Thiel Owners

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



 

dsper
Thank You for the update. I like CJ gear as well. What cabling is in your system?   Happy Listening!

tomthiel - thanks for the Benchmark link (a few pages ago), that was a very helpful piece of education for me. Has anyone tried the AHB2 with their Thiels? Based on the literature this one has moved to the top of my list, if I can't find a great deal on a used amp in the meantime. jafant, is it on your list of contenders?

dancastagna - have you tried the PS Audio M-700s on any of your bigger Thiels?  Would you recommend these as primary amps for our hard-to-drive Thiels?  Your HT setup sounds amazing btw, is it posted in the systems section?  And +1 on the amp list, great idea!

Hi jafant,

I have not spent a lot of time with cabling as my moves with amps, preamps, and DACS tend to be going up the food chain and I see big improvements as I audition this type of gear.

Having said that, I use less expensive Cullen Cable interconnects on single-ended short runs. These replaced the discount store garden variety and I could tell that the sound became cleaner and more detailed. Interconnects scare me as I have no idea where to start and the prices seem to go absurdly high quickly.

My speaker cables are 14 gauge multi strand copper about ten feet long, which I think is short enough to not worry about cables too much. I have read too many articles about blind testing that indicate that listeners cannot tell a difference.I was also influenced by by Roger Russell who was the Director of Acoustic Research at McIntosh http://www.roger-russell.com/wire/wire.htm#differences.

Thanks for listening

Dsper