JAFant and all. I also want to express my appreciation for this thread and all of you who contribute your thoughts, knowledge and inputs here and behind the curtain. Without you I would not have imagined this slowly emerging Thiel Renaissance venture. The weeding that you guys have done to find products compatible with and complementary to Thiel loudspeakers would be hard to replicate, actually impossible given the constraints of real life. Likewise your generosity with time and "surplus" products have been transformative. The 6 pair of classic Thiels in my stable all came through this thread. In fact, this thread is my only virtual presence and it connects us all quite well. Thank you.
Your introduction to Bill Thalmann of Music Technologies hit the bull’s-eye. I visited Bill in Springfield VA on Friday to pick up my Sony SCD-1 with refurbished mechanics and CD section, and a neat closed door on the SACD section. I also dropped off the full set of Classé amplification and the Philips CD-80 player for upgrade evaluation. These were Thiel’s 1990 entré into affordable high performance and have served me since. This gear will continue onward as an alternate source to my Benchmark chain. I know it intimately and expect the upgrades to bring it into the modern era.
A word about Bill and his operation. Cool. His 5 (or so) person operation repairs, restores, upgrades and maintains (electric) musical instruments, stage gear, hi fi and professional electronics. There’s a candy store of gear for sale plus multiple work stations that include binocular microscopes, solder stations, scopes and computers and tons of parts and components. The place exudes detailed, focused work.
The order of the day was to assess Bill’s interest in participating in the Thiel Renaissance project. He is interested. As a starting point, he will make a professional assessment of the CS3.5 equalizer which I left along with a user-generated reverse engineered schematic. We are exploring ways and means to accomplish the bass-boost task with possibly more sophistication, including a balanced option. Step one is to learn what Bill thinks of Jim’s work - design, execution, performance including technical and listening evaluations. Jim approached his work very carefully designing his circuitry without op-amps, etc. toward very high performance at moderate cost - like his speakers. That was 1975-1985; the 3.5 was his last equalized product. I am re-evaluating use of an equalizer because it was central to Jim’s insight and holistic approach. It’s death in Thieldom was never joyful. Design and Marketing perspectives diverged, in diplomatic-speak. My own direct comparisons using the model 02 as ported vs sealed re-affirm my desire to offer sealed bass, possibly with equalizers in models that never had one. My present work uses the model 02 as a test bed and proof-of-concept workhorse. Depending on particulars, Bill might prototype an 02 EQ. Imagine that.
