Thiel Owners


Guys-

I just scored a sweet pair of CS 2.4SE loudspeakers. Anyone else currently or previously owned this model?
Owners of the CS 2.4 or CS 2.7 are free to chime in as well. Thiel are excellent w/ both tubed or solid-state gear!

Keep me posted & Happy Listening!
128x128jafant
Hello everyone...Happy Holidays!

I have been enjoying a vintage pair of Thiel CS 3.5's for well over 2 months now and can honestly say that I am absolutely thrilled with them. Their ability to play so cleanly with that incredibly wide and open soundstage never fails to amaze me as I re-discover my music collection. They truly are full-range...the bass is deep, clean, precise and authoritative. The other thing I've found is that as difficult as they are supposed to be to drive, my Denon PMA-2000 IVR (160 watts @ 4 ohms) integrated seems to be getting on quite well with them. I am using the tape loop in my integrated to play through the Bass Module. The Thiels do like to be driven, though...they really open up and "clear their throats" as I turn up the wick. Truly stunning performers!!!

If I were to have one issue, it's that the Thiels expose poorly recorded material in a ruthless, almost non-correctable fashion. For instance, I have many CD's from the early days of the format that now have a harsh, irritatingly "bright" sound to them. What's even worse are digital files. I've been re-ripping my CD collection to loss-less FLAC, but any "lossy" files really are exposed in ways I never noticed as much before. Of course, Hi-Res files, DSD and MQA Master files from Tidal are played beautifully!

My current set-up is decidedly "Mid-Fi", but has everything I need to get very good sound:

- Denon PMA 2000IVR Integrated Amplifier
- Denon DVD-2900 CD/DVD-Audio/SACD Player
- Denon DJ VL12 Prime Direct-Drive Turntable with Shure M97xE (MC) & Denon 103R (MM) cartridges
- Thiel CS-3.5 w/Thiel Bass Module
- Toshiba Satellite laptop w/Meridian Explorer 2 USB DAC (MQA capable)
- Roon and Tidal digital-file playback/streaming applications
- AudioQuest Golden Gate interconnects
- Gotham SPK-8 speaker cables with Eminence E400 banana plugs
- Pangea Audio AC-9 (amplification) & AC-14 (sources) power cables
- Tripp Lite LCR2400 Line Conditioner

My current plan is to move towards separates. While I truly enjoy my integrated, I have an inkling that something like vintage Adcom, Threshold or Krell amplification will open-up the Thiels even more. What I do wonder is if what I really need to tame the harshness I get from some music is tubes...maybe something vintage from Conrad Johnson or Audio Research will work? 

I've posted several photos of my Thiels and little listening area here:  

www.usaudiomart.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1340

Thanks for any feedback or suggestions!

Arvin
Welcome! arvincastro

there are many experts here on the CS 3.5 loudspeaker.
I look forward in reading more about your system and upgrade path from integrated to separates.
Happy New Year!
arvincastro...

I am also a BIG fan of the 3.5's.

As to your comments regarding how these speakers reveal flaws up and down the chain,  particularly with digital formats,  I can only state that the existing issue is not the speakers.

So far as tossing "vintage" separates at them to improve everything,  I have had a Threshold 400A amp mated to a BAT tubed preamp and the results were very good.  (I've tossed a pretty good amount of stuff at my Thiels,  in fact.)  My favorites?  For amplification,  hands down Pass Labs.  (X150.5 model) For pre-amps?  I really believe that Audio Research and Thiel are great matches.  I like having tubes in my preamps for Thiel.  ARC just has this "punchiness" that I like.  LS3 and LS3b (tubed) models can be found on here at VERY fair prices.  And they can still be repaired if an issue ever arises.

I actually sold my Threshold fairly cheap because the meter lights weren't working - or so I thought.  Turns out I wasn't throwing enough power to the speakers.  (3.5's)  As unsound,  another member here and a wealth of things regarding Thiel overall related once,  the 3.5's are one of the easiest models to drive.  For the record,  I always left the bass equalizer in operation.  A few members have offered that they sound better without it,  but I disagree.  The speakers were designed to have it in use,  so who am I to argue with Jim Thiel's design?

Pass Labs,  even pre-owned,  can be expensive.  I've had two X150.5 amps,  paying a little more the second time around than the first,  approximately $2500.  A bargain,  given how well Pass mates with Thiel.  It just DOES for me.  I have since moved back to a BAT integrated with identical power ratings to the Pass Labs,  and it's working out fine.  Pass Labs integrated are difficult to find on the pre-owned market.  The INT150 has been discontinued but appears once in a while on the Renohifi site - a retailer I can highly recommend.  Mark is a gent and a good businessman.

I am currently selling my 3.6's because I miss the 3.5's so much.  I am hoping to find a local pair of 3.5,  or perhaps even a pair Maggie 1.7's.  I have a soft spot in my heart/head for both these brands and what they do so damn well.  

I forget to whom I offered the guts of the last pair of 3.5's I purchased here.  The cabinets were pretty rough and both midranges were inoperable,  so I gutted them and keep the raw drivers,  crossovers,  bass eq,  and grill hardware.  The midranges LOOK fine,  but they're dead - still repairable at around $300 apiece.  The woofers and tweeters are in fine condition, 100% operational.  Sequential serial numbers were on the cabinets as well.

Anyone willing to pick them up is welcome to them free of charge.
Good to see you- William,

I knew that you would chime in here to assist Arvin.
Happy Listening!
Thanks for the welcome, jafant...and Happy New Year to you & yours as well!

oblgny:  Thanks for your very detailed post...a lot of information I plan on putting to good use!  You've pretty much confirmed what I was suspecting...that the Thiels are simply reproducing what's been recorded.  

As a child of the 80's, I grew up in the world of Japanese "mid-fi". And while I have always been one who lives by "It's about listening to music", I cannot help but now feel that what I'm really needing to do is move into the realm of Hi-Fi.  The Thiels represent the first truly Hi-Fi piece of equipment I have owned & I can now understand why component matching becomes so critical as one "moves up the ladder."

It's a journey I will be excited to make...

Arvin