Thiel Owners

Reporting in as to the progress made regarding Thiel Renaissance.

I had the pleasure of having the man himself, Tom Thiel, come for a visit to evaluate what he has been working on the last few years. 

This was a planned visit for almost a year but delays postponed our meeting. 

A room was designed and built with the intent that this room would be the stable for Thiel CS 5i. Room dimensions 20' w x 16' x 10'. 

We listened to the CS 5i Thurs.-Sunday. Both of us had a very good baseline as to how this speaker was behaving in this room. 

The point of this visit was to listen to the work Tom performed and see if it had merit. The truth being told I didn't want to swap out the CS 5i for the SCS4 monitors. 

Reluctantly we moved the monitors in and set them up in one channel. 

We went through 3 iterations of Toms upgrades. Each one was a very clear/audible improvement. When we arrived at the finally version it had my interests. I asked Tom can we listen in stereo. He set up speakers and we went through the play list we had been using. 

Our evaluation was on the mids and highs as you cannot compare the CS 5i bottom end to a monitor nor most speakers as it delivers the goods.

We listened to 5-6 tracks and I refused to believe what I was hearing. These little monitors with all the upgrades out performed my beloved CS 5i hands down. It wasn't even close. 

The pure musicality of this speaker could not be denied. It had crystal clear clarity, notes had the right amount of weight to them, they were fast, presented an intimacy I don't think I've heard, soundstage was wide and layered with all the images outlined. 

This was all from a 6" mid woofer. The bass was very good. It had plenty of punch and projection. It made its older bother sound lethargic in comparison. 

When the last track finished playing,  Tom clapped in applause as to the performance we witnessed. 

It was memorable for sure. 

We had to start packing Tom up and we had the conversation that these improvements can be performed on "all" existing Thiel speakers in the market place. My thoughts started turning in my head, about seeking vindication, that this small monitor came into my barn taking the title of stud away from the CS 5i.

Immediately after I asked Tom "So when can my CS 5i get done with all these upgrades and outriggers"? 

Come to think of it my CS 2.4SE, CS 2.7, CS 6, and CS 7.2 as well. 

duramax747

Outstanding! report. Good to see you here as always. Can you talk about the gear used in the test trials? Cable system(s) ?

Happy Listening!

tomthiel

Safe travels this week.

Happy Listening!

jafant,

The cabling for final listening test was Tom's which is what will be the internal cabinet wiring as well. I'll let Tom speak to the specifics regarding that. 

We were not focused on gear as much as sweeping the room and getting the room correct. This room was a tremendous undertaking and we had to tune the room accordingly. Being in an attic in the south in July will question ones dedication to our beloved hobby that's for sure. 

Again I will let Tom speak on the room but this was a custom designed room from Tom to create a space that would be ideal to listen to the entire line on Thiel speakers. 

I will say,  the room was designed so at the listening chairs only the first wave from speakers was heard and not second/third reflection off floor/ceiling/walls. 

Minimal dampening was implemented to keep the room right at the edge of lively. Who wants dead harmonics?

I had a tube socket go bad at the very beginning of our testing so we were without this tube  preamp the remainder of our testing which was a shame as it was very promising the little we heard. 

Digital was Bricasti M1 SII Dac mated with Bricasti M19 SACD.

Amps used were a set of monos Tom brought and a set of Pass Labs XA 200.5.  I also had other amps and digital on hand but we ran out of time to even consider them. To be honest, the final listening session there was no need in our minds to do anything else regarding gear. 

Tom can verify that we set ourselves up at a complete disadvantage. I did not want any placebo effects. If what we were doing  was real it had to earn it. And it did not disappoint

The room still needs revisions, as we knew it would when it was designed. We ran out of time. Three days we were at it. Freon went out on AC and room was getting quite toasty with massive Class A amps that were throwing some heat, as I wanted to push the amps/speakers to clear here throat and see the limitations of the room. This was intentional so we could address/devise a plan while Tom was there.

My homework assignment is to go through our list for the room methodically and have it ready for a second visit. Tom will bring a market ready version of the SCS4, my pair, with newly designed stands that will house the external covers and his new cap technology. 

There will be You Tube links to demonstrate the room and the speakers when that second visit occurs. 

We also hope to have a Thiel Renaissance equipment rack in the listening room as well. Lots of behind the scene stuff. Christmas is one day. The remaining 364 days the elves are behind the scenes.

It looks like the clouds are parting and a new sunny day will soon be upon Thiel's. horizon and a bright horizon I imagine that will be.