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RE: Veritas...

Many speakers are very good at hiding the defects of upstream equipment. The Thiels tend to be more revealing, with their very best design of all time being the CS-5 (a close second is the CS-3.7 with the CS-1.6 in third place). Some of the later Thiels would *magnify* the defects of upstream equipment, making them very picky about what you could drive them with.

Have you ever tried a zero-feedback solid-state amp with your Thiels? Whan model are you using?

In my experience negative feedback (more so in solid-state than in tubes for some reason) tends to sound "etched", "brittle", "clear", "detailed" and things like that - the exact same way that many poorly executed metal diaphragm drivers do.

But when you get a *properly* executed rigid diaphragm speaker (eg, the Vivid Giyas) and a *properly* executed zero-feedback amplifier (solid-state or tube), something approaching magic will happen. Unfortunately both animals are avis rara indeed. The best zero feedback tube amps I know of came from the late Allen Wright (RIP) of Vacuum State Electronics, although there are probably more in the world of SETs. There are only two brands of zero feedback solid-state power amps I know of - the Thetas and the Ayres - both designed by me. Actually the original zero feedback solid-state amp was made by the late Steve Wingate (RIP) of Wingate Audio in the mid- to late-'80s. But he only produced a couple of dozen before going out of business. Then there is the Aesthetix Atlas hybrid amps that are zero-feedback, with a tube gain stage and a solid-state output stage.

Any of these will likely sound superb with your Thiels.

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