Thiel Owners

FWIW, I sure don't hear any harshness in my Thiel 2.7s driven by my conrad johnson premier 12 tube amps :-)
Not anywhere, not a bit.  They are one of the smoothest sounding speakers (at least with this amp combo) that I've ever heard.
And the sound is big, rich and lush - not the usual descriptors that have been traditionally associated with Thiel speakers (in the mind of many audiophiles).

Prof - the most modern Thiel I have in the HRGarage is the 1.6, which predates your 2.7s by a decade. And I don't hear any of those harsh attributes in it either. There was steady progress made through the years. But the early products could and would often sing sweetly. The positive reviewer experience rarely gives any mention to the complaints some observers proclaim. I'm developing some working models, but still there's a lotta mystery.

Tom, 
Electrostatic headphones use a very, very thin and low mass membrane, positioned between two stators that are driven by a high voltage signal. (The stators operate push-pull to ensure the membrane reacts in a near simultaneous move to the coming signal.

In effect, the membrane reproduces the signal,  covering all frequencies fed to it, in a near-instantaneous time. 

What this means is what you hear (for example) is what the CD spinner/DAC feeds to the headphone does not have the differences in both the reaction time and the physical distances in space that define a normal speaker system.

What you hear is essentially what the recording engineer and the manufacturer put onto the CD. 

I've been using Stax headphones and amplifiers for years to "audition" every classical CD in my collection.  (now using the 009 and associated amplifier)

Yes, an electrostatic can sound thin in the bass - - but very clean and precise, and the higher frequencies can appear bright - - but the accuracy and resolution  cannot be beaten by dynamic cans, nor the  arrival of complex sounds from my 2.7s.  (and, no room effects! :-) :-) :-) )

I use my Thiel 2.7s for musical enjoyment. My Stax for finding out whatinthehell really is on that CD. 

George

prof,
I agree with your description of the 2.7s, although I'm using a Bryston 4B cubed with a bp17 cubed preamp. To me there is a clear difference in the 2.7s being driven by the 4BSST2 and the 4B cubed.

George

George - I've never actually heard electrostatic phones. I use Beyerdynamic 770s live and Sennheiser 800S in the studio-lab. I chose them for high quality neutrality and because many top-notch recording and mastering engineers use them.

Of interest is that the handling of stereo signal is different for in-room stereo and in-can binaural playback. Great recordings play well in both environments, but many ordinary recordings do not. It would be fascinating to learn whether that qualifier makes for good playback on Thiel / Vandy speakers. A recording that plays well on both stereo and cans must have its phase-time information intact and refrain from 3-D tricks of the trade. I bet those "proper" recordings would sound right on phase coherent speakers. Anybody know anything about this topic? I'm just surmising.

Tom