Thiel 2.4 and 7.2 versus 5i

I've only briefly heard the Thiel 2.3, 3.6 and 6, but have lived with 2.2s for about 8 years. Of course I really like them.

I heard the 2.3 and 6 at a dealer recently but in dissimilar rooms on non-comparable gear. At that time I felt I couldn't live with the 2.3, but the room was clearly suboptimal. I thought the 6 was great.

I feel my system (Thiel 2.2, McCormack DNA-1, BAT VK-3i tube Pre, AudioAlchemy digital, PAD cables) is a bit harsh on piano, and I'm always interested in more detail.

So I've been wondering about the 2.3 or 2.4 in comparison to the 2.2. (yes I know there's no "." in 2.2 - it's just a little protest). Here are my potential upgrade paths and estimated cost (net of selling the 2.2, ignoring the freight):

used 2.3 for add'l. $1.2k
new 2.4 for add'l. $2.9k
used 6 for add'l. $3.2k

How do these perform compared to 2.2?

Would the 6 be a better value than the 2.4?

Thanks, and g'luck

I agree with you D.H. The first time I heard 3.6's it was a revelation. I had never heard more "realism" coming from a speaker, particularly a box speaker. I have owned these for about 3 years and have thrown some significant dough upstream and they just get better and better. I must admit, I've never heard a larger model. In fact, in my travels I can't recall a dealer who carries Thiel having a system set up for audition - maybe I've just been unlucky. I was in D.C. recently at Soundworks , they carry an enormous selection of speakers, and they had CS6's and 7.2's disconnected and up against a wall. I would love to hear larger models for comparison.

I haven't heard the 2.4's. If they are anything like other Thiels, and with out trying to offend anyone else's system, I think they deserve better than the particular solid state gear you have been auditioning with so far.

The last mile of performance always costs disproportionately more, but the end result is the difference between a reproduction and reality. This is true of many things from art to home theater an it greatly depends on the objective. It is unfair on the Thiels to define the objective as reality, which happens to be that of some of the other speakers mentioned. "Thiel = truth of signal Period" this statement is the equivalent of describing a poster to be more accurate and vivid in colors than the original painting.

Let me share my experience with the thiels and the contrasts between certain other speakers. In the world of reproduction indeed the thiels lead the pack with an extremely high quality reproduction and a solid company that backs and markets their products well. In a side-by-side comparison with a 30k speaker I found the thiels to have a much bigger soundstage, however upon closer examination it was too big. It was as though the recording was played back through some reverb instrument where the vocals and instruments seemed to appear from everywhere.....more specifically, all the vocalists seem to be sharing a single microphone and performing in a cave that had this glorious echo and one could not place anything in perspective. In other words whatever the thiels were doing in their crossover to create an artificial soundstage were doing so indiscriminately affecting everything. This takes away not only from reality but the effects distract from being able to engage emotionally with the music.

When I heard the same track on the other speaker with all things remaining the same, such as equipment and placement; I heard what the engineer intended but more importantly I was part of the performance as in being in the same room, not outside looking in. Instruments and Singers fell into their natural and believable positions not just front to back and left to right but everything sounded its appropriate height. The sad thing here is that one does not realize these virtues in a simple audition, at first glance many speakers can be very impressive. It is only when you have lived with them and then upgrade do you learn what you were missing.

In my books when it comes to a mere reproduction my standards are not very high. As a matter of fact I have really enjoyed several inexpensive speakers that were free of excessive distortion and sound effects and I appreciated them for what they were. But is you are talking about evoking the same passion that live music does, then anything that cannot do so, regardless of price is to expensive. And yes unfortunately many speakers that do get you to that state of exhilaration are ultra expensive and not necessarily justified in cost of materials.

Sam.

Sam, what was "the other speaker", and which model of Thiel were you comparing it to?