Thiel Owners

holco - beetlemania and I have combined our resistor inquiry and included some things I know about brands from history. We are convinced that the MRA-12s are our first choice. Part of that choice is their patented technologies and the Aryton-Perry non-inductive design, since I am paying particular attention to electromagnetic eddy currents. There are higher-tech resistors out there at multiples of the cost. My interest is in honest engineering-based solutions without cross-talk into sonic editorialism. Jeff at Sonic Craft and other knowledgeable operatives have been quite helpful in wading through the brands and claims and factors involved. You and all here are welcome to construct a comparative test for our collective learning.

i am at a crossroads
i moved my thiel 2.4's to a dedicated space 20 ft x 30.
setup my Bryston 4BSST2, my Proceed CDP and sat down.
History:
My first high end setup was a Thiel 2.2, Levinson 332, Levinson 38s, and the same CDP.
It was awesome, very wide soundstage, great bass, sweet mod and highs. almost everything just right.

Then i got Revel Studios. Theywere leaner, very detailed, incredibly extended bass, but with a smaller soundstage, more linear, much less enjoyable.

Now my setup has  a very linear sound , great imaging, detail, depth of image but a harsh high end. at low volumes nice but not the smooth easy to listen "sweet"  sound i'd love.

 What to do? Different amp? Pre/ power combo? Intergrated? Tube pre?
i got a budget of 3-5 k and dont know how to go forward. Don't want to make a mistake, just want to enjoy what i got.

one option was PS audio 250's with trade is doable but will it do the trick? One said i need to do a pre/amp or nothing...

thoughts?
thanks , 
dave

harry - big southern mansions have their charms. After my time at Thiel Audio I did some installation consulting work which included Bluegrass Horse Farm Manor Houses. The sonic potential of those rooms in those dwellings is a wonder to behold. 1982 would have been the development of the CS3, which was our game-changing breakthrough product. I suspect that Larry Staples (hello Larry) arranged that listening session. Sounds like a focusing experience for you.

@holco Please note that neither Tom or myself have conducted our own resistor listening comparisons. The Mundorf was on the short list but the Mills rose to the top of the list based on engineering, subjective opinions, and price. If cost were not a factor, I would try Path Audio re$i$tor$. The Mills are a really good and cost effective upgrade over the OEM sandcast resistors. Is it possible the Mundorfs sound better still? Could be but I am very comfortable with the choice of Mills.

There are endless combinations of parts that could be applied in a crossover upgrade and even a full time designer could not have time to listen to them all. Tom has given very careful consideration to the possibilities based on his own extensive knowledge as well as opinions of others with broad experience. Tom only has time for a subset of sonic comparisons. I will compare the sound with and without Multicap bypasses on the coax feed caps. I might also compare foil and wire coils. But I trust that Tom has made good choices, just as I trusted those of Jim Thiel.

Thanks for the input guys, much appreciated!!