Thiel Owners

Robin -  Yes, the SmartSubs are Class D. Jim began working on those amps with a very talented designer at/from Vifa in the late 80s. They put quite a bit of sophistication into those designs, which were done in the early dark ages of Class D. Impedance requirements are less of an issue when the entire amp-speaker is modeled  in toto. I use a single SS1 and a pair of SS2s in my studio and love them. I am searching for a good repair solution for them.

I have heard that Jim considered Class D suitable only for bass due to inherent topology constraints. But, a lot has advanced more recently. I have heard recent pro-audio class D amps, and I would not consider such for my music use, just because, no real experience, but an inclination toward a topology with more inherent wow. I am intrigued by what PS is doing (thank you ronkent) . . . a tube input before a mosfet output stage seems potentially great. 

Regarding Pass, Nelson is a brilliant designer in my opinion. Pass and Thiel shared equipment and insights beginning in the late 70s. I would expect Kent's opinion about synergy to be extremely well-informed.

Well, I'm glad to share with you my full (actually very simple!) system, as already said it's composed by Thiel C3.6 loudspeaker, McCormack DNA-2 amp, Sony HAP Z1ES and a handmade (by me) passive volume control, only one input, based on a TKD 2511 series pot with remote control. In order to avoid any kind of interference from the power supply of the pot motor I used a 9V battery to supply  it .
The internal hd of the Z1ES is loaded with Flac, Wave and DSD files, to me this machine sound superbly but  probably not very  common between audiophile community, the DAC quality and the very short internal signal path make the trick, it cost around 2000$ but to get the same performance you have to compare it with a dac three four time its value.... in my opinion, furthermore no computer need, just one box solution, great!

silvanick...

The HapZ1es is a truly excellent piece.  I got mine “used” from a fellow member here on the site for $1200 - which they currently fetch now.  VERY worth one’s while.  

What I enjoyed about it most was it’s simplicity.  I didn’t want a “computer” or a computer interface anywhere near my stereo.  I had a Bluesound Vault2 prior to that but had difficulty in getting it set up correctly so...off it went.  The ease of loading my cd collection was very much appreciated - a cheap Apple usb cd drive did the trick.  While the Sony and every other server/player/streamer is slooooow in doing so, the HAP excelled at adding my tunes via WiFi as well. That too was slow but I could slap many tunes there and batch load.  Really well made product.  

jafant...

Yes, I had a BAT VK3i preamp with that Pass for a little while. (cheap seats model from BAT)

In retrospect I believe I preferred ARC by just a hair. Hard to remember exactly why but IMHO the Audio Research player somewhat “brighter” than the BAT - which I prefer overall. Thiels “ too bright ?”   My butt!

Kudos to both manufacturers however in that on the used market they get pretty stable price-wise.  I sold both my ARC and BAT preamps at or close to the price I paid for them.  (Excluding the cost of the tubes, obviously) Most of the other things I’ve sold here I took a 10-15% depreciation on. 

BAT & Pass Labs match very well.