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Piego P-10 or big Thiels?


Considering upgrade from Thiel 2 2 to bigger Thiels (6 or 7.2) or perhaps a different route to the Piego P-10.

Any advice on speaker selection?

I like the Thiel sound a lot, but find this system to be a bit bright on sibilants like Holly Cole Trio "I Can See Clearly Now...", and less detailed than other kilobuck speakers. Sometimes - esp. on upper piano - brightness approaches a glare. Wife and I are not satisfied with B&W sound or MLogan/Maggie space requirements.

Gear is:
AudioAlchemy DDS-Pro
Wireworld Gold Eclipse balanced
AA DTI-Pro
silver I2S
AA DDEv3
PAD Colossus I/C

BAT VK-3i,
ProSilway II balanced I/C

BAT VK-500,
PAD Colossus speaker wire

Thiel 2 2

and preamp to Velodyne F-1500R

I'll eventually upgrade digital gear to Wadia 861 and run it straight into the amp.

Room is medium size with vaulted high ceiling and open to other rooms.

Music preference is no country, limited opera. All CD.
akaddict
snook2's avatar
snook2
627 posts
 
If you have a medium sized room you can't go wrong with p-10's. They are fun to listen to and CZAPP is right in that at used prices it the best bargain. Very easy to drive
calloway
874 posts
 
as a very happy p-10 owner and one who has heard the 7.2s' i don't think you can go wrong either way.they are both great speakers.i agree with snook that you should look very seriously at the used p-10 prices.they are unbelievably low for a superb speaker.if the p-10s have an advantage it is with their ribbon mids and tweeter that are superb.mids and highs are just amaxing and the bass extends down to 19hz +/- 1db if i remember right.i can almost guarantee that if you choose the p-10s' you will be very satisfied. i have heard the c-series piegas' and plan to upgrade to the c-10 ltd probably by the end of the year but the p-10 is not far behind the much more expensive c-10 ltd in its performance...which is one of the best 2 or 3 speakers i have ever heard. good luck with your choice.
akaddict OP
51 posts
 

Thanks to all of you for your comments. Due to location I can't listen to any of these speakers, so your advice is very helpful!

OK, any advice on how to choose among CS6, CS7.x, P-10, without listening to any of them? They seem to be equally loved by their owners.


RCPrince:
I will definitely try removing that cable. Thanks for a good insight.

Gullahisland:
I agree that disk is bright, but on some gear its tolerable, and others its not. Also, I love the BAT gear. The pre- and extra cables do add a bit of a veil (compared to CDP straight into the amp), but overall I prefer it over the trade-offs. The VK-500 is in an entirely different class from the rest of the gear. 250w and it weighs 100 lbs; it has outstanding control and authority. I have 0 complaints about the amp (well maybe it's weight). I was stunned by the improvement over my previous well-liked McCormack DNA-1. I preferred it over the Classe CA-400 on my friend's all Classe/MIT/Avalon Radian HC system. IMHO, the BAT has more control and isn't as dark.

Karls:
I felt the same way, but recently tried an 830 and found it to be only a small improvement over existing gear. I decided a better model was required to justify an upgrade. Compared to existing, the Wadia's bass was noticably less defined, while the highs were sweeter and it had better presence. I definitely liked a balanced I/C better than RCA. And going directly into the amp was a revelation in terms of taking a "dirty pane" out of the picture, but the bass was even worse without the pre. On the whole the difference wasn't enought to justify the cost.



BTW, although she hears equipment differences better then I, wife thinks I've gone over the edge with this next round of upgrades. I keep telling her its not how much I spend, but how much I wanted to spend by didn't: see how much I saved....

gajgmusic
175 posts
 
I wasn't going to respond as I'm a bit late in the post but was drawn in by your reference to Holly cole and I can see clearly now. It is one of my favorite discs and one I have long used in assessing a system. Being Canadian I have also heard her sing it on several occassions in good halls so I have a reasonable idea of what the real thing sounds like. With regards to the piegas I had the p8ltd not the p10 s which are quite similar, and the disc was stunning on them. In fact its one of the things that sold them to me. Her highs were perfect, natural airy and lifelike. Nothing of a glare in my system whatsoever. I bought them by the way sight unseen and never looked back. Unfortunately I have only heard somewhat older Thiels so I can't add a lot there, they are very well known and as I understand superb speakers. I should add that after I bought my speakers I developed an association with piegas North American distributor so please take anything I say with a grain fo salt. Good luck.
hififarm
92 posts
 
I must chime in on this thread. I am a associate of Sanibel Sound, the importer for Piega. I strongly urge you to seek out the nearest Piega Authorized Dealer and listen to a "quality dealer demo" before deciding on which speaker to buy. We are opening a new round of dealers in the upcoming months and will be positioned in almost every major market in the U.S. We will announce at least 10 new dealers by December so please try to be patient and visit one in your area.
Piega designs and builds all there own ribbon drivers making it exclusive to their products. The cabinet of the C Series is a 9 layer configuration of cork and very uniform wood shaped under extreme heat and pressure. The technology was previously only used in a sensitive labratory environment where explosions may need to be contained. This has solved several problems which conventional enclosures simply cannot surmount. Watch for the upcoming reviews this fall and look up the current press relating to the summer show in San Francisco. Three current publications call the AIX Piega Room one of few absolute standouts at the show. September Stereophile, October Stereophile Guide to Home Theater, and September issue DVD etc.
If you need the nearest dealer please call 18005316886 for info.
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