Thiel Owners

No. I bought my son 2 sigs and they sound amazing. I also have a set of 2CE’s but the added bass of the 3As is really special. I have been collecting gear since the 70s but nothing new in the last 8 or so other than the Wiim streamers. I have a set of Ohm 2’s, and all of the Klipsch models except the corner horns. I end up Listening to a set of B&W bookshelf- maybe 682s most of the time due to convenience. I  kind of got burned out on the ever advancing price points and as I have aged my hearing/discernment probably declined. We have music playing in the house from dawn to dusk piped through ceiling speakers and also the Klipsch and B&Ws, all synced through the Wiims. 

ovinewar1 - I consider floor coupling to be a hard problem, but containing some simple, executable aspects. The hard part is that various floor systems have their unique parameters of absorption, reactivity and so forth. No simple solution fits those complex factors.

One simple aspect includes stability, with a performance aspect of cabinet motion. Cabinet motion, primarily from recoil, can overwhelm driver precision, especially in the treble. Keeping the speaker stationary is sonically important. A straightforward way to do that is to shim one corner of the base-floor coupling. A hardwood wedge works well.

Many later Thiels, beginning with the 1989 CS5 had 4 adjustable feet for that purpose. The CS5 had zero-clearnace 5/16"x 18 threaded pins with integral wrench flats at the 4 corners of the base. The custom pins can be substituted with standard threaded rod lengths and locking nuts. For hard floors you can round over the flat end, and for carpet you can machine a point. That gets you a firm floor connection.

Another aspect is proper tilt to match your listening ear height. The design ear height is 3' from the floor. If yours differs, you should tilt the speaker to compensate. Position a line on the side of the speaker perpendicular to the back at 3' up. Sight that line to your actual ear height to optimize wavefront arrival for proper time alignment.

Farther into the weeds, the effective baffle tilt angle changes with listener angularity. 3' up is right when looking directly at the speaker. Most room alignments work best with the speaker pointing more straight ahead into the room. That angularity change decreases the effective baffle tilt. You must tilt the speaker back to compensate for rotating it outward. The magic spot is found aurally. Complex drum, piano or other percussive music work well for this task.

ovinewar1

Very nice. I found that the 3A Signature added a measure of sweetness over stock form. This is very much like a Thiel CS 2.4 vs. CS 2.4SE comparison. Jim must have been studying Richard on these (2) special loudspeaker designs.

Happy Listening!

tomthiel

I hope that you are well this Spring day. Thank You for addressing the CS5 and spike/tilt query plus providing more Thiel Audio history lessons. As always, sound advice.

Happy Listening!

Again, I appreciate all the feedback and responses.