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Let me tell you about Thiel 3.7s! |
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Written by Brian Kurtz
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 I delivered my first pair of Thiel 3.7s! OH......MY.......WORD. They are among the most freely flowing dynamic loudspeakers I have heard. Some speakers do some things well, and others do other things well. ProAcs have that magical midrange. Audio Physics do the details and remain sweet. Thiel 3.7s? I'm already amazed at their effortless dynamics, lack of compression even with the BIG stuff (full range classical music, for example), and their ability to convey emotional content of the music as well!
The look is a bit different with the rounded top, but so far
everyone who's seen 'em (all of whom had seen a photo prior to the
delivery) has been really surprised at how the shape almost INSTANTLY
grows on you....what you thought might be odd is at once completely
comfortable. The only down side is that you can't put a book, drink,
or resonance tweak block on the top of the speaker...not like they'd
like or need that anyway.....
I heard the 3.7s at the 2007 CES, and they sounded like Bryston in
the Bryston room and SimAudio in the SimAudio room. A true compliment
to any loudspeaker...The Thiel 3.7 is so neutral it sounds like what
its being given. How these things do what they do in so small a
package is beyond me. Congratulations to Jim Thiel and all of his
staff. It's been a long time coming, but it's certainly been worth the
wait!
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ProAc Tritowers are here! |
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Written by Brian Kurtz
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These are ProAcs? The new Tritowers utilize a midrange and woofers derived from the legendary Response 1SC, and an all-new tweeter, all packaged in a slim, trim, stylish speaker everyone's loving! The only thing the same in this baby is the SOUND. It's still CLASSIC PROAC. Totally neutral.
Do we sell lots of ProAcs here? Not really. Muscians "get it" INSTANTLY, but most folks don't "get it." ProAcs provide a sound only a musician can fully appreciate....or an ex-musician, or engineers, or ex-engineers....or folks who actually listen to live, unamplified acoustic music on a sufficiently regular basis to know what REAL sounds like in the first place.
If you're one of THOSE guys, come in and ask to listen to the Tritowers. You'll be glad you did!
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Written by Brian Kurtz
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 The Thiel CS 1.6s...are broken in, sounding great and selling well for us already! On
the surface, the CS 1.6 looks like Uncle Al's Thiels that you remember so well.
Same beautiful woodgrains, same magnificent fit-and-finish. My problem with the
Thiel sound in the past was that I thought I could hear their crossovers....usually
a hump in the upper bass and a glare in the upper midrange. NOW, however, Thiel is
using primarily all of their own drivers. BIG DIFFERENCE. Still the same big
dynamic sound, same single-order crossovers (inherently fewer parts, cleaner signal
path, less phase shift and other distortion), and that wonderful soundstage,
presence, and "life" to the sound, but now FAR EASIER TO DRIVE (at 90bB efficiency,
ours were broken in with a 40w/ch budget amp!). We've sold 1.6s and 2.4s with Rogue's Metis/Atlas combo and with Rogue's Perseus/ST90 combo, and had a BLAST! You'll also find what really turned me on -- a totally SEAMLESS
transition from driver to driver.
It's like there's no crossover in the speaker at
all now! The CS1.6 is a two-way model incorporates several new, innovative design
techniques that greatly improve performance in a small (36" tall) floorstander
resulting a purer tone with more open upper mids, and sweeter and smoother top end.
How? Both drivers incorporate short coil/long gap, copper stabilized motor systems
which greatly reduce distortion, and are using metal diaphragms for very uniform
frequency response and clarity.
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Written by Brian Kurtz
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 The wonderful folks who distribute Quad Electrostatics have been kind enough to send us a pair of Reference Series 2805s to show around!!!!
If you're serious about owning electrostatics and find hybrids just sound like two different types of speakers failing to play well together, then it's time to try some Quads. They're wider than those "other" electrostats because they're NOT hybrids. They're a ONE-WAY loudspeaker...just like the microphone that records the music you enjoy. They won't shake the ground but they're reproduce a tympani crash at the symphony just like you were really there...filling the hall effortlessly but not artifically thumping you in the chest or rattling your teeth. Get the idea? THAT is why Quad 2805s and their big brothers, the 2905s keep winning awards all over the world. They're just GREAT loudspeakers.
Stop in for a listen!
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Audio Physic speakers are SINGING! |
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Written by Brian Kurtz
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Audio Physic speakers have arrived! These legendary speakers from Germany are finally in Sound Mind Audio! Incredible soundstagers due to their impeccably designed crossover and helped by their narrow profile, all of the Audio Physic models we have in stock have been living up to their company slogan "no loss of fine detail."
They've proven themselves to be VERY easy to drive with even our 30w/channel, EL34-based Audiomat Arpege Reference amplifier, and will rock with our Mimetism 15.2 solid-state music-making integrated amp when asked to do so.
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Written by Brian Kurtz
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Wait, Brian! You're talking about liquid material around the conductors, right? No.
Then you're talking about liquid inside the jacket for extra damping and shielding, right? No.
You're not talking about LIQUID METAL, are you? Like a LIQUID metal is actually carrying the audio signal? YES!
The
conductors are an alloy of Gallium and Indium inside of tubes which are
sealed and attached in proprietary fashion to RCA jacks and spade lugs
for use in these magnificent sounding cables! The stuff's ACTUALLY
LIQUID AT ROOM TEMPERATURES!
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High End Audio Reviews 
