First Impressions: Thermionic 3pi
Well I finished my Thermionic 3pi's on Friday and started playing music. Thought I'd post some initial impressions. I took some photos this weekend, but since I don't have a digital camera, I'll have to wait for them to come back from the lab. At any rate, I think the cabinets turned out great. I ended up using cherry 3/4 ply for the sides and top, and Baltic birch for the front, back and bottom. I veneered the front in cherry, nice book matched stuff - it looks great. The finish is about 7 coats of tung oil.
As for sound... fantastic! I'm comparing these to my old Areiel 7's (at about $3k) and my recent entry into single drivers, the Fostex 168 sigmas. The 3pi bested both of them easily. There is a beautiful clarity in the upper ranges, without any sense of harshness. The bottom is nice and solid, much better than my backloaded horn Fostex's. I would say the Fostex had a bit better weight in the lower mids - but I'm betting that's because the 3pi's aren't broken in much yet. I don't know if weight is the right word - maybe "elegance" would be a better word. At any rate, it isn't a big difference.
I played the speakers most of the weekend - I really can't say enough good about them - really exciting sound. The bass, in particular has such nice authority without any sense of being boomy. Some people have posted questions about how the pi's image. I was very concerned about this, but found that these guys image very well indeed. I currently have them about an inch or two from a back wall. I will play with placement a bit more over the next few days as they break in.
Finally, The support from Wayne and helpful ideas from the forum have been greatly appreciated - thanks all! I'll post some photos soon as I can.
Steve
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