Thiel Owners

Jafant,

I have a simple all digital system. Mac mini computer into a wyred4sound dac, to two JL E112 subs highpassed at 60z to the MC462 amp. 
I dabble in home theater (well maybe more than dabble, with a dedicated, treated all black room lol) so I have a bunch of gear in a rack way off to the side bypassed through the DAC. Large 25x26x7.5’ room but I only sit 9’ from the speakers. Entire ceiling is acoustic panels with 9” of mineral wool behind them. That change helped a lot. 

I plan to get rid of the dac next and move back to benchmark. I will do their new HP4A and DAC. I really like the benchmark stuff but had issues with the volume control on the older models (moved too fast and had poor left to right matching as it changed volume). I tried a few tube preamps and solid state pre-amps and ended up with no preamp at all. I feel like the leading edge of the bass has been lacking since getting rid of the benchmark dac. Odd comment I know but something about it for sure.
I tried the McIntosh C9 preamp/MC462 combo with the Revel 328be and felt the C9 added a little too much “Mac sound” so I think I will stick to a less colored preamp not to mention cheaper. The MC462 is just enough (very subtle) tonal color for me which took the edge of the Thiels and what I was going for.  
On a side note the Revel 328be is a really great speaker I think most Thiel owners would like. Flat tonal balance and wide soundstage with stable dispersion. Seemed to play with limitless volume too (very clean). The highs are really something on them. Makes the highs on the Thiels seem a little dated.  

@james633  I am a Thiel CS3.7 guy now and maybe I can offer some Benchmark feedback. The Benchmark HPA4 preamp is great. It will make any DAC sound better because it is quieter than all DACs connected to it and the volume control is of very high quality.

I also have the Benchmark DAC3B it is pretty good, especially when paired with the HPA4 with balanced cables. However, I have a new DAC that I find a lot better than the DAC3B and I use it with the HPA4. It is also cheaper ($1500) and I believe it measure just as well as the DAC3B. It is the Gustard X26 Pro.

The One to Beat: Gustard X26 PRO DAC Review (soundnews.net)

I use the Gustard  with 2 preamps using RCA and XLR to each one. The CODA 07x, a warm preamp, and the HPA4. Both going into a Class D amp for my Thiel CS3.7. I have 2 sets of long XLRs from each preamp. I have the DAC3B setup the same way with RCA and XLR and can easily do comparisons. The Gustard is the clear winner. It is a bit warmer than the DAC3B and really detailed with a very big sound.

I should note that I had an issue with the first Gustard X26 Pro I bought. It was on rare occasions outputting increasing noise after many hours of playing. I would power down for 10 seconds and everything was good again. I have a contact in Texas who bought the Gustard X26 Pro after me. He did not have this issue. So I contacted the Chinese seller and they told me to send it back. I sent it back by USPS for $116 and they sent a new unit in 7 days. The new unit does not seem to have this issue.

I also used it as a preamp but the 2 preamps I have are much better.

james633

Thank You for the system update. Agreed, having separates can become too much of a good thing. 

Happy Listening!

yyzsantabarbara

Good to see you again. Excellent combination of CODA/Thiel.
The Gustard X26 Pro is receiving positive Audio press across other forums.

Happy Listening!

Thanks yyzsantabarbara, I will read up on the Gustard X26.