sense of timbral realism as well. So which aspect of speaker design is most important in reproducing accurate timbre is still an unanswered question to my mind.
