I continue to find this thread a most enjoyable addiction simply because the technical and emotional aspects being bandied back forth appeal to either camp in ways that neither can fully reason. To have gained the in-depth background that Tom has supplied on Thiel is to admire even more the man and the brand. Though most of what Tom has explained within this forum goes way over my head, it all turns out to be in pursuit of the emotional - which is why I joined the dialogue here in the first place.
Thiel was not the first speaker that “wowed” me. In my wayward youth, saving up for my first stereo system, I was impressed by most of the popular brands at the time, Advent, Acoustic Research, etc. However, Thiel was the first speaker to show me that my ears weren’t necessarily paying close attention to much back in them days.
When I got my first pair of Thiel speakers, CS2.2, I hooked ‘em up, flipped on the integrated, tossed in a cd, and as I walked back to sit down I literally stopped dead in my tracks. I was hearing something I never truly heard before even though I had listened to that record a hundred times before. What I had enjoyed before was now being presented in an entirely different manner. The sound was organic, void of coloration. The influence they had upon what was a pretty meager low-fi arrangement was immediate and tangible. It wasn’t just one part of the spectrum that had improved, it was the entire spectrum, the whole Megillah...For lack of a better description my stereo found something more harmonious, more natural. Things simply synched.
Many years ago I was at a party standing next to a fellow guest whom, for no immediately apparent reason, started humming along to some music that was playing in the background. A few more minutes flew by and her humming evolved into singing. As her volume increased I remember FEELING the timbre in her voice, the tension, in my bones. No mic, no amplification, an acoustically unfriendly room stuffed with people and ambient noise, and I was floored. That’s a “wow” moment if ever there was one.
Thiel CS2.2 did that to me, too. Thiel makes ANYTHING sound better than it deserves to be. All it takes is your first pair.
PS: it’s a slow journey back to my “hifi”. Today I hooked up the new Bluesound Powernode 2i to my Meadowlark Kestrels. The Blue is a streamer/server powered with class d amplification. This is the most modest “system” I’ve had in over a decade - and it IS modest indeed. It is SMALL. My cabinet looks empty - especially after having previously accommodated Pass, BAT, and other dimensionally superior equipment.
But ya know what? I am more than a little pleased with how this thing and the Kestrels sound. I discovered a pair of Synergistic Research speaker cables in my snakepit and hooked them up. Overall the sonics are very even keeled - the Kestrels share a good deal of Thiel-like attributes. Expecting a “this will have to do for a while” resignation I found that I have a “this ain’t so shabby at all” thing going on.
Now, if only a cheap pair of 2.2 or 2.3’s would become geographically desirable...
Thiel was not the first speaker that “wowed” me. In my wayward youth, saving up for my first stereo system, I was impressed by most of the popular brands at the time, Advent, Acoustic Research, etc. However, Thiel was the first speaker to show me that my ears weren’t necessarily paying close attention to much back in them days.
When I got my first pair of Thiel speakers, CS2.2, I hooked ‘em up, flipped on the integrated, tossed in a cd, and as I walked back to sit down I literally stopped dead in my tracks. I was hearing something I never truly heard before even though I had listened to that record a hundred times before. What I had enjoyed before was now being presented in an entirely different manner. The sound was organic, void of coloration. The influence they had upon what was a pretty meager low-fi arrangement was immediate and tangible. It wasn’t just one part of the spectrum that had improved, it was the entire spectrum, the whole Megillah...For lack of a better description my stereo found something more harmonious, more natural. Things simply synched.
Many years ago I was at a party standing next to a fellow guest whom, for no immediately apparent reason, started humming along to some music that was playing in the background. A few more minutes flew by and her humming evolved into singing. As her volume increased I remember FEELING the timbre in her voice, the tension, in my bones. No mic, no amplification, an acoustically unfriendly room stuffed with people and ambient noise, and I was floored. That’s a “wow” moment if ever there was one.
Thiel CS2.2 did that to me, too. Thiel makes ANYTHING sound better than it deserves to be. All it takes is your first pair.
PS: it’s a slow journey back to my “hifi”. Today I hooked up the new Bluesound Powernode 2i to my Meadowlark Kestrels. The Blue is a streamer/server powered with class d amplification. This is the most modest “system” I’ve had in over a decade - and it IS modest indeed. It is SMALL. My cabinet looks empty - especially after having previously accommodated Pass, BAT, and other dimensionally superior equipment.
But ya know what? I am more than a little pleased with how this thing and the Kestrels sound. I discovered a pair of Synergistic Research speaker cables in my snakepit and hooked them up. Overall the sonics are very even keeled - the Kestrels share a good deal of Thiel-like attributes. Expecting a “this will have to do for a while” resignation I found that I have a “this ain’t so shabby at all” thing going on.
Now, if only a cheap pair of 2.2 or 2.3’s would become geographically desirable...