Starting a new "Thiel" like company with out Jim Thiel would be quite a challenge.
THIEL Audio their demise...
It was with great sadness this morning when I visited the THIEL Audio website and saw photos of the 'new' designs.
When Jim Thiel designed speakers, there was a form follows function in place. He tried to create the 'Electrostatic Sound' using conventional drivers. Whether you agreed with his 'house sound' was as usual in audio, a personal preference. Some thought the sound 'bright' in the upper mid range. That's fine, personal 'taste' in sound drives us all to various products. One man's 'clear' is another man's 'bright'. But Jim's design philosophy was, 1st order crossovers, time alignment, low distortion--and that was his pursuit for thirty years.
Now, I go to their site and see, 'me too' looking boxes, no alignment (that I can see) and no mention of 1st order, low distortion.
Oh, they probably sound OK--maybe pretty good--but it's not the same company. I recognize the reason for buying a 'Name Brand' with international distribution, I did it myself eight years ago. However, any changes I made were notable improvements--in other words, I didn't buy a Monet and remove the oil and put a water color on the canvas.
I lost a friend when Jim died, and now the world has lost a great speaker line.
Larry
When Jim Thiel designed speakers, there was a form follows function in place. He tried to create the 'Electrostatic Sound' using conventional drivers. Whether you agreed with his 'house sound' was as usual in audio, a personal preference. Some thought the sound 'bright' in the upper mid range. That's fine, personal 'taste' in sound drives us all to various products. One man's 'clear' is another man's 'bright'. But Jim's design philosophy was, 1st order crossovers, time alignment, low distortion--and that was his pursuit for thirty years.
Now, I go to their site and see, 'me too' looking boxes, no alignment (that I can see) and no mention of 1st order, low distortion.
Oh, they probably sound OK--maybe pretty good--but it's not the same company. I recognize the reason for buying a 'Name Brand' with international distribution, I did it myself eight years ago. However, any changes I made were notable improvements--in other words, I didn't buy a Monet and remove the oil and put a water color on the canvas.
I lost a friend when Jim died, and now the world has lost a great speaker line.
Larry
- ...
- 18 posts total
was just searching to see whatever became of thiel, as it is still my main home theater system--5 full range thiels (scs4 for surrounds, mcs1 for c and pair of pcs for left and right) and a velodyne sub--and still sounds quite amazing. i put it together a good decade and a half ago, and it has since gone through many changes on the front end, processor, dacs, etc.. but the thiels have remained because they sound fantastic. i'm an accuracy and musicality freak and these deliver on both. thanks all for the informative thread. |
@dtich If you haven't already, take a look at the Thiel Owners thread. It's one of the longest and best threads on Audiogon, and "jafant" keeps it moving along smoothly.. Tom Thiel posts many very interesting comments there, as do a diverse mix of Thiel owners across many decades. I'm still happily listening to a pair of CS-2.2 speakers I bought in 1992. |
- 18 posts total