Thiel Owners

Hi Dsper,


Playing with speaker position and room acoustic will yield differences that swamp what you’d get switching around digital sources.(And btw, I’m not in the camp that says every digital source sounds the same).



You should be able to alter the brightness, image focus, soundstage depth, all sorts of things, by playing with positioning (or perhaps adding some acoustic absorption panels or a diffuser at a problematic reflection point).My left speaker is right near a very reflective tiled fireplace.  It can cause some shrill high end so I made a thick velvet cover that I place over that area (on hooks) for listening.  Works perfectly to balance the sound.


Are you sure you have done all you can with speaker position/listening position/acoustics to dial in your speakers before chasing other solutions? (Of course if you really want to try those other things, go for it).

Cheers.

Let me add my impressions to the comparison of the 7.0 and 7.2. we listened to some Michael Jackson songs from thriller album. Rob has all Bryston, the latest CD, pre amp and 28 B3 amps. Not sure about cables. As the room is an office, perhaps 14 x 16 ft without any room treatment, it is fairly alive. Listening to both the 7 sand 7.2, at 85 to 95 dB the immediate impression is the excellent bottom and bass response. Hard to pick a winner as both were astounding. The mid and high is where we there is a difference. The 7.2 is more resolving and given the acoustics more intrusive in the highs whereas the 7 was more balanced all around. When I came home and compared the same music on my 3.5 and 3.7 I would say that the 3.5 has the same character of the 7 but can't compete at the higher spl. The 3.7 can't match the 7 or 7.2 in the bass but easily makes up for it in the mid and highs where the resolution, clarity and balance is unmatched. If anything, how all of these speakers have a great soundstage and draw you into the music makes you forget that the are these differences. I would say love the speakers you have and make them work the best with what you have as far as room and other components.

Thanks for the report thielrules!
As I've said so many times, I think the Thiel 3.7s will remain near-SOTA anywhere around their price-point for a long time.
I haven't heard the 7s for ages, but have no doubt they are competitive with (and better than) many of today's excellent speakers.

prof, 

I'd put the 2.7s into  that category, also. At their price point I haven't heard anything better. 

Hi prof,

Are you sure you have done all you can with speaker position/listening position/acoustics to dial in your speakers before chasing other solutions?

You are asking a fair question. I have added bass traps across the front wall ceiling and down the front wall corners; and have added absorption panels on one side wall where one speaker has to be set within three feet of that side wall. At that time, I also tried to dial in speaker placement.

However, I have not revisited speaker placement and room acoustics since I acquired my latest transport and DAC.

My problem is that my equipment upgrades since I acquired the CS5's have all been noticeable improvements so I keep wondering what I am "obviously" missing in that regard.

Or put another way, perhaps I have lost sight of the room/placement variables. 

And I have not yet set up my turntable since acquiring the Thiels...

Thanks for the advice!

Dsper