Thiel Owners

coop_301

I have a used pair of C6’s. Both my midranges buzz occasionally. Sometimes due to under amplification and sometimes just at certain passages rarely in certain songs.

I’m certain I need new drivers. My pair cost $2,500 in 2019.

Still, these buzzings are rare. These are the most natural, honest, powerful and nuanced speakers I’ve had in my system.

Hi All,

Since this is my favorite and just all-around best forum I’m a member of, I’m going to ask an ‘off-topic’ question….

I’m in Burbank CA. I want to learn about electricity and amplifier construction and repair. Can someone suggest a professional or organization that would teach me these things?

You can direct message me or reply here if you have any suggestions.

Thanks!

 

Amps I have used with my CS6’s are:

1)Ampzilla 2000 mono blocks—very textured, excellent full frequency response, a touch hard on sibilance, these are my main amps

2) Yamaha P2250 mono blocked—pretty much the perfect amp for me thus far. Yamahas are excellent at getting all the bass out of these speakers and are just plain honest truth amps. Fans are a drawback.

3) David Berning ZH270–another near perfect amplifier, but struggles on power with the CS6’s

4) Carver Signature Sunfire 600–a great all-around amp. Doesn’t control low end well enough, but does give a nice presentation.

5) BAT VK-500–this amp gives a larger image, controls the speakers top to bottom, similar to the Carver but more control, more texture and darker darks.

6) Electron Kinetics Eagle 2–just a darn good amp. Can feel a touch ‘thin’ but it’s very fast, transparent and works great with Thiel but can be too much of a good thing with the Thiels.

i just purchased Thiel CS6's and yes i hear a huge difference when i flip the phase. I use my Sonic Frontiers Line 2 preamp to do this. 

I would guess its because the passive radiator is inherently our of phase with the rest of the signal. when the woofer cone moves out to create a mid-bass hit the passive radiator must move inwards. and i think the speakers were designed so that the natural physical crossover between the woofer and the passive radiator is at a common junky room resonance node (so he could hide the absence of some bass).

When I flip the phase I like them better because the low bass hits first, but you will then encounter one resonant room node in your upper bass. And it makes the stereo image recess instead of come forward.

They would be insanely amazing if they had actual cones driven for the low bass. 

If I recall Rob quoted me roughly $500 a driver repair wise.

I don’t own all of these currently, just amps I have listened to in my system.

The Ampzillas are in my system now. Once I get the right cabling for them, I think they are my final amp. 

What amps are you all using with your Thiels? 

coop_301

Another thing to consider is actual amplifier size and weight.

I sold my BAT VK-500 because it was huge and weighed like 120lbs….and there was something too big about the sound and a bit rough on sibilance. 
 

I could easily manage that amp weight wise 5 years ago…but now it’s getting difficult. 
 

The Eagle 2 is very manageable physically. The only amp easier that Ive handled is the ZH-270. 
 

Also if you are just trying things out try the Crown XLS1500 or the Europower EP1500.

I’d try a used adcom gfa 555. It inherently has great midbass. And it’s 200watts.

Give it a shot.

😄

Would this not immediately break the ‘coherent source’ design intention?

If you used the same amplifiers you may be able to get away with it.

Hi All,

Has anyone compared the CS5 to the CS6?

And really, what is the consensus on ‘Quality Ranking’ of all available Thiel speaker models? Like a list of the top 5 or 10?

thnx!

I just hooked up a pair of mono block Ampzilla 2000’s to my CS6. Boy it that a luscious sound! And with new shimmer that my system has been missing.

Of the two monos one of their peak lights is coming on all the time. Gonna probably have them sent in for a good once over…

I think now I need to find the proper speaker cabling. There’s still a little low-mid upper-low ‘bloat’ After coming from the Infinity Kappa 7’s and 8’s where the bass is perfectly taught, powerful and nimble, the CS6’s still sound a bit ‘stretched’ or ‘rubbery’. 
All the drivers in my CS6’s need repair, so…

So you guys are literally going around the internal crossovers? 
I don’t think I want to break into the speakers to set this up. But really could be amazing as long as you don’t overdrive one of the drivers by mistake.

@tomthiel 
“Jim set about executing reflex bass very well indeed; but the lagging time alignment is baked into the physics of the beast.”

I noticed this first time I played my CS6’s. And by reason of being pushed out as the woofer settles, the passive radiator is in a sense out of phase with the woofer.

I could only sense this because the CS6’s immediately followed Infinity Kappa 8’s, that just knock you over with near physics-defying bass. Also why they eat up so many amplifiers…like two of mine.

Great post Sir!

So which Thiel do I step up to after the CS6’s? The 5? The 3.7? I love the sound but that bass affect is unwanted. 

Hi Y’all!

so finally got to give my C6’s a good listen with the Ampzilla 2000 mono blocks. Spatially it’s very layered and textured. But I’d say overall the sound is now ‘wooly’ and a bit hollow sounding in the 1kHz-6khz range. There’s definitely too much upper bass. Vocals feel recessed. 
I have been using as my amps of choice two mono blocked Yamaha p2250s. Yes I know I’m crazy but they are great! These are very clean amps—no junk—but not as luscious, textured or spatial. With these I still have a bit too much bass but frequency wise they are near perfect. 

Any thoughts? The speakers are on a carpet that’s on a plywood floor which is on a concrete slab—no spikes or decoupling of any kind. Should I give that a shot?  Right now I am using two infinity Kappa 7s as ‘bass absorbers’ and it’s working pretty well. 
Lemmeknow!

Thanks.

Hi All,

I mentioned earlier that I managed to get a hold of two mono block Ampzilla 2000’s to power my CS6’s. I read a few places that both Thiel and James Bongiorno liked the pairing. So far I am not. 
Vocals seem buried in the mix, upper and mid-bass seems wooly. And there seems to be a hollow forward leaning to the 2khz-10kHz range. 
The amps do provide a rich midrange texturing and throw a larger image than previous amps.
What can I do? What amps totally work with the CS6’s? So I need a better speaker cable? 
The left speaker which has received some damage over the years—both drivers—constantly lights up the peak light on the corresponding amp. 
The one amp in my collection I have yet to try with the CS6’s is my refurbished Carver Signature 600. Should I give it a shot?

Suggestions are appreciated!

Hi All,

is there any place I can pick up new drivers for my Thiel CS6’s? I think all of my woofer and coaxial drivers need replacement or refurb.

please advise.

thanks!

Obviously music is initially analogue.

Wouldn’t it be best to attempt to reproduce it that way?

Digital offers control over time and frequency, but generally speaking, speakers are analogue instruments as well. Unless you go all digital, I would get out of the digital domain as quickly as you can. 

Sure you could tweak digital to your hearts content, but wouldn’t it just be better to assemble the best all-analogue system you can that makes your favorite music sound the way you want? 
My personal goal, and I’m very close, is to be able to play any style of music, from any era, on any available medium/format (so far reel to reel tape is the best I’ve found) and to have everything sound the way you expect it to sound or better. 
I’ve been down the tone control, parametric EQ, digital EQ, DSP road and all you end up doing is tweak and tweak and tweak. Invest in a good DAC (Schiit DACs are great and affordable) and a decent turntable, and enjoy finding synergies in the many designs of speakers, cables, and amplifiers that are affordable and available on the used market.

A quiet room. Tubes in your preamp. Powerful solid state amplification and speakers YOU LOVE in the RIGHT PLACE in that room. Everything else is gravy. 

Anyone have outriggers for CS6’s?

😁

Nice post. 

And the CS 1.2’s only go down to 52khz. Deep bass is not going to happen with those specs.

The Rega Brio is not enough power. I’d say minimum you need is 100watts into 8ohms that doubles to 200watts at 4ohms. Even that might not be enough.

You will need a much more powerful amplifier. 

I have a ModWright Oppo 105D. An excellent player. But I am only using the Oppo right now as disc player and sending digital output to an external DAC. The DAC quality is the most important thing. I’d get a universal player that can do hdmi out for SACD and get an external DAC.

Thiel people are the best peoples…

By far, this the most non-judgemental, polite, honest, kind and most supportive thread/forum I have been a part of in my 11 years of being serious about my audiophilia.

It’s always a pleasure to check in and see how everyone is doing.

Thanks Thiel peoples!!! If any of you are ever in Burbank CA, come on over and we’ll listen to some tunes. 😎