Thiel Owners

brayeagle....

Ha!  Good points.  

I went to an integrated amp because I came to the conclusion all that coming and going WAS about the gear rather than the music. Not 100%, but on more than just a few occasions I found myself suspecting 
SOMETHING in the chain wasn’t to my liking.  Dumb. 

While I dug the processes of firing up the separates, the procedures involved, the NASA-like regimented routine, waiting for warm up, running down the check list began to make me feel like Major Tom, if not altogether a major d**k. 

My last integrated was a Modwright Instruments KWI-200, no slouch by any measure. (With CS 3.6)  When I called to see if I could replace the flimsy plastic remote, I was put on the phone with Mr. Modwright himself. What???  Yes, the owner himself got on my call to discuss a preamp possibility - and I related that I had obtained the unit second hand.  He didn’t mind.  Modwright will top my return list. 

And Thiel. 

While this submission may have wandered off the reservation a bit so far as subject matter, my single most reason for being here in the first place  begins with Thiel. Kids, these speakers make ANYTHING sound better no matter what gear you own. At first. 
Then it becomes a pursuit to find better amps, better preamps, cables, sweaters, socks, and underwear.  In a word, Thiel rocks.  On the used market they are incontestable bargains.  As I’ve said before, Thiel is an investment not an expenditure. They’re worth every penny owning, maintaining, and enjoying. 

There red is no better resource for “ Thielia “ than this thread - it is fast becoming the most contributed-to thread on the site. 

Thiel reveals!

beetle - point taken, many amps are not rated to 2 ohms, so we don't know their capability. It would be very instructive if you could learn the 2 ohm behavior of your Ayre amp so that we can learn from your experience. I have heard only praise of Ayre, but have never heard one myself. My theory predicts that it should do well into 2 ohms for it to meet your sonic requirements so well. Please report if you can supply such performance information to us.

I just ordered some Audyn Q4 capacitors to replace all the electrolytic one originally installed on my CS 3.6, in detail, four 100 uF/100v and one 66 uF/100V

That is fantastic, please let us know the sonic results. I suggest you also upgrade the resistors to Mills MRA-12s at the same time.

learn the 2 ohm behavior

Hi Tom, Stereophile has measured both Ayre models i have owned. Soundstage might have also measured the AX-5 but maybe it was the amp rather than integrated. Charles Hansen was not a fan of power ratings for amps. Here are some of his thoughts. Also, here

Edit - looks like my links don’t work. The short of it is he said you can’t predict how an amp will sound from its measurements. 

silvanik - fantastic indeed and we are most interested in your results. Sonic Craft has New Old Stock Mills MRAs.
FYI: all the copper in your 3.6s is 4-9s or better. Your solder is silver x tin, so it needs high temperature. The yellow bypasses are best of form styrene x tin foil.

A further thought for your consideration: While replacing the Electrolytic 3x100uF mid shunts plus the 1x100uF woofer shunt, you might play some swap. Your Audyns are probably better than the 2x 100uF PolyPropylene mid feeds. You might spend 2 of your Audyns there and move the original PPs to the woofer shunt and one of the mid shunts, placing your Audyns for maximum benefit in the mid feed.   

A further upgrade target is the 8.2uF PP in the tweeter feed. In addition to the 66uF shunt you are replacing, that 8.2 is the weak link in the tweeter circuit. Similarly  the 9.1uF PP in the  midrange shunt is a candidate. I mention these caps because their small values make them low-hanging fruit.

My 3.6 project is on the back burner, but I have been scheming for awhile.
Please share your progress and what you learn.