IMHO, the 3 series were Thiel's sweet spot, and the 2 series were/are Vandersteen's sweet spot.
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Hello everyone...Happy Holidays! I have been enjoying a vintage pair of Thiel CS 3.5's for well over 2 months now and can honestly say that I am absolutely thrilled with them. Their ability to play so cleanly with that incredibly wide and open soundstage never fails to amaze me as I re-discover my music collection. They truly are full-range...the bass is deep, clean, precise and authoritative. The other thing I've found is that as difficult as they are supposed to be to drive, my Denon PMA-2000 IVR (160 watts @ 4 ohms) integrated seems to be getting on quite well with them. I am using the tape loop in my integrated to play through the Bass Module. The Thiels do like to be driven, though...they really open up and "clear their throats" as I turn up the wick. Truly stunning performers!!! If I were to have one issue, it's that the Thiels expose poorly recorded material in a ruthless, almost non-correctable fashion. For instance, I have many CD's from the early days of the format that now have a harsh, irritatingly "bright" sound to them. What's even worse are digital files. I've been re-ripping my CD collection to loss-less FLAC, but any "lossy" files really are exposed in ways I never noticed as much before. Of course, Hi-Res files, DSD and MQA Master files from Tidal are played beautifully! My current set-up is decidedly "Mid-Fi", but has everything I need to get very good sound: - Denon PMA 2000IVR Integrated Amplifier - Denon DVD-2900 CD/DVD-Audio/SACD Player - Denon DJ VL12 Prime Direct-Drive Turntable with Shure M97xE (MC) & Denon 103R (MM) cartridges - Thiel CS-3.5 w/Thiel Bass Module - Toshiba Satellite laptop w/Meridian Explorer 2 USB DAC (MQA capable) - Roon and Tidal digital-file playback/streaming applications - AudioQuest Golden Gate interconnects - Gotham SPK-8 speaker cables with Eminence E400 banana plugs - Pangea Audio AC-9 (amplification) & AC-14 (sources) power cables - Tripp Lite LCR2400 Line Conditioner My current plan is to move towards separates. While I truly enjoy my integrated, I have an inkling that something like vintage Adcom, Threshold or Krell amplification will open-up the Thiels even more. What I do wonder is if what I really need to tame the harshness I get from some music is tubes...maybe something vintage from Conrad Johnson or Audio Research will work? I've posted several photos of my Thiels and little listening area here: www.usaudiomart.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1340 Thanks for any feedback or suggestions! Arvin |
arvincastro... I am also a BIG fan of the 3.5's. As to your comments regarding how these speakers reveal flaws up and down the chain, particularly with digital formats, I can only state that the existing issue is not the speakers. So far as tossing "vintage" separates at them to improve everything, I have had a Threshold 400A amp mated to a BAT tubed preamp and the results were very good. (I've tossed a pretty good amount of stuff at my Thiels, in fact.) My favorites? For amplification, hands down Pass Labs. (X150.5 model) For pre-amps? I really believe that Audio Research and Thiel are great matches. I like having tubes in my preamps for Thiel. ARC just has this "punchiness" that I like. LS3 and LS3b (tubed) models can be found on here at VERY fair prices. And they can still be repaired if an issue ever arises. I actually sold my Threshold fairly cheap because the meter lights weren't working - or so I thought. Turns out I wasn't throwing enough power to the speakers. (3.5's) As unsound, another member here and a wealth of things regarding Thiel overall related once, the 3.5's are one of the easiest models to drive. For the record, I always left the bass equalizer in operation. A few members have offered that they sound better without it, but I disagree. The speakers were designed to have it in use, so who am I to argue with Jim Thiel's design? Pass Labs, even pre-owned, can be expensive. I've had two X150.5 amps, paying a little more the second time around than the first, approximately $2500. A bargain, given how well Pass mates with Thiel. It just DOES for me. I have since moved back to a BAT integrated with identical power ratings to the Pass Labs, and it's working out fine. Pass Labs integrated are difficult to find on the pre-owned market. The INT150 has been discontinued but appears once in a while on the Renohifi site - a retailer I can highly recommend. Mark is a gent and a good businessman. I am currently selling my 3.6's because I miss the 3.5's so much. I am hoping to find a local pair of 3.5, or perhaps even a pair Maggie 1.7's. I have a soft spot in my heart/head for both these brands and what they do so damn well. I forget to whom I offered the guts of the last pair of 3.5's I purchased here. The cabinets were pretty rough and both midranges were inoperable, so I gutted them and keep the raw drivers, crossovers, bass eq, and grill hardware. The midranges LOOK fine, but they're dead - still repairable at around $300 apiece. The woofers and tweeters are in fine condition, 100% operational. Sequential serial numbers were on the cabinets as well. Anyone willing to pick them up is welcome to them free of charge. |
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