Thiel Owners

If i ever decide to get a pair of 3.7s again i'll most likely try to find a demo Dagostino Momentum S250 stereo amp to drive them.

@jafant  Yes i like the Dag build quality, sound is phenomanal, very refined and a little warm just what we need for Thiel speakers.Also Dag is knowned for it's power delivery doubling all the way down to 2 ohms.I can see driving the Dad S250 directly from a Totaldac d1-direct + d1-driver.That would be a simple and very neat system.Cheers.

I would avoid Spectral with 3.7s, not a very good match.Hegel H30 is awsome paired with 3.7s, a used Gryphon Diablo 300 is also a great alternative.

Pass Int-250 is a perfect match for CS 3.7s juste like the Diablo 300.

The Accuphase E-800 might be something to consider with 3.7s.This beast doubles its power down to 1 ohm !!

brayeagle
I guess so, 300B in the case the Alieno 250 LTD have a lifespan of more than 5000 hours, this is pretty unsual.I would love to hear this amp but right now there is only one dealer that carries it in Italy.

Here is a prettry interesting design that would be cappable of driving Thiel speakers with tube refinement but without the drawback of power deficiency

http://www.acusticaapplicata.com/news.php?lang=eng#alieno

@rosami  best sounding Thiel C's 3.7s I have heard to date is driven by Aries Cerat Concero 65 monoblocs.
No SS amps can come close to this level of musicality, very rich and organic sound.
Problem with Aries Cerat is that the gear is huge, extremely heavy and generates a lot of heat.
A dedicated room is a must for this level of gear.
With my wife we have listened to CH Precision pre-power and it was not as engaging as Aries Cerat but still very liquid.
Cheers

@thielrules, Yes Aries Cerat preamp and monoblocks is in another league paired with the 3.7s, it is even more musical and engaging than the Ypsilon pre-power.This level of musicality is impossible to reach with SS.If you are ready to spend 46K and cope with size and weight of the gear than i would recommend Aries Cerat no question.Regarding myself i have not yet made a decision between Aries Cerat and CH Precision, the later one being much easier to live with, not heat and the gear is totally future proof.I cannot afford to make a mistake because here we're talking 80-90K worth of pre-power.This will be my end game system.

@charles1dad, my wife obviously prefers the Aries Cerat combo with the 3.7s.She loves this very rich organic sound and at the same time so transparent and dynamic.Imagine what we've heard is only the first level in Aries cerat line.There is this guy named Billy in the US who is building the world's biggest Aries Cerat system with full top of the line gear.The 6 chassis monoblocks retail for 250K.

Hi guys, any Thiel enthusiast going to the Munich show this year ?I will be there May 10th and 11th if some of you want to meet.

@silvanik ok i will pm you and we will try to meet there.Cheers.

Guys i have a question regarding amp power to max out Thiel speakers.

Is it better to have 300W A/B stereo doubling down to 2 ohms with 136 000 microfarads of capacitance or 55W pure class A Monoblocks doubling down to 2 ohms with 880 000 microfarads of capacitance ?

Thanks.

 

@prof very interesting feedback, is your carpet thick or not ? you don't have stability problems without the carpet disks ?

I should get my Gaia 2s with the carpet disks next week, will try with and without the carpet disks.

Jafant since you want to purchase the Ayre integrated, did you also think about the Gryphon Diablo 300 ?That's one very good alternative in the same price range and you could find a used one.
Cheers.

@jafant  yes you should definitely audition the Diablo 300 before making any decision.The Gryphon will have much more grip on your 2.4SE than the Ayre integrated, just my 2 cents.
I'm going to demo the Gryphon Mephisto stereo by the end of this month, will keep you guys posted.

@unsound Just trying to compare my Diablo 300 to the newer Gryphon Essence Monos.

My dealer can lend me the Essence stereo and pre to try out in my system so i can make a shootout against my Diablo 300 but no one has the Mono versions for me to try.

My guess is that the Essence stereo might run out of steam compared to my Diablo 300 but i could be wrong.

My room is medium size.

Hi guys, i finally decided to sell my CS 3.7s after 5 years of ownership because i want to purchase a much higher end set of speakers the Borresen 03s.Because of this decision i will have to lower my budget for amp-preamp and DAC therefore i'm going the integrated amp route with something like the CH Precision I1, Dartzeel CHT-8550 mkll or Vitus SIA-030.I will also not need huge amount of power like is needed for the 3.7s.

@prof  140w of tube power is good enough to drive them well but regarding solid state you are better of with at least 200w or more.Ghyphon Diablo 300 is the perfect match for them IMO.

@cascadesphil thanks for your feedback, yes the 27.5 doubles it's power from 8 to 4 ohms even if it's ont 100w it must have quite a bit of current.This guys who owns this Levinson 27.5 is interested in buying my 3.7s.

Guys i've been asked if Mark Levinson 27.5 stereo amp can drive the CS 3.7s properly.Does anyone know this amp ?

Thanks unsound.

@tomthiel You are welcome to visit me if by any chance you travel to southern France one day.

Same goes for other Thiel owners on the panel.

Hi guys, i'm starting to look at separates for my future upgrade to drive my 3.7s.

One option i have in mind is pairing an Aries Cerat preamp with the Audionet Max monoblocs.

I'm pretty sure this combo would sound fantastic but would like to be sure the Audionet monos can drive my 3.7s with authority.

They are rated 1100W into 2 ohms.

Now that i moved in  my new home i have a bigger living room and therefore was able to place my 3.7s in the ideal position recommended by Thiel : 3 feet from the front wall, 8 feet from tweeter to tweeter and i'm sitting 8-9 feet from the speakers.

Speakers are pointing straight ahead, this makes a big difference for best imaging.

What made the biggest difference in my new home is having 6 feet between the speakers and the side walls.

3.7s really need space to breath and get the best out of them.

In january i'm going to demo a couple of different IC and SC and one them are the Cardas Clear Beyond.

Cardas being usually a good match for Thiel speakers.

 

@sdl4  Thanks i red the Steve Huff review, very interesting.

Seems that the CR are the more engaging and organic sounding Cardas cables of the lineup.

Would be interesting to make a shootout between the CR and the Clear Beyond.

@thoft There's no way your going to drive 7.2s properly with this Adcom, you need to find Krell FPB 400CX for 7.2s.You'd better look for 3.7s much easier do find, best amp for this model is by far Gryphon Diablo 300.I might buy a pair of Thiels for the fourth time but i still need to think about it.

Hi guys does anyone have owned 2.7s and 3.7s on this forum ?Any difference except bass ?@jafant  congrats on your integrated amp purchase i hope you will be enjoying your rig now.

@thoft Your looking to purchase 3.7s or 7.2s ?7.2s are really difficult to find and you better have very beefy amp to drive them like Krell FPB series of today's Gryphon.

BHK300 will be ok with 3.7s but a good used Diablo 300 is still the best option IMO.Gryphon has now very good distribution in the US with Philip O'Hanlon.

@yyzsantabarbara  Not really worth upgrading, what you mostly get is the speakers are a little easier to drive therefore more amp choices other than that it's not night and day.If you really want to do it most ex Thiel dealers can do it for you

@yyzsantabarbara  Yes the crossovers were upgrated in 2012 just before the end.You can purchase them from Rob Gillum if you want to upgrade.

@yyzsantabarbara Congrats on your 3.7s purchase let's see how you like them.I might follow you soon as i'm contemplating a pair of 2.7s and a Gryphon Diablo 300 to drive them.I have to postpone my big reference rig project for the next few years but don't want to stay without a system therefore a pair of 2.7s or 3.7s paired with a Diablo 300 would do just fine.I'll keep you guys posted.

I agree Luxman M900u would be what i'd choose if i couldn't find a Gryphon to drive 3.7s.

There is one amp that has all the qualities required by 3.7s but unfortunately way too expensive for most Thiel owners it's the Gryphon Antileon Evo.1200w into 1 ohm pure class A.

Next  week i should be able to borrow Cardas, Wireworld and Kimber Kable speaker cables.

Also hope to try Tellurium Q Black Diamond and a French brand called Odeion cables.

Will keep you guys posted.

 

@tonywinga  Nice suggestion of music, i listen to many of these artists included in these 5 albums very good quality recordings!

 

Gryphon Antileon Evo is 34k in Europe so probably a little more in the US.I think it's overkill for CS 3.7s but it would be interesting to try out this amp on 3.7s.IMO a used Diablo 300 at around 8k is unbeatable to get the most out of 3.7s most likely better than PS Audio BHK.If i purchase 3.7s in the next few months i will look for a used Diablo 300 for sure.Cheers

I've said it before but if some of you are looking for great amps that are perfect match for Thiels look for Sugden MP4 monoblocks 165w of pure class A, great mucality.
5k used.

I conquer Thiels need some serious high current amp to drive them, i would avoid the analytical ones and prefer the ones that are full body and organic.

I wonder if the CS 1.7s have been popular ?Never heard them yet but all i know is that they are pretty easy to drive and perfect for smaller rooms.How do you guys like them ?I've owned the 1.5s for many years and passed them to my bro last year, he now enjoys them in Italy.

@solobone22  Well i'm thinking of getting 3.7s for the second time and therefore this time i will purchase a used Diablo 300 with Gryphon cabling.Right now i'm looking at different options regarding DACs and streaming gear.Will keep you guys posted, this is going to be one heck of a rig.

@yyzsantabarbara Big decision, I'm a big r2r ladder DAC fan therefore the 2 combos i have on my radar are either Aqua Formula xHD + LinQ or Totaldac d1-direct + d1 streamer.A guy that owned the Aqua combo and Totaldac d1-Twelve combo told me the Aqua was much better, i was shocked lol.The Aqua Formula xHD has some of the best price/performance ratio.

@solobone22  Be careful Lumin is not very musical more on the analytical side, i would try the MSB renderer.A couple of years ago i made a shootout between Lumin S1 and Ayon S5, the later was much more musical, really didn't like the Lumin.

@yyzsantabarbara  Never heard any Luxman cd players, only familiar with C900u/M900u combo.Conrad Johnson Premier 350SA is known to be a great match for 3.7s but very difficult to find.

@solobone22  I never liked Naim not my type of sound.I conquer Innuos is really good and very musical worth considering.You also have 432 Evo music servers that are starting to be very popular.Regarding amps there is a 3.7s owner on this forum that drives them with Accuphase amp.

Anyone familiar with Pilium amplification ?

Someone told me the 39k Leonidas integrated equals 100k worth of separates.

@vaankuil Aesthetix pre-power is beautiful with CS 3.7s, i have heard that combo with 3.7s.
Possible to find used.

@yyzsantabarbara  IMO in your small room even a used Gryphon Diablo 120 would be a significant upgrade over your AHB2.In terms of musicality Gryphon is in another league IMO.Just my 2 cents.I myself am waiting until a used Diablo 300 pops out to jump on it and will therefore get 3.7s.Best to you.

@yyzsantabarbara  I completely agree about Luxman being kind of too warmish and meaty.I 've heard the the M900-C900 combo several times and was never blowned away.Gryphon integrated are much more fun, it's very dynamic, transparent, fast, huge slam and still organic and never muddy.It will not cost you anything to just go for an audition and see if you like the house sound and compare to the gear you already know.