Thiel Owners

jafant...
Everything is fine here, albeit a bit "On The Beach" for everyone.  I live out in the 'burbs (close to Stony Brook U.) so maintaining the socially acceptable distance between humans is not as difficult as it is for Manhattan residents.  My sister resides in lower Manhattan and her best descriptions repeat "surreal" over and over.  Even out here in the 'burbs the optics can be off-putting - shopping mall parking lots completely empty, playgrounds and small local parks cordoned off with crime-scene tape,  gasoline at $2.09 a gallon!   Aaargh!

I just picked up a pair of Usher Audio X-719 stand mounted monitors whilst I await the sale of my Totem Acoustic Rainmakers.  (My Thiel CS2.4's are committed to)  I have a great deal of admiration for the Rainmakers,  but I discovered that my living room might just be a tad too large for them to truly shine.  I had a pair of these a few years ago with different amplification, so that might also be a contribution.  The X-719's have a slightly larger woofer which has fleshed out the pressurization admirably;  they are ported,  and I do detect a smidgen of bass bloom on some music so I am currently looking to fashion some foam plugs for the ports to see what happens.  (I have posted a pic on my virtual systems page.)

In the past,  among many other things since joining this confounded community,  I owned a pair of Usher's CP-6311 floorstanders which I enjoyed a LOT,  so I was already somewhat familiar with their performance/sonics.  Like the Rainmakers the x-719's are bi-wwire capable and I am awaiting a pair of Bluejeans cables with banana plugs fore and aft - the space on the Rainmakers and the X-719's is a royal pain in the ass to monkey around bi-wiring with spades.  I am now using a pair of non-descript bi-wire cables that I rastled from the snake pit of accessories I keep near the main setup.  And to think I used to just toss things away willy-nilly...

Other than that I have been enjoying the heck out of my Qobuz subscription.  I have totally abandoned Apple's iTunes and its replacement,  Music.  It just stinks.  I've used Tidal in the past and enjoyed it,  but Qobuz is $14.99 monthly for the high-rez while Tidal is $19.99.  Admittedly,  Tidal's catalogue is deeper,  but as I discovered through my memberships on each,  one has slightly differing catalogues than the other in terms of depth,  but that probably has more to do with obtaining the rights/licensing etc., etc.,  etc.  Not a big deal at all considering that I use the service as a complement to my collection,  not a replacement or subsitute.  In the absolute end,  done at near-field listening comparison,  Qobuz just sounded BETTER.

Sheesh - i went on a bit here,  aye?  Chalk it up to the virus and time on hand!

Be well,  stay safe,  and turn it up!

@vair68robert 
OK, I think I understand now. I’ll give it a whirl, maybe later this week. Probably need to let the cables settle a bit after I change ‘em. (I can hear Prof sighing)

@beetlmania 
Thanks , 
when I made my speaker cables there were 2 main variables 
replacing the 2 x 11.5 awg ( 8.5 awg )  Neutral Reference speaker cables
with 1 x 9.5 awg chassis wire 
and keeping them sperated to eliminate capacitance .
I was well rewarded by doing this
but I can't tell which change had the most positive affect .



 

 

@oblgny , Have you ever considered Thiel CS 2's? I'm not trying to tell you what to do, just offering an option for consideration. I know you're a fan of the 3.5's, but circumstances might be keeping you from those. I see CS 2's regularly listed for a few hundred bucks. Somewhat similar to the 3.5's in sonic signature, but also somewhat easier to drive. Other than perhaps for some amplifiers and to a lesser extant some speaker cables, upstream components would suit both equally well. 
If and when considering, do make sure to inspect the drivers. Though the CS 2's might have been Thiel's most durable models, I've seen examples of unscrupulous sellers passing off other drivers as OEM. The CS 2's somewhat unique grills, which perhaps more so than any other Thiel model needs to be in place when used, have additional and rather sturdy double sided tape attached to the baffle. At first it might seem as though the grills can't be removed, but they can. Be sure to inspect that the drivers are genuine Thiel's. All in all the CS 2's might make transitioning back to 3.5's when circumstances permit rather easy.

For those who prefers time-phase coherent design, you may find this article interesting.  They compared an identical speaker that was done with time-phase coherent and with more conventional approach.  Since the comparison was done on the same identical speaker, it has some credibility.  You could read the article, but the finding was the difference was subtle and more clearly heard in an  anechoic  chamber but if done in a regular living room, with reflections and all that, the difference was more difficult to hear.
https://audioxpress.com/article/zero-phase-in-studio-monitors