Tired of My Thiel's!!! UPGRADE TIME???

Make sure your 2.3's are broken in thoroughly and try Cardas cable. I ended up migrating to Proac and Spendor speakers, which are more naturally musical, but sometimes miss that honestly and authority of the Thiels.

You need to burn them in. I'm burning mine in as we speak (40 hrs in). I have auditioned a Meridian pre-amp with the Thiels, and they completely lost the “disappearing factor” that they do so well. I also received the upgraded drivers in my 2.3's. Make sure you get the $300.00 upgrade they are worth it (see audioreview re:2.3's).

Sometimes these threads can get into brand defense...don't want to do that here. I have owned 4 sets of Thiel's.. the 3.5, 1.2, 1.5 and 6. I found the 1.5 to be the best for what I listen to...Jazz and female vocals(Krall, Vaughn, Ella, etc.) I have also owned Martin-Logans..and others.. In the end result, nothing fits my needs/likes better than Magnepans. I have owned the 1.6, 3.6 and 20 models...and would prefer any of them...even the 1.6 over the most expensive Thiel's or Martin-Logan's I have owned. The components, wires, room acoustics..and type of music listened to have big impact on what works for a person. For me, a system based on Magnepans gives the most pleasure. Good luck.

Jim Thiel is one of those designers who compromises in his smaller models by omission - IMHO a good thing. The smaller Thiels will forfeit an octave or so at the bottom in exchange for ruthless accuracy everywhere else. As you climb the ladder, you go deeper into the bass - and all of it is extremely tight and precise. All Thiels need current, and lots of it, to deliver their bass. Some folks who run the smaller Thiels and complaint of brightness often don't have enough current on tap. Your 557 shouldn't have any problem feeding these speakers current. However, most folks I know who run Thiels tend towards warmer SS (Classe, YBA) or tube gear (VAC, Rogue). The classic combo has been an Audio Research pre with Classe power. VAC voices their gear with Thiels - it's a great listen. Your Meridian setup may just be a bad match for this speaker. I've run Taras with Thiels with very good results - others I know prefer Nordosts - Cardas are darker still. I think it's a superb speaker when properly partnered - not romantic, but revealing. Maggies are nice too, but I've encountered ugly sounding ones when poorly partnered.

try a nice tubed pre before ditching the thiels.

if all else fails, try the newform research r645's. 30-day in-home trial; yure only out return shipping if ya don't like 'em. i'm saving for a pair - i tink they'll be giant-killers for the price. check out the owner comments on audioreview, & check out their www.