Thiel Owners


Guys-

I just scored a sweet pair of CS 2.4SE loudspeakers. Anyone else currently or previously owned this model?
Owners of the CS 2.4 or CS 2.7 are free to chime in as well. Thiel are excellent w/ both tubed or solid-state gear!

Keep me posted & Happy Listening!
128x128jafant
Prof - my personal AHA moment was somewhere around 1981, possibly with the introduction of the original CS3 at Chicago CES. We used Tim DeParavicini's Esoteric Audio Research pre and power amp. I was dumbfounded. Jim dismissed the pluses because he couldn't get past the minus of insufficient deep bass control. BUT, I never really heard such magic again, probably because I got so deeply immersed in factory-building that I lost track of the musical experience.

We usually had a latest CJ and ARC model in our listening room. All those amps seemed to vanish before the bankruptcy auction except the Krell FPB-600 in Jim's lab.
We usually had a latest CJ and ARC model in our listening room.
I have very limited experience with CJ but ARC is great stuff, IMO. If I wasn't an Ayre-head, I would probably have ARC (or Aesthetix or a John Curl design).

There are one or two Thiel owners here on A'gon who use ARC to drive CS2.4 and, even, CS3.7 using ARC.
Jim dismissed the pluses because he couldn’t get past the minus of insufficient deep bass control.



Understandable, especially from his designer perspective.

The reason I’ve held on to the Premier 12s all this time is because Michael Fremer’s old stereophile review nailed the character of these amps. They have that mid-band lushness, upper frequence glow/sparkle/aliveness and yet produce taught and controlled sounding bass with every single speaker I’ve ever owned. I never feel compromised with "tube bass" in terms of a flabbiness or lack of control. As I’ve written, the 3.7s on my CJ amps had the most controlled and coherent bass I’ve ever heard.

The CJ Premier 12 amps are still expensive to buy used and expensive to re-tube when necessary. I would think a Premier 11 (the stereo version) would be a very nice substitute, and a fantastic amplifier to hear with the CS3.7s, also. I love CJ and I love ARC. I am currently using Audio Research Classic 120 mono amps with my CS3.7. They make a simply magical combination. But I am sure a CJ Premier 11 (or pair of Premier 12)  would be stiff competition.
Hello all!

Anyone here have any experience or thoughts on Class D amplification with our Thiels? As I continue to wait and research my eventual move to monoblocks, I must admit, the thought of something from Bel Canto, Theta Digital, Jeff Rowland, PS Audio or Audio Research’s DS450M (would mate well with the rest of my tubed ARC gear) has been gaining traction in my mind solely for the Class D’s promise of energy efficiency.

Appreciate any thoughts...

Arvin