Thiel Owners

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

dsper

Cullen Cable has a pretty good following. Historically, I have heard CJ gear with AudioQuest and Audience cables & cords only.  Remember, this is the forgotten or overlooked component.

Happy Listening!

Good Morning Dspr

As I see it from reading all the posts
you are the 3rd McCormack amp owner writing on the Thiel owner post ,
welcome from a DNA-250 owner .

Since you are trying to decide which preamp you are going to stay with can I ask what tubes you are using ?
Have you done a lot of tube rolling ?

I just received my Tavish Designs Asiago phono pre-amp going thru a Goldpoint passive preamp and am in listening heaven .  
I have been lucky enough to be able to try
a few different tubes so far and just like any change you make in your system it is amazing how different each tube can sound .
I have found that the Genalex Gold Lion to be my favorite 
and would use them for all my gain stages if they were available ,
so I have to mix in my second favorite Tung-Sol gold pin .
I have tried some older tubes but the problem with them 
are either the prices or the matching/balancing .

I know this tread is about Thiel speakers BUT
with all the input from owners the information about the rest of our systems we can hopefully get the most out of enjoying listening to our Thiel speakers .

Rob

Hi Rob,

Tube rolling can be a money pit if we are not careful!

The most expensive tubes I have purchased were $120 a pair so I can't comment on the "top end" stuff. I do notice that Brent Jesse often has high quality tubes that he calls "butt ugly" that are less expensive but the same tube as the more exotic stuff.

I have tried several kinds of 12AU7 tubes in my PrimaLuna Dialogue Premium. My general observation is that old European tubes sound better to me than old US tubes. I have not tried any new production tubes other than the stock tubes that came with the PL. 

Mullard, Brimar,and Amperex sound better to me than Seiman and Telefunken. I find the German tubes are a bit too analytical for me although they sound clean and have great bass. The English and Dutch tubes are warmer sounding and just more comfortable. I have one pair of Mazdas I really like because they have that warmness and rich mid range along with the solid bass of the German varieties. The Mazda is about the only one I have contemplated laying out a couple hundred bucks per tube.

Having said that, it is fun to change them out as I get bored and try another one. This helps me avoid spending big money on new components!

My Conrad Johnson 17LS-2 is a new toy for me so I have just started tube rolling with it. I replaced the stock Electro Harmonix 6922's with some Phillips PCC88's from the 70's. A stunning improvement to my ear because they sound sweeter with better highs, clarity, sparkle, and bass.

Rob, can you share how the Goldpoint passive sounds to you and how it compares to other preamps you have heard? As much as I am enjoying my newly acquired  CJ, I an wondering what the next step might be as changing the preamp can really adjust your whole listening experience.

Thanks for listening,

Dsper