Thiel Owners

prof - there's always more. Our early years needed more rapid growth than we could produce. Our Canadian solution came with Russ Heinl, a Canadian distributor with good connections, knowledge and support. Canada had introduced tariffs for US goods, creating a cost opportunity for Canadian manufacture. Plus we were already supplementing our O-series cabinet supply from Soundwood in Toronto. I set up production in Canada for Canada with Soundwood cabinets and Heinl-produced crossovers with the same Solen-Canada caps and identical drivers that we were using. It all added up to a viable solution and the Canadian-made product sold in Canada is virtually identical to the Lexington-made product sold elsewhere. However, as our products became more sophisticated the outsource solution became unfeasible. We capped our year on year growth to 30% and brought all manufacturing in-house for the CS series.

tom,

I sure enjoy reading your posts about the Thiel backstory.

And...I would hope for a memory like yours at 70.  (Actually, I'd hope for a memory like that at my age, 54, and I don't have it!)

tomthiel

A most excellent discussion between andy2, prof and yourself. Thank You for more backstory and historical markers that made Thiel Audio a reckoning force.   Happy Listening!

Memory is an odd thing . . . often spotty and sometimes inaccurate on details, but very true to the major themes, people and events. I am appreciating the opportunity to re-access these memories from a very difficult and productive period of my life. Thank you.

prof - I just visited a pair of Brazilian Rosewood O2s that I inherited from my dad's estate. When I get them here from Virginia, I'll draw the schematics and conjure an upgrade. The O2 was before we discovered 6-9s wire or film caps. Simple second order 2-way XO that fit in one hand. The cabinet might need some bracing, and the grille frame an inboard bevel wedge - it was a plain square frame . . . perhaps felt on the baffle.  No end to the fun.  The O2 was designed for the newly emerging audiophile dealer to sell against Polk and Advent. I think those retailed for $150 / pair in 1977, which would be $500 in today's dollars.