Thiel
in Rome
January
22, 2025
Marc,
I
came to you by searching the web for some reviews on Thiel CS2.4 speakers, and I found
your article of November 2003. Although many years have passed since your review of these
speakers, I thought I would turn to you for some advice on the amplifier that can best
drive them in my system.
I
live in Rome, I am a lawyer and I am 74 years old. I listen to music mainly on weekends,
and my favorite genres are jazz fusion and smooth jazz (Dave Grusin, Lee Ritenour, Larry
Carlton, David Benoit, Ramsey Lewis, etc.). As a boy I played in a band, and this
experience characterizes my way of listening, in the sense that I must be able to perceive
the sound of the different instruments and voices with realism.
Currently
my Thiel CS2.4s are driven by the EAR Yoshino V12, and I use mainly as a source the Lumin
T3 streamer and sometimes also a CD player (Sony CDP XA7SE).
I
must say that listening satisfies me a lot, because the mid-high resolution is refined and
precise and the music scene is wide and positions the instruments in the right way. That
said, while the bass feels good and crisp, I'd like to have more of these frequencies
without having to resort to increasing the volume.
In
your article you recommended the Mark Levinson No.383 and, staying on this level of
spending of the current second-hand market, I saw that the Simaudio Moon I7 too was
recommended on the web.
In
your experience, do you think that one of these two integrated amplifiers could improve
the performance of the Thiel CS2.4 compared to the EAR V12? Or do you have another brand
of integrated amplifier in mind? Or even advise me to leave the system as it is now?
It
would be a real pleasure for me to receive your kind opinion, and if you happen to come to
Rome, I would like to meet you in person and invite you to listen to my system.
Thank
you in advance for your kind feedback .
Vito
Basile
I'm
happy to talk about Thiel, a great and innovative company that is sadly out of business.
The audiophile community lost a great deal when Jim Thiel died in 2009.
Thiel
speakers historically need ample power and especially current to sound their best. Jim
Thiel used to say "Watts are cheap," implying that solid-state amplification was
best for his speakers, especially in the bass. I am not familiar with the sound of your
EAR integrated amp, but its EL84 output tubes don't give me great confidence that it can
drive the CS2.4s to their greatest effect.
While the Mark Levinson No.383 would certainly drive the speakers well, it is an
older product and service may be looming. I'm not familiar with the Simaudio unit you
mention, but if it's solid state and offers at least 150Wpc, it would probably drive the
speakers well too.
As for other options, have you considered separates? That way you can get the
sound of tubes with your preamp and the solid-state drive with your amplifier. If you want
or need to stay with an integrated amp, given what you've said you like about the sound
you have now, I would recommend an Italian brand: Audio Analogue. I owned an Audio
Analogue Puccini SE integrated amp years ago, and it had some of the qualities of tubes --
a richness and refinement -- even though it was fully solid state. I don't know what Audio
Analogue has been producing since I owned that integrated, which I had around the time I
reviewed the CS2.4s, but it is worth checking out, especially because you're in Italy.
I
hope this helps. If I'm ever in Rome, it would be fun to hear Thiel CS2.4s again, so
thanks for your offer. -Marc Mickelson
"Add
me"
January
1, 2025
Marc,
Please
add me to your list.
With
my best wishes.
Dave
Murphy
I've
added you. To join TAB's reader e-mail list and find out about new articles first,
send e-mail to rl@theaudiobeat.com.
-Marc Mickelson
