Thiel Owners

Gents;

I saw notes on amps & preamps that are a good efficacy with Thiel
( at the start I could not say that!!!)

After a good 3-4 months ; I can say that Conrad Johnson ET3 and Pass Labs XA30.5's make a superb combo. ( Kimber Hero IC)

I tube rolled from EH6922 ( standard) which is very detailed an a bit , edgy, forward ( aggressive tone) to a Amprex & finally a National/Mitsubishi 6922 cyro job,
very good bass, smooth & detailed highs and lots of space.

Anyway, The combo is rich tone, extremely spatial & smooth delicate highs

I always wondered if I should have gone with a older CJ 16 or 17? From the comments of others ( never listened to)
But, Not now, the newer version ET3 is the best of both worlds( I think), details overflow And wonderful tone, especially compared to the Audio Research preamps ( slightly bleached tone to me) that I am able to hear in a lot of places

Highly recommended & food for thought 

I am now dumbfounded at hearing differences in recording qualities of albums; some thin, some fat, some all highs , some all bass, some spectacular since preamp.
and...............shitty 80's albums are almost enjoyable and not burning my eardrums out

one of these days,   I'll hear a GAT

jeff

"Audio Research preamps ( slightly bleached tone to me)"

That is always how Audio Research amps sound to me.  From the day I first heard them in the 90's to even today (my pal uses Audio Research amps).  There's just this sort of bleached sound - which in my mind invokes "gray" - that makes me not care to sit in front of the speakers for too long.

At one time my friend was testing an amp - I forget if it was solid state, or maybe it was his Audio Research, and I brought over my CJ Premier 12 amps to try in his system.  As soon as they went in and we started the same song, we looked at each other like "aaah...THIS is the experience that keeps our butts planted in the seat."  Just so damned musical and rich.

I have the Premier 16LS2 pre-amp, for maybe a couple years now.  It sounds gorgeous - super clear, very low noise floor, tons of detail and spaciousness, and though fairly neutral just enough of that CJ magic glow.  My one criticism would be it lacks a bit of the density and balls of my other tube preamp (locally made) but the other pre-amp doesn't have the detail and finesse of the CJ.

Wow prof, "Audio Research preamps (slightly bleached tone to me)".

To me, bleached means smeared with attenuation of dynamics. If anything, my AR Ref system tends to exaggerate details and dynamics, compared to live music. I just assumed that it was the recording process and my Thiel CS3.6s, but maybe it is simply the synergy between the components. Maybe I just lucked into the right combination.

Unfortunately, I have limited ability to listen to real world setups and my only comparisons comes from my few visits to audio shops while traveling, reading Stereophile and forums like this. I really need some local friends that have my same audio tastes. Jafant, we need to form an Alabama audiophile society!

jonandfamily,

My own subjective impressions, especially of amplifiers, aren't much use to other people I think.  We all have different tastes, different hearing, different criteria; what I hear as uninvolving will be someone else's musical nirvana. 

And by "bleached" I'm talking of timbral or tonal color, nothing to do with dynamics.  I tend to sort of see colors when listening to sound (and clearly so do some other people, which is why lots of audiophiles refer to colors in describing sound).  When I listen to my acoustic guitar I always "hear" a golden sparkly tone.  I'd take that recording around to various systems and speakers: from most of them, I don't hear that tone.  It's more silver/gray.  And that's my main complaint with most systems: they sound "bleached" of tonal color, which is what I always perceived whenever I was able to compare Audio Research amps with, say CJ amps, over the years (and that's only a few times, really).

That doesn't mean someone else will hear the same thing.  Although...it was interesting to see it described that way here, and I have seen the Audio Research sound described similarly over the years.  Just like the CJ sound is often described as "golden."

My pal loves his Audio Research amp - had it forever, doesn't want to part with it.