Thiel Customer Service - New ownership is terrible!!! - WHAT HAPPENED TO THIS COMPANY ?


  For the past month I've been trying to contact Thiel to get an R.A. for my tweeter that needs to be rebuilt for my 7.2. THERE IS NOW NO PHONE NUMBER FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE AS THERE USE TO BE as recently as last year and the support email address states " we'll reply within 48 hours " is a lie! I've contacted them three times without a single reply. Any ideas or suggestions? Anyone reading this might want to think twice if buying any Thiel used or new products now a days. What a shame.....
aolchris
    THIEL CUSTOMER SERVICE..... FRIENDS AND FAMILY OF THE AUDIOGON COMMUNITY REJOICE!!! THIEL SERVICE / CUSTOMER SERVICE IS ALIVE AND BETTER THEN EVER!!!! And I have all of you to thank for it.... much appreciated!!!

    Rob Gillium at Thiel Service, 615-866-2290, CONTACTED ME last week and couldnt have been nicer. Mr. Gillium was eager to help and went over the  procedure to replace the tweeter. In just two days via Priority Mail, he sent the appropriate "cone module" and instructions that I ( or really anyone ) was able to install in a matter of minutes! You can send in the driver but trust me its not difficult at all to do and you save on the shipping charges. No need to take out the driver. Basically a paper clip and a steady hand was all that was necessary. For just over a hundred bucks, my 7.2's are alive and well once again!!! Thiel owners rest assured that there is someone that cares and will help us in the event of a problem!
    I cannot give higher praise to Mr. Rob Gillium. Period.

    On a lighter note to all you Thiel owners out there, I'm always looking to improve my listening experience with my Thiel"s. Any recommendations you might have please feel free to post. Although a bit "embarrassed" for lack of a better word, I have not gone American ( yet ) and stick with my higher end Japanese gear. Having been in the business for over 30 years in the NY tri-state area ( now living in Wisconsin ) and working for Onkyo / Roth Paris Marketing back in the early 90's, I was able to acquire the rare 150 lbs. Onkyo M510 Grand Integra Power Amp - 300wpc RMS and stable down to 1 ohm. My preamp is also a somewhat rare Sony TA-E1, and for source I have an Integra Research RVD 1.1 SACD / DVD player along with a Sony XA-7es and Marantz SA-14 Vr.2 I swap out with the RDV 1.1 every now and again. The 1.1 is better. A pair of NHT SW2's sub's ( L&R bass - why not have the additional separation... ) My choice of cables, as per the director of sales from Thiel at the time ( he would know a thing or two...lol... ), is pure silver Kimber's KS-3038 AND KS-1030 IC's ALL AROUND. My power cords are all ( 4 ) Lessloss Signature's. I probably have/use every (mostly passive) tweeks known to mankind - a passive Furutech TP-60 AC distributor, a dozen quiet lines, CD stabilizer's, anti vibration devices, Shakti, cable elevators, even CD stoplight - to name a few. Yea - I'm one of those suckers... 

     Speaker placement can get tricky with these Thiels and I find myself experimenting often with placement, toe in, straight ahead stance, distance apart, etc. There at least 8 ft. apart, I'm about 10 feet away and my listening area permits me to have them only about 2 feet away from back and side walls so I feel slight toe-in is necessary.  I have a log home with all pine walls with near 20 ft. high pine wood sealing. They generally sound great but at times I feel something is missing. I have many other gear that I collect - over 100 components ( including some top power amps / preamps from other japanese firms like a Yamaha B2-x, Elite M-91, Sony TA-N90, etc., but still feel the M-510 / TA-E1 is best though I have not tried them all yet. I have over 4000 CD"S / 100 or so SACD's - I know all about CD's and mastering as I had worked in the first CD only store in White Plains NY - Central Compact Disc for 7 years back in the late 80's early 90's! And about a dozen places after that - heck I probably ran into you at some point back in the day... lol! Of course CES every year for over 10 years...
     Please feel free to comment on any ideas you might have!

    Again - I can't thank all of you enough and so glad to know Rob Gillium at Thiel is available and so willing to help us with our Thiel needs!!!

All the best....

Regards,
Chris

 

Wonderful to hear about Rob's help, Chris.  Thanks!  I'm glad you got your Thiels singing again.
Very nice news, enjoy newly your CS 7.2s! 
According to my personal experience, Thiel speakers sound excellent with tube, as well as solid state amps. For instance, 50 watt Manley Stingray drives very well CS 3.6, I love the resultant transparent encouraging sound.  For 7.2s though you will need more tube power  I guess . You may also consider Manley monoblocks. And my McIntosh solid state 100 watts integrated amp combines also very well with CS 6, giving a soft, natural and detailed overall performance with clear deep bass. 


Hi Chris,

Very good to hear of this.

Try bringing the speakers out another 2 feet from rear wall (4’ total from wall to front of speakers) such that you and the speakers form an equilateral triangle 8’ on each side. Toe such that the imaginary lines projecting from the tweeters cross three feet behind your listening position.  Even if you think you cannot leave them there permanently, try this to see what is gained.

Absorptive panels at the first reflection points (halfway between the speaker fronts and your listening position) and bass traps will help immensely.

Dave

Much Thanks! for the update- aolchris


Good to read that Mr. Gillum was in a position to help you and get your speakers back on track. You own very nice gear-especially the cd and sacd players. I look forward in reading more about your listening thoughts and impressions as it pertains to Thiel speakers.

Happy Listening!