Thiel Owners

@woodysticks

Ideally;

100 to 500 Watts into 4 Ohms depending on desired volume levels and room.

8 to 10 feet apart from tweeters.

3 feet or preferably more from wall behind speaker backs.*

3 feet or preferably more from side walls.

Ideally 10 feet (+/- 2’) from tweeters to listeners.*

Jim Thiel originally used Straightwire and later Goertz Alpha-Core cables.

*important

As far as power I would ideally go 250 minimum at 4 ohms.

Woody - something that hasn't been mentioned is that Thiel, especially pre-coax models) require a listening ear height of 3' in order for time alignment. That's a baked in constraint. You can tilt the speakers to compensate for other ear heights, but do pay attention or you are likely to be disappointed.

And regarding your replacement midrange drivers. Rob's replacement is a CS2.2 mid replacement and it will work. And none have failed in the field. However, be aware that its power handling spec is far less than the 3.5 mid. High power levels will damage it.

The good things about that driver include its physical drop-in aspect and its suitable performance. At moderate levels it will sound good.

@thoft’s suggestion has merit.

At low volume levels in a small room one can get away with 100 Watts @ 4 Ohms, but one should keep in mind that even with an accommodating impedance rise in the range at which the equalizer does it’s thing, the eq still adds extra demands on the amplification. Personally. I would at least double that previously suggested 100 Watt @ 4 Ohms minimum for my own use.