Thiel Owners

Pardon me Jay, I neglected to mention that phase characteristics in the speaker also influence amp performance. Phase lead and lag illustrate reactive characteristics of the load, which are far more difficult for an amp to drive than a purely resistive load. Thiel speakers do a good job of presenting a non-reactive resistive load which allows the amp its best shot of capably driving that load. So, even though Thiel impedance is very low, requiring lots of current, at least the load is fairly benign.  

tomthiel
Thank You for your continued contributions to this thread and the larger cause at hand.  How are you enjoying your re-vamped Classe' amps?
Happy Listening!

Jay - the Classe amps tell a long story. The tech is in some kind of trouble and still has some of my gear. Classe had recapped one DR9 a year ago. The new guy replaced and bypassed some signal path caps to match our plan for the second DR9. We also recapped and bypassed the DR6 preamp, so the "new" sound results from the combination.

It sounds very good - the "dark" sound of the DR9 seems to have lifted - more incisive and articulate which is what I need for both recording and XO hotrod evaluations. The second DR9 is still in the shop for its total recapping / bypassing. April 11th: " a few days to get parts and a week to do the job." Very long week. Not yet, maybe soon.

tomthiel
Oh my, looks like trouble indeed. Hope this tech becomes a "stand-up" Guy and finishes the job as previously arranged. If not, feel free to post as much information as you wish to warn the other Classe' owners out there.Keep us posted. 

Hi All,

I posted earlier about a treble harshness with my Thiel CS5's. I redid the mirror along the wall test and installed a DIY sound absorber which seems to to have done the trick. The harshness is pretty much gone except for the most badly recorded albums.

Since the sound absorber journey, I acquired a Conrad Johnson Premier 17LS-2 preamp. The CJ replaces a PrimaLuna Dialogue Premium and I have been switching between the two preamps.

In my system, both are good. I think if one wants to concentrate on the main vocal in a mix, the PL is probably a bit better, because it allows you to hear deep into the vocal. Overall, the PL provides a bit more organic bass. The CJ is more nuanced with a better sound stage and, perhaps most importantly, is more musical to my ear than the PL. This may be because of how the leading edges of notes are produced with the CJ. Also, the CJ has a better presence than the PL at lower volume levels.

Another change I have just made is to replace the Coda CS with a McCormack DNA-500. The DNA-50 sounds warmer, which is a matter of personal preference, and provides more textural detail to the music. At higher volumes the Coda could begin to sound a bit metallic and, I guess, compressed. The DNA-500 on the other hand, stays well composed regardless of the volume and never gets "edgy".

I know the DNA-500 is the better amp for my Thiels in my system. I keep changing out the two preamps and keep coming back to the CJ. The Coda CS and PL were good, but the CJ and DNA-500 are better because that combo is warmer and more nuanced with no solid state glare.

So I am a happy camper for now. My future plans are going to be around more experimentation with preamps and or replacing my Hegel HD20 DAC.

Any suggestions?

Thanks for listening!

Dsper