Thiel Owners

Salamander makes excellent products- oblgny

The better racks are made of various Maple wood(s), very dense and provides support well. Keeps down vibrations too.  I just ran across a pair of CS 3.6 at $1599 in south Florida (eBay). Hopefully, the pair will find a good home via you owners who sing its praises. That is why we are all here!

Some Thiel owners use products by Sound Anchor.  I am fortunate that the CS 2.4SE automatically comes w/ outriggers. This particular model was designed specifically w/ outriggers in mind per Mr. Thiel.  Better performance, focus and imaging are delivered in spades. I have read about using marble or granite as bases as well.

I will check out "Ball of Confusion". I enjoyed Summer and ready for Fall.

Happy Listening!

jafant...

Just about anything that supports or is near something electronic in my humble abode rests atop, in, or on a Salamander rack. The piece in the virtual systems photo is the only one not from its Synergy series which I've had for years. 

I appreciate the clean lines, understated design, and the heft of their construction - one of the foremost reasons I had from the outset was in providing as much isolation as possible. The block of maple under the BAT may be somewhat superfluous at this point, but what the hell. I don't need another cutting board in my kitchen. 

I've been reading about one member's questioning a move from his 3.6's to the 6, whether or not such an investment is sonically worth it. From my experience, limited as it has been with 2.2, 2.3, 3.5, and now 3.6, I can state with some degree of accuracy that the differences between the first three models is, by comparison, modest in terms of anything relevatory. The difference in "moving up" from the 3.5 to 3.6 is remarkable. They are VERY different loudspeakers which, given my journey thus far, could have me pining for a 5 in short order. There again, I would assume that the 5 is VERY different from the 3.6. 

I hasten to to add that,  IMHO, the 3.6's are more detailed, perhaps even more focused on the mids than were/are the 3.5's - and all to an impressive degree. I don't believe I was missing anything with the 3.5's in that respect, but the 3.6's just deliver more - especially at the conservative level I listen at.  I always had the 3.5 eq employed because I had no reason to question Thiel's engineering. The sacrifice in low end hertz with the 3.6's is hardly anything to kvetch about. (3.5's 20hz-20khz, 3.6's 27hz-20khz.)  Sheesh, vot's a few hoitz between friends, anyway.   

Since we now no longer have the opportunity to audition the legacy models, I guess I'm saying that moving up yields risk to some degree, but seeing how the speaker models evolve is a gas. 

Hey jafant,
I've been building my system for the the past few years and the VTL 5.5 preamp was my first real "high-end" acquisition. It quickly became the heart of my rig! I think this is one of those rare tube preamps that offers the musicality and sweetness of tubes with the total sonic control of a great solid state unit. It also packs enough gain and current to feed the least sensitive amps. I recently had it running my Pass Labs F5 (with all of its 25 class A Watts) and my Thiel 3.5s actually sounded quite wonderful. Ended up going back to my two bridged Sherwoods because they gave me just a little more in the bass department. 

It all looks very nice and appealing- oblgny
Happy Listening!

Many Thanks! for the follow-up arniespin

The pre-amp, as intended by design,  is the heart of any system. A VTL 5.5 is still highly regarded all of the way up to current model. It is good to read that a sonic match w/ Pass Labs is doable. Does the F5 or Sherwoods provide more current? I look forward in reading more about you and your system.

Happy Listening!