Thiel Owners

I did some listening at a friend's house.

He recently moved from tube amps (AR) to a solid state Bryston amp.Vinyl set up.  He has access to high end stuff so he currently has a $25,000 phono stage, $12,000 cartridge, and extremely revealing speakers from Vivid (replacing for the moment his smaller monitors from another company).

I've heard his system get more and more transparent and detailed along the way.


And...I could barely listen to it by this point.

To my ears, it was all super detail and transparency, without a bit of human or organic warmth at.  All icy and cold and thin and hardened.

When I got back and spun tunes on my Thiel/Conrad Johnson set up, I just wanted the hug my system, it was so much bigger, richer, more beautiful and satisfying.

Tomthiel,

I know the numbers are not correct, I just wanted to show the theoretical effect of the difference between the two values to get an idea how large the impact will +/- be ;)

Andy2,

The measurement was taken from the listening spot with Dirac Live in my living room, there is no way to get perfect measurements without a  treated dedicated audio room,  that I don't have :(

The device I use to compensate my room with great results.

  https://www.minidsp.com/products/dirac-series/ddrc-88a

Prof, welcome to the final destination on the ride.

Been there, done that.  Could have bought cars over what was spent.  Now my system is a lot like yours, beautiful, ever-present and faithful Thiels, fed by a big warm Classe, with a 58 year old tubed preamp full of ancient bottles conducting the arrangements.

Is it full of distortion and is ruefully unfaithful to the waveforms?  You betcha.  But when Nancy Wilson steps up and starts singing, she is RIGHT THERE.  Goosebumps always, media permitting.

And isn’t that why we go to all this trouble, to come home, pour a nice drink, and luxuriate in our musical retreat?

IMO, when you are left always listening to the equipment itself, and never the artistry of the music, you have forgotten the destination.  Others I’m sure will feel differently.