Thiel Owners
Interesting, FWIW, as of today TMR now has two pairs of maple CS 2.4 speakers listed for sale (having just listed the first pair yesterday, see my previous post). For this pair they are asking $1799 + $299 shipping, with condition listed as 7 out of 10. serial#
3601, 3602
https://tmraudio.com/speakers/floorstanding-speakers/thiel-cs2-4-floorstanding-speakers-maple-black-... |
My own take on using tubes with 3.5s (I’ve used a VPI 299D integrated with mine for about three or four years now), is that component quality is as important as lots of power. There were only 100 299Ds ever made (it was a vanity project around the time of Harry Weisfeld’s retirement) so it’s a fair bet that I’m the only guy out there who has ever used one on 3.5s. However, Steve Leung, who hand built the 299D and designed it in collaboration with Harry, used a lot of the same internals as Primaluna deploys, including the same transformers, resistors, capacitors, point to point wiring, triode/ultra linear switching etc, so a Primaluna amp would be the easier comparative audition. The 3.5s are great at exposing any weakness in the system, of course, but even with four EL34s in the 299D, there’s more than enough power to control these speakers really effectively. In fact I nowadays much prefer the 34s to the optional KT150s that I occasionally install for kicks and giggles. The 150s are, of course, about as powerful as audio tubes get, but the 34s are way more musical and I find there’s no shortage of clout when using them. I have Adcom and B&K solid state amps waiting in the wings for the most part and neither of them bests the tubes. In fact it’s really not even close. The point of writing this is to reinforce recent comments made about how well 3.5s work with tubes. I do believe, however, that a reasonably modern design with robust wide bandwidth output/toroidal transformers is probably critical. |
tomthiel Excellent gear! The Philips CD-80 is still coveted by Audiophiles. Some older, vintage pieces hold up well in 2020 moving forward. PS Audio has a beta-tester program. Perhaps you could contact Paul for the new PerfectWave SACD player? Did Jim and Paul have any business relationship? I am looking forward in reading about your next high resolution spinner! Have fun! Happy Listening! |
Interesting discussion re. tube amps driving the 3.5s. I just upgraded my solid state amp from and Adcom 555II to a Classe CA300 and havre been luxuriating in the power and glory. The 3D palpability approaching tube magic - but . . . . I keep waiting for that crazy garage sale find of a 200 wpc Manley or VTL at a price I can justify to 'She Who Must Be Obeyed' - but luck so far. I do have a Jolida integrated tube amp on the shelf that needs service- and now I'm wondering what that'd be like on the 3.5's at lower volumes, perhaps with the bass eq removed to lessen power demand. Meanwhile I'm crossing my fingers that my rubber dope temporary fix on my bad mid surround will hold until A more permanent fix is installed. |
