Thiel Owners

Listening to my pair of Thiel CS2.4s connected by Audience AU24SE to the 4ohm tap of my phi upgraded VAC PA100/100.  

The amp currently employed for my Thiel 2.4s is a 100 watt per channel VAC PA100/100 that was upgraded a few years ago. With the choice of an 8, 4, or 2 ohm speaker tap off the transformers this amp performs amazingly well and with Audience 24AU SE cabling the system sounds sublime.  My curiosity is getting the best of me about more power and this has led me to arrange a home audition of an Ayre VX-5 "twenty" starting this afternoon for a couple of days.  Should be fun.

The VAC is listed for sale, but have not received an acceptable offer yet. I may have the opportunity to retry it, but I like this new direction a lot.  Tubes in the preamp and phono section remain.

Sitting here today beginning the break in period of my new Ayre VX-5 Twenty into my Thiel CS2.4  Delivered from factory to my dealer on Thursday and I picked it up that evening.  Put a few hours on these past few nights just enjoying the process.  My XLR cables will arrive next week so using my Audience AU24SE RCAs between the VAC Renaissance Mk3 and the Ayre with AU24SE speaker cables.  I loved the Thiel with my VAC KT88 amp, but this is a different level of enjoyment.  In two weeks the system moves to our newly purchased home where it will have a room mostly dedicated to it and more room to stretch its musical legs.  Need to get some hours on the amp now so we are well on our way through the initial break in period.
Rick

The Ayre VX-5 now has about 50 hours.  Initially the 2.4s revealed the "new amp" pre break-in roughness in its presentation especially in the upper frequencies.  We are all aware our Thiels are extremely good at revealing upstream equipment's possible shortcomings (I believe this is what has given many the impression that Thiels have certain issues,  I propose that many were blaming the speakers for other system issues the speakers simply exposed).  I had used a well broken in demo amp in my system before making my purchase so I was confident that time would improve this "fresh" amp.  Also during my demo I operated with balanced interconnects from my VAC preamp while I presently am using single ended until the cables I have ordered arrive.  All that being said... the 2.4s have been a clear, and somewhat exciting, listening window into the new amp breakin process.  At this point many of the initial rough edges have begun to transform into some of the most enticing aural images, with clarity and increased engagement.  Unfortunately I will need to spend many more hours, and many more albums to reach the recommended minimum break-in period of 100 hours.  A job assignment I think I will continue to enjoy...

The past few weeks have been filled with moving into our new home including setting up my new dedicated system room.  The two rooms, old and new, could not be more different.  Old: cathedral ceilings, wood floor, area of an open floor plan main living space.  New: 14' x 13' x 8', thick carpet.  There is also a dormer window where my rack fits nicely.  I left the spikes off my 2.4s initially and spent hours over days moving them around, measuring to the walls, moving some more in patterns I have previously used (thank you Jim Smith).  Initially I was stressed and depressed.  I forgot I had tuned my entire system, over many years, to a very different environment.  I placed my room treatments aNd moved them to incrementally new positions and went back to starting over with speaker positioning.  Suddenly, after a very minor change (after many minor changes) it all came together.  The clarity of my Thiels 2.4 soundstage and presentation was exactly as I had hoped.  Better than I was ever able to achieve in their previous room.  I placed their spikes on and can't stop smiling.  Every time I worry my Thiels might need to be "replaced/upgraded" they re amaze me, re engage me and make me realize their only issue was me, that I didn't have them set up correctly.

The changes from the last 2 months are coming together to allow my CS2.4s to reveal a new level of performance. Power is now an Ayre 5-VX Twenty providing 375watts per side. Previously my 100watt VAC tube amp sounded great but again this change combined with a new dedicated room makes me realize again that Thiels are special.  Tube preamp with SS power is working well for me.

I have not heard the AX-5 but I use the Ayre VX-5 Twenty with my 2.4s with exceptional results. Cables are Audience AU24SE.   Recently did a speaker repositioning using the instructions for the “master set” and the system has never sounded better. I highly recommend reading the instructions and give it a try.  Strongly recommend Ayre and IMHO the measurements in Stereophile may be worth revisiting.  

Another step on the Audio journey... Two new pieces going into the chain driving my CS2.4 pair this week.  Friday I will be exchanging my VAC Renaissance III for a VAC Renaissance V.  In addition I will be adding back the Wolf Audio Server and Wireworld 7 Platinum USB I auditioned before it travelled to Axpona.  A server should not make a real differenc... is what I believed...  I was astounded and thrilled at what the Wolf Alpha brought to my system and that the Thiels revealed all the positive changes.  It was as good (sometimes better) than my analog source which has been my focus for years.  I have traveled the VAC preamp route for many years and love their performance.  Again the 2.4s were present when I upgraded from the  VAC Standard LE I had for many years to the Renaissance III and allowed all the improvements to be heard.  I am excited about this next change.  I occasionally think about a different brand speakers but I’m not sure any would have allowed me the window into my system upgrades that Jim Thiel’s design has allowed me to enjoy.

Rick

My system is wired with Audience cables (AU24 SE and SX) for interconnects, power, and speakers.  I demoed the Audience USB vs the Wireworld and chose the Wireworld.  (I thought there would be a different outcome). Wireworld really has some excellent USB cables.  Demoed both the Silver and Platinum 7 series.  Each was excellent but slightly different.  Also using Audience Power Conditioning.

Ortofon Cadenza Bronze