Thiel Owners

Hi y'all,

Been enjoying semi-regular lurking on these pages.

Maybe this is plain enough and not in the scope of the discussion about other creative ways one might get or get close to good SSx time alignments. I have a pair of 3.7s mated with a pair of SS1s positioned behind each a couple of feet. I use a Behringer DCX2496 (Ric Schultz modded) as a crossover controller (ahead of power amp and SS1s) plugging into the SS1s normal inputs.

I have chosen a second order filter slope at 80 Hz. Second order as a compromise between the Thiel loved first order and thinking to get the energy to fall off a little quicker to avoid much power going to the passive radiators—maybe muddying the possibly purer SS1 lows.

I looked at the (main speakers) delay that would be by calculations appropriate for a sum of the SS1 behind positions and the delay at Xf for the second order slope. I dialed in that number and tweaked it (only a small amount needed) until the SPL response at 80 was peaked indicating good time alignment there. (and of course set the relative levels by looking at plots of low frequency sweeps)

Seems like there may be a couple of nuances to this line of thinking that I’m neglecting to recall but w/o digging back into my couple years old notes, that is the essence...

I have been pleased with the results. Bass is well integrated sounding, particularly on transients and particularly when compared with either a DCX zero delay file or the fourth order behavior of the Thiel PX05s I started with.

Cheers, John

Silvanik 
I've been meaning to write and welcome 
a fellow McCormack amp owner and a passive pre-amp user .
You had me daydreaming about the DNA-2 , great specs ,
there was a Deluxe edition for sale on E-bay starting at $2,000 ,
buy then I saw the weight of the unit !
Ironically the Thiel thread was discussing the weight of equipment 
and the aging of the owners , daydream over .

I had just purchased a new phono pre-amp that has taken my system to a new height in listening pleasure .
( luckily because if I hadn't just spent $1,800 I might have still been daydreaming about the DNA-2 amp ) 
I went from an entry level SimAudio Moon 110LP s.s. with a regulated power supply ( big improvement over the stock wall wort ) to
and Tavish Design Asiago tube unit .
New height , width , depth , definition and BASS !
My 2.7s let me hear every improvement every detail with bass that
is so clear and low WOW , no tube roll off here or at the high end either . 

It took me over 2 years to make the decision on which one to move up to 
with  the Manley Chinook , the Decware ZP3 ,
also the Parasound JC jr  and the Sutherland Insight as the contenders .,
but the Tavish Designs with it's separate power supply and all tube MM amplification won out .

Are there any other McCormack amp Thiel speaker guys out there ?
Do any of you use a passive pre-amp ? 
I have seen many of the Thiel owners praise the power of tubes ,
do any of you have a tube phono pre-amp ?

Happy Listening All
Today is Classical Sunday 
Rob

Hello everyone.  First time audio fan here.  

Last year I jumped into the audio world by purchasing a pair of Thiel CS2 speakers (the original CS 2).  Found them on Craigslist for $500.  I used speakers with my Sony receiver (100W) that I purchased at Best Buy for $300 until I could purchase some real equipment. 
Despite the poor equipment, the speakers sounded very good.  

Last month I purchased a Classe DR-5 pre amp and two (2) DR-8 amps.  Despite being older equipment, everything came in the original boxes, was stored in a closet for about 20 years, and looks brand new.  In mono mode, the DR-8 amps have 240 watts into 8 ohms, and 540 watts into 4 ohms.

The Classe equipment really made my speakers sing for about a day.  That is when I noticed the woofers in my Thiels making a bad vibration sound (at first I thought I blew a tweeter).  At higher levels I notice the sound was distorted and did not sound right.  I have confirmed that both woofers need to be replaced, and replacement is about $450.  

Question is did I damage the Thiels with the Classe equipment when I played it at loud volumes (my wife likes to play dance/club music loud)?  Just wondering if the speakers being so old gave up the chase, or if we sent too much power to the speakers and damaged them.  I also read online that I could have damaged the Thiels with the old Sony receiver by playing the music loud and not having enough power, which in turn damaged the speaker.  Either way I will have to replace both woofers, but I do not want to damage the speakers in the future.  I just hope the speakers will sound the same with new woofers.  Also, my speaker wire is not the best so I hope that did not cause an issue either (feel free to recommend good speaker wires).  

In addition, while I love the sound of the CS2 speakers I have, they are old and I am wondering if I should upgrade to something newer.  Was thinking of the 2.4 or the 3.6, but I did not know if my equipment would be enough power for the 3.6 speakers.  If someone could comment on this I would appreciate it.  

Thank you in advance for any suggestions and input.