Thiel Owners

Preliminary report from Lexington. Rob is well equipped and stocked with knowledge, experience and parts. A truckload of spare parts was delivered from Audio Consultants - what a score! 
We spent some time comparing CS7 to 7.2. More discussion can follow; don’t hesitate to score a good deal on the original 7s. 

Hi,

I am interested in other Thiel owner opinions regarding transports and DACs and at what point a listener needs to start playing with interconnects.

My recent journey included using an AudioSpace CD8A as transport and a Ric Schultz modified Oppo 105 in my system (Prima Luna Dialogue Premium preamp, McCormack DNA-500 amp, Thiel CS5 speakers, and Synergistic Research and Cullen interconnects).

Anyway, things were not sounding right to me.

I have two great dealers in my area who let me try various components at home. Over several weeks I auditioned a Naim CD5si, Levinson 390S, Rega DAC R, Bryston BDA1, and a fairly recent PS Audio DAC, do not recall which one.

I also listened in the showroom to an Esoteric streamer that lists for like $7,500. Just too clinical for my taste - all detail but no music - no PRAT.

I ended up with a Hegel HD25 that I also had auditioned; and paired that with the AudioSpace as the transport. This sounded passable for a while until I decided the treble was just too sharp. 

It had been suggested to me from a fellow Audiogoner to try a R2R ladder DAC so I acquired a vintage Theta ProBasic III. This was a wow moment for me because it provided a more detailed and nuanced sound with much less treble sharpness.

Then I acquired a PS Audio Perfectwave Transport, which was another wow moment. Combined with the Theta DAC, the detail and presence went up another whole level. And I do mean wow.

So my question is how do I get closer to a "live" sound? Is it a different transport or DAC? Or is it time to adjust what I have through different interconnects? Most of my equipment upgrade experience has resulted in wow moments so I have not paid much attention to interconnects....

Your advice and comments, please.

Thanks for listening,

Dsper

Tom that’s great to hear about cs7s please elaborate more on your impressions of the 7s vs the 7.2s and any other info you may have learned on your trip.

Tom -- speaking as a 3.7 owner, and presuming for all of us here as well, yes, I think we are all waiting with baited breath to read your extended thoughts on this latest Lexington Thiel encounter!
Todd

Happy Friday! All