New Thiels at CES

[CDLehner]

Did anyone see/hear, the new TT1s or TM3s?

I have to tell ya...one of the best listening experiences I had, when I was first starting out in the hobby; was a modest pair of 1.6s. I didn't buy them, because they were fugly but I've never forgotten how nice they sounded (though the owner thought it was more his room I was appreciating).

Well...Thiel has solved their looks problem, IMO. Now all that's left, is...how do they sound?

 

[volks]

Glad you like them......................myself I hate the looks of them and much rather Jim Thiels looks and design/sound , but like you I have not heard these new offerings.

 

[cmalak]

8 year owner of 2.4s and still like them a lot. Unfortunately have not heard the new speakers but as Michael said, these have nothing to do with phase and time aligned designs of Jim Thiel. They are only Thiels in name. Having said that, they could sound fantastic but just pointing out that these are Thiels only in name but there is nodeisgn philosophy continuity between current audio designer at the company and the founder/namesake of the company.

 

[CDLehner]

Yup; here's a snippet...

Thiel speaker designs were dramatic, unique, beautiful and somewhat controversial – you either bought Jim’s philosophies, or you didn’t. But, no question about it, Thiel built a large group of devoted followers who believed he held the key to true audiophile loudspeaker performance. These followers included dealers, many of whom felt an uncommon and passionate connection to Thiel the man – and Thiel the company.

When the new owners launched the TM3, it wasn’t just a little different from previous Thiel designs – it was almost the polar opposite. A very traditional looking design, the compact 2-ways seemed to offer a much more pedestrian technology. The company had hired Mark Mason (formerly with PSB and SVS) as its Director of Product Development, and the TM3 was his baby.

I had no such attachment, to the "old" Thiel; so I'm willing to see these with an open mind.