beetlemania

Responses from beetlemania

Budget American made speakers?
tough to buy ‘all American’ Charles Hansen posted on audioasylum that Ayre made very effort to source from American manufacturers. It's just not possible to *every* part from the USA. - Chassis: Made in California, including anodizing and silks... 
Budget American made speakers?
It looks like the Vandersteen bookshelf speakers are ~$1300. You probably can get them used for <$1K. Thanks for buying American! When recently deliberating a speaker upgrade, I considered the Revel F206 and F208. I quick internet search on wor... 
Avalon Acoustics Ascent MKii value?
Did they ever make the Ascent with Nextel finish? I thought that was reserved for the cheaper models. The Ascent was one of the more expensive speakers available at the time. Hard to imagine someone wanting to save a relatively small amount of mon... 
Avalon Acoustics Ascent MKii value?
Ascent Mk IIs are one of the classics. It's been years since I've heard these but I'm confident they still rank among the better speakers made. 
Thiel Owners
Accuracy certainly is in the mix because these speakers sound about as real as a speaker can reasonably get. Because of that I think they walk a fine line and when people get an unfavorable impression of them i think they have not be set up we... 
Thiel Owners
To check for the leak, you can gently push in on the woofer and Passive diaphragms at the same time. I'm very reluctant to try this. Supposedly, dimpled drivers have no measurable or audible effects but . . .Maybe you can use something with a bi... 
Thiel Owners
I drove an equivalent distance to pick up my first pair of 3.5’s. I recall reading on audioasylum that Charles Hansen thought the 3.5s were Thiel's best sounding speaker with the 3.7s a close second. But maybe I'm hallucinating as I can't find ... 
Thiel Owners
Yes, I’m just nit-picking.Merriam-Webster: 1 a : a small shop dealing in fashionable clothing or accessories b : a small shop within a large department store 2 : a small company that offers highly specialized services or products IMO, different w... 
Thiel Owners
boutique signal-path caps This strikes me as denigrating language, BTW. At best, it implies stylish or luxurious, having nothing to do with SQ. Probably I'm nit-picking but wouldn't it be more sensible to call them "audiophile-grade" or "high pe... 
Thiel is officially closed!!
@ronkent Thanks for posting that (looks like an e-mail from him?) 
Speakers costing range of 2500-3500 per pair
The aforementioned Vandersteen 2CE Sig IIs are another must audition in this price range but are not as efficient. I'd take it even farther, the 2Ce Sig II is a must-audition up $5K. I drove mine to satisfying SPLs with my Ayre AX-7 (60 W into 8... 
Thiel Owners
Thanks for joining this thread, Tom! My apologies for my role in incorrect speculation. Thiel was always about finding the optimum point on the cost-performance slope so that real music lovers could afford our products. I certainly appreciate t... 
Thiel Owners
Thanks for the reply, prof6.5' seems close for Thiels. Seems like most listeners prefer at least 8', so I'm surprised to read about your set-up. Sounstage's measurements of the CS2,4, however, were taken at 2 m (~6.5') and the frequency response w... 
Ayre introduces the AX-8 integrated amp
@hgeifman I found a hotlink "Newsletter" on their homepage. I all signed up now. 
Thiel Owners
Attn CS2.4 owners:I’ve been thrilled with the performance of my "new" Thiels. One parameter lacking, however, was image density. My front wall is ~19’ wide altho’ confounded by a 4x4’ wall jutting in for the rear door exit in one corner. It is ~18...