Retro — what did u replace ur Thiels with?
Rob Gillum has mentioned a “supercharging” of Thiels but nothing yet. My genius replaced the existing parts with new and better quality-same values. At least on the CS-6 getting the crossovers take about an hour(each) to remove and several connections to the drivers to solder. Rob has the drivers if you need to replace. A reasonably competent technician at an audio repair shop should be able to execute and the 3.6 are much lighter. My cost was about $1400 including parts.
Mark H.
It may be time to checkout some dealers and do some listening to some current speakers while I have my Thiel tweeters rebuilt. This may be more a fun exercise than anything else since it’s meaningless listening to different systems in different rooms and trying to guess how they’ll sound in my own system — but I think the itch is starting again.
I’ll probably limit my listening to speakers that are reasonably priced (whatever that means but definitely less than $10K).
Thanks. I guess if my crossovers need work, I’ll need to search for a good tech but as of now I’m taking it one step at a time.
Rob told me there’s unfortunately only 1 model that he’s able to supercharge so far. I’d do my 3.6s in a heartbeat if he offered an update.
If you want to stay with 1st order crossovers might as well check out the Vandersteen Treo CT similar design philosophy with different voicing, though not as different as in the early Vandersteen years. I had a friend who lived in Iowa and he and his brother both had audio shops about 75 miles apart. One carried Vandersteen and the other Thiel so customers had the choice between the two voicing options. Other option would be Green Mountain Audio but I think Roy is back to Factory Direct.
10K is a magic number… for that… well… There is no reason to not find one of the best sounding speakers period.
Peace
Bruce in Philly
I’d like to listen to Vandersteens - I never have but understand they’re one of a limited number of companies that use 1st. Order crossovers.
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I hope so - but many audiophile high-end speakers are way ovet $10K
The fact that someone is willing to pay $25K and a maker will then tap that market, does not mean you can;t buy one of the best speakers in the world for $10K. Spend what you want, but IMO, when you hit $10K you should be in nirvana land.
Peace
Bruce in Philly
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Agreed!. I have hovered in and around that mark and the offerings from Dynaudio, Focal and others are all sublime. There may be better and may be duds, but I have not found them…
I agree with you!
The problem with getting back-in-the-market is that it’s really hard for an audiophile to resist the temptation of thinking that something new that we listen to is better than what we already have - even when it’s not the case. So it’s hard staying objective when auditioning new speakers and trying to determine if different is better, especially since there’s really no basis of comparison listening to different electronics in a different space.
Given this, I’m still debating whether I should take the plunge and check out some dealers. If I start, then it’s back to the craziness…it’s like a smoker having that one cigarette after quitting.
I’m with you. I have been on the crazy train for a few years now. At this point I have the most equipment and money in a stereo I have ever had. It sounds amazing but it’s nuts really. I’m in the sell mode but it’s difficult to get out (much easier to go deeper). Eventually I’m going to have a decent headphone amp and something like a sprout and bookshelves. I’m kinda done with it-but that’s just me personally. I have had a lot of enjoyment. I’ll always have music and have since I was 14. Just a different scale. Also the audio market has changed dramatically. Almost like now “10K, what can you possibly buy decent for only 10K!” Anyway, tonight I’m going to enjoy some jazz and a guy named Govi I never heard of till yesterday while I still can…
There isn’t a person reading this that can’t relate to the crazy infatuation of being in this “hobby.”
I’m not sure I believe that you’ll go cold-turky on us though 
One of the reasons I initially got hooked on Naim electronics many years ago was the unending frustration of trying to find the just-right interconnects, speaker cables, and on&on for the brands I owned previously. The relative simplicity and logic of getting a system from an engineering-focused company just made more sense to me; their stuff inherently works together as a system and there’s a defined upgrade path. That’s not the case with many audiophile-oriented brands unfortunately. (This isn’t meant to be an advertisement-I have no connection with the company other than being an owner.) I know there are other great brands out there, but an individual’s choice is to find a brand you want to own long-term and then enjoy the music - or stay on the component auditions merry-go-round and keep getting component-stressed.
As I write this, I’m listening to an amazing CD - Holly Cole “temptation”. I’ve had it many years but hated the CD when I first listened to it. I pulled it for a casual listen a few months ago-after significant equipment upgrades (went up in the Naim line) and am amazed at how much I enjoy listening to this now—it’s a great CD. So going to end this now and do some serious listening (just wish the Thiel’s tweeters were fixed already).
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I hope you get those tweets fixed as well. I had Naim CD player years ago that was awesome. It was a bit inconvenient as with each CD you had to place it on a tray and then apply and center a “puck” but it sure sounded nice. Here is a pic of the old system with the Naim. Fond memories but it sucked to move (lol).
Nice system!
Yup - moving sucks, but sometimes starting from scratch with a new room can be a good thing.
I cuttently have a Naim CD-X2 CD player with a Supercap power supply - it’s a great source. Actually i kind of like the ritual of having to swing out the cd drawer and put the puck on — but then again I still like the ritual of listening to LPs.