Thiel Owners

andy2

I just replaced the caps in my recently purchased used CS2.4s (sn 1030 & 1031) with the kit sold by Rob Gillum. beetlemania's note about removing the passive radiator is a good one and I would add that I was surprised at how long the screws were. They also require a hex wrench. Putting the passive radiator back in was easier than I thought but the whole process of removing and reinstalling them benefitted from the use of a small drill. When reinstalling, the drill helped in getting the screw to 'grip' the frame of the passive radiator more easily, drawing it to the cabinet as it tightened. I'm right-handed so I held the passive radiator with my left hand while using the drill on the screw at the top of the radiator. The speaker lay prone on a workbench and once the first screw is in, the rest were easy.

To me the Thiel sound is the sound that makes me forget about the sound.  There's nothing about it that bothers me.  I don't understand why.  Maybe it's because of the first order phase correct crossover.  There definitely aren't any frequency response problems that bother me.  Everything I've had in the past had problems that bothered me.  Peaky tweeters, flabby bass, overly lean bass.  Other, difficult to describe things as well.  Whatever they were caused by I don't have any of it with the Thiels.  I can sit back and relax.  

The type of company it was definitely appeals to my personality as well.  I'm not a fan of conspicuous consumption or the feeling that I have something special that hardly anybody else can afford.  

jon

I'm with you. . . "I can sit back and relax."

To me the Thiel sound is the sound that makes me forget about the sound.

That's how I felt about the CS2.4. I remember back
when the CS2.4 came out, there were a lot of reviews
on the speakers (always a good sign for a component),
and every review there was always some reference
to it being a bit on the "bright" side.
I just don't understand where it came from.
If anything, I thought the CS2.4 in my system
may be a touch warm sounding on certain materials.

I remember I used to have a pair of Spendor S8 which
were known for their musical and warm sounding. But
as soon as I pull the speakers just a bit further from
the wall, the sound balance just became completely off.
The sound became lean and bright.

The CS2.4 on the other hands is very linear in term of
its position. As I move them further from the wall,
the sound balance changes very linearly and very predictable.

jon,

I agree. And that’s something I’ve been on about often in this thread. My Thiel speakers get out of the way of the sound, from top to bottom, to a degree no other speaker I’ve owned could manage. There’s just an evenness and control that leaves such confidence - no bloating here and there, no drivers sticking out sonically, just perfectly cohesive sound.

And I’m totally with you on the notion of price. As speaker prices ran ever further away in to fantasy land, Thiel kept firmly grounded in trying to produce as much great engineering for as reasonable a price as possible. I’ve always deeply respected them for that.

Andy,

Ditto on your observations about the linearity of the Thiels in terms of positioning in a room. I found the Thiels to be the easiest to position for great sound of any speakers I’ve owned. They just seem to maintain their balance so well. I think the control and lack of bumped up bloat in the bass region helps a lot.

It's not necessarily that the Thiels are the "best at everything" sonically.  I can think of a few other speakers that have aspects of their presentation I like as much or more.   But rather that they are so good in every parameter, and so cohesive, that nothing sticks out and it's easy to just hear the music and musicians, rather than the speakers.