Thiel Owners

Just hooked up the Viewpoints to my computer system.  They're on the B speaker output of my 2001 Creek 5350SE.  Audio is from PC through AudioQuest dragonfly red.  The A output is on my 2010ish VA Mozart Grands.  I've got $7k MSRP worth of speakers that I paid $1,040 for.  Great value is available on the used market if you keep your eyes open and know what to look for.

These couldn't be more different.  The Thiels have the usual crisp, clear, coherent sound.  Not much bass but that's fixable.  The VAs have a lot of bass but it's kind of slow port bass.  I think they're getting relocated.  I wasn't sure I was gonna care that much since it's just a pc system.  Even with the very limited bass it's easier to follow the bassline on the Thiels because they're so much more distinct.  It's funny, I usually don't like the Thiel sound until I listen for 10 or 15 minutes.  They sound off a little bit off at first but once I get used to it again everything else sounds wrong.  They have better upper bass punch.  It's super quick compared to what I'm used to here.  Much more even and balanced, the VAs bass sounds too disconnected from the rest by comparison.  That little coax really was a great driver.  

Alright, had to go get an adapter but I hooked up an idle psb sub series 100.  It's a tiny sealed box sub but it's working great in this setup.  It gets me to 40 hertz with no problem at as loud of a volume as I'll ever need nearfield.  I went to an online tone generator sight to figure out where to set the volume and crossover.  This system is at a whole new level, how fun.  

listening to these bass covers and the sub is integrating nicely and filling out below around 100hz where the speakers start to drop.

Hello folks - here’s a side-trip down memory lane with some destinations in mind.

I recently got a pair of original model 01s, with two more pair of later versions coming this summer. What a trip! The only reference I’ve come across here on Audiogon is someone asking about the Conceptions Electronics source - never much if anything about their bones or performance. But nevertheless, the first work of a designer reveals his soul much like the first work of any artist. There is a lot to love in the 01, even though not much of anything about it survived the ordeals of time. The 01 preceded much of audiophiledom or our awareness of various subtleties, and certainly of time / phase alignment. Mid 1970s didn’t know that stuff. Jim’s native impulse was to design a portable, flexible, honest speaker for myriad uses and users. That was realized in a high efficiency, highly dynamic, accurate transducer with extraordinary bass and linearity. Imagine a bookshelf-sized (02) cabinet that is flat ±2db, 30Hz to 17kHz at 95dB/w-m with linear 6 ohm impedance. Its use of a purpose-built equalizer raised market red flags, but also differentiated its performance and our fledgling company from the masses. (There were masses of new companies entering the fray in the day.)

Despite the shortcomings, I am thrilled with their performance. And they provide a foundation for some further explorations - specifically their two drivers which are no longer available. The 10" Eminence woofer was used in the 01, 01a, 01b, 03, 03a (and nearly phantom 03b). The same requirements were filled by Vifa when our needs exceeded Eminence’s directions (PA and Musical Instruments.) The CS3 and 3.5 share the same needs for sealed bass with linear extension to 40, 30 or 20Hz depending on model & EQ setting. Combined there were 11,000 pair produced using the ’same’ woofer, and a major cause of obsolescence is driver unavailability.

Note also that the never-produced CS4 (4-way) was upstaged by the CS5 (5-way) via market demand, not internal preference. That CS4 would have two of the same 10" woofers, a 6.5" sealed lower mid (think CS7), a ?new? upper mid, plus what became the UltraTweeter used in the CS5, 3.6 and 2.2. The CS4 would have used a bass equalizer. There is a lot to love about having such a woofer and tweeter for service and upgrade for all those models.

Back to the 01. In my small venue - live music and recording work, I use various Thiel models as monitors or sound reinforcement. Most recently the SCS4 is drafted, but, I am enamored with the 01 for that duty, especially as souped up with modern implementations. The 01 provides real 30Hz bass, 4+ x the efficiency, less demanding impedance, and a neat, retro mystery vibe. BTW, I’m recessing the tweeter into a wave-guide to get what has become known as phase and time coherence, where the rebound of the tweeter meshes smoothly with the woofer onset, one tweeter-cycle late. Thiel’s ’phase / time coherence’ now seems to be called ’phase / time alignment, or coincidence’. Fair enough, language morphs. And springtime is just around the corner which brings access to my fair-weather studio.

A few days in and I'm really enjoying some solo cello on my computer system.  It can't be a coincidence, I never listen to classical here.  And I'm sure it's low res, poorly recorded or something.  Whatever it is I'm really enjoying it here and I wouldn't have before.

jon_5912

Excellent! choice.

Happy Listening!

jon_5912

After all of these years, a Creek 5350SE is still a sweet amp. Some Audio products were built to last.

Happy Listening!