# New Audison Thesis TH 3.0 II Voce midrange (Announced Feb. 19, 2020)



## bbfoto (Aug 28, 2005)

Just wondering if anybody has put eyes or ears on these updated Audison Thesis TH 3.0 II Voce midrange drivers yet?

General specs look good, but I'm not sure how they actually differ from the original model?

It seems like they took their sweet time after having already updated the TH 1.5 Violino tweeters and TH 6.5 Sax midwoofers to version "II".


Recently announced Audison Thesis TH 3.0 II Voce - updated midrange, Feb. 2020


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## captainobvious (Mar 11, 2006)

As for differentiation, I notice right off the bat that they are using a traditional surround. the previous model had an accordion style surround.


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## captainobvious (Mar 11, 2006)

Also the cone appears to be a poly material, vs the paper/fiber of the old cone.


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## bbfoto (Aug 28, 2005)

captainobvious said:


> As for differentiation, I notice right off the bat that they are using a traditional surround. the previous model had an accordion style surround.
> 
> Also the cone appears to be a poly material, vs the paper/fiber of the old cone.


Thanks Steve.

I don't know of any Audison Thesis dealers here, but if there are, please chime in with availability & MAP pricing.


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## bbfoto (Aug 28, 2005)

Bump for any information. Emailed Elettromedia USA several days ago, but no response yet.


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## bertholomey (Dec 27, 2007)

I’ve been looking at the specs as well. Went from 8 ohm to 4 ohm, lower fs, a bit smoother on the FR graph, and cone / surround changes as mentioned. 

I asked about a price, but not sure I want to know 


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## bbfoto (Aug 28, 2005)

bertholomey said:


> I’ve been looking at the specs as well. Went from 8 ohm to 4 ohm, lower fs, a bit smoother on the FR graph, and cone / surround changes as mentioned.
> 
> I asked about a price, but not sure I want to know



Haha, yeah, probably a bit pricey I'm sure. Most likely on par with the silly price of the Focal Utopia 3.5WM. 

But for its size, and if the posted specs and FR graphs are "real world" accurate, this looks like it'd be a very good driver. Nice, low Fs, and low inductance...the high-end roll-off looks smooth and tracks simularly both on- & off-axis.

I'm always interested in really good, but small-ish midrange drivers that can be tucked into the top dash corners, custom sail panels, pillars, or door panels without being overly large or obstructive.

The Audiofrog GB25 is still a class leader for its size IMO, but in general I prefer to use a bit larger driver for midrange. For the type of installs I noted above, 3.5" is the sweet spot for me, with 4"+ drivers being somewhat more difficult to fit, but usually having the advantage of a bit lower HP to help cover more of the vocal range.

With it's supposed low-ish Fs and just over 3" size, its seems really compelling on paper. It's just a tad deeper than some of the other good 3.5" mids I'm using (Eton 3-400 A8 25 MG & Focal Utopia M 3.5WM), but not by much.

Let me know if you find out the price, haha! ? And I'll be sending that thing we discussed to you very soon. ?

Thanks for chiming in.


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## Naptownsoldier1488 (Jul 9, 2016)

Looks nice aluminum shorting ring at the base large voicecoil for its size useing flat edge wound also optimized for small sealed and over 3mm xmax each way if price is inline looks like a really nice option and it looks much better than the old ones old ones only had 1mm xmax so low crossover was out and it had a rising response and high distortion so this looks like a big step up


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## F150Man (Apr 14, 2017)

Naptownsoldier1488 said:


> Looks nice aluminum shorting ring at the base large voicecoil for its size useing flat edge wound also optimized for small sealed and over 3mm xmax each way if price is inline looks like a really nice option and it looks much better than the old ones old ones only had 1mm xmax so low crossover was out and it had a rising response and high distortion so this looks like a big step up


R U saying it should B in some type of sealed enclosure ?


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## bbfoto (Aug 28, 2005)

Kind of forgot about these. Has anybody had a chance to check them out or hear them yet?


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## bertholomey (Dec 27, 2007)

bbfoto said:


> Kind of forgot about these. Has anybody had a chance to check them out or hear them yet?


I’ve been askin’ - delayed due to the ‘Rona. Expected in the States in June or July. No idea on pricing. 


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## bbfoto (Aug 28, 2005)

bertholomey said:


> I’ve been askin’ - delayed due to the ‘Rona. Expected in the States in June or July. No idea on pricing.


Thanks Jason!


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## bertholomey (Dec 27, 2007)

There are a few sets now in the States, and I finally got a price. It is high. MSRP is $1799.....that isn’t for a 3-way set, that is for a pair of 3” midrange. I believe that is the same price the version 2 of the tweeters were as well. 

It is very, very unlikely I will entertain the thought of replacing my version 1 Thesis mid ranges - according to the one I got them from, they were fairly new when I got them, and I love the sound of them. The new drivers look ‘better’ on paper, but it is hard to tell if I would prefer the sound because the cone material has changed. Without hearing them side by side in a baffle........


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## bbfoto (Aug 28, 2005)

Hey Jason,

Thanks for the update and info!

OUCH! That's an insane price for a pair of 3" mids (or any drivers). I knew that they'd be expensive, but that is boardline ludicrous.

I'd love to have Erin test these just to see their real-world performance (given that cost). But I'm probably not gonna be the one that'll be sending these to him, LOL.

I'll go ahead and check with local Audison dealers to get a street price. I'd imagine somewhere around $1450-$1600, which would put them at almost DOUBLE that of the Focal Utopia 3.5WM pair, which IMO is already at an over-the-top price for a pair of 3'' midrange drivers.

The price of the Audison Thesis drivers makes the Purifi 4'' midrange drivers seem like an absolute bargain, LOL.

Too bad the Purifi drivers are huge in comparison and not exactly installer friendly.  But even if the Thesis drivers were 4", I can't imagine that they would outperform the Purifi drivers. I'd obviously love to see both of them tested.

Thanks again.


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## bertholomey (Dec 27, 2007)

bbfoto said:


> Hey Jason,
> 
> Thanks for the update and info!
> 
> ...


I’d like to see someone with a baffle and a switcher test the Focal drivers, the Thesis drivers, and the Morel Elate Carbon MM3 drivers - even just for subjective listening. 


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## bbfoto (Aug 28, 2005)

bertholomey said:


> I’d like to see someone with a baffle and a switcher test the Focal drivers, the Thesis drivers, and the Morel Elate Carbon MM3 drivers - even just for subjective listening.


_Pfoof, Pfoof..."Steve Weigner, white courtesy telephone, please. DIYMA peeps are requesting your attention."...Click. LOL_ 

Agreed. That would be nice. I'll offer up my Utopia 3.5WM for objective testing and/or listening. I've got another 3.5" mid that I can temporarily swap into my sail panel pods.

I'd also like to see the 4" Purifi PTT4.0W04, the 3" Eton 3-212/C8/25 HEX Symphony II, and the 3" Xcelsus XXM325 in that test.


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## DaveG (Jul 24, 2019)

At $899 msrp the Morels seem like a bargain!!! Crazy even at that price!


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## MFW (Aug 20, 2020)

Had a Question just found out about this site and forum. I actually have the Thesis ii Voce 3' i saw somebody say this is good in a sealed box ? Ive also heard this on the audison page from another person. They said half a liter or 1 liter at best optimum performance... I was wondering whats the best way to set that up in a car LoL like a half liter box up in the corner of the dash starting with the pillar ? Pretty new to all this and correctly reading specs etc... I do have the full Thesis ii 3 way and aiming for the best sound possible from it. Appreciate the help.


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## bbfoto (Aug 28, 2005)

MFW said:


> Had a Question just found out about this site and forum. I actually have the Thesis ii Voce 3' i saw somebody say this is good in a sealed box ? Ive also heard this on the audison page from another person. They said half a liter or 1 liter at best optimum performance... I was wondering whats the best way to set that up in a car LoL like a half liter box up in the corner of the dash starting with the pillar ? Pretty new to all this and correctly reading specs etc... I do have the full Thesis ii 3 way and aiming for the best sound possible from it. Appreciate the help.


Welcome to DIYMA.

Yes, usually most midrange drivers will perform best or have their widest usable passband when placed in a sealed (or sometimes ported) enclosure.

Most 3"-4" mids work well in 0.25L-1.5L sealed enclosures, but the T/S Specs will help to determine this. If they provide the needed specs, there are several software programs that allow you to "model" the performance in different types and sizes of enclosures.

In addition, needing a sealed enclosure or not also depends on what passband or more specifically how low you want/need the 3'' midrange drivers to play and crossover to your 6.5" midbass drivers.

If you plan to cross them over about at least an octave or two above their Fs (their resonant frequency), then the enclosure usually becomes less important and they can be installed in a "free air" or IB alignment.

If you want them to play as low as possible and closer to their Fs to try and cover as much of the human vocal range as possible, then the enclosure becomes more important.

But achieving higher output levels will start to become more limited the lower in frequency you try and push them to play due to excursion and distortion limits as you approach the speaker's Fs.

"Boundary-loading" or placing the drivers against or close to one or more "boundary" surfaces, such as deep in the kickpanel corners, or nearest to the windshield/dash/side window corners or intersection will usually help to boost the acoustic output. The frequency of the boosted output range will differ depending on the specific placement and acoustic interactions.

So the ideal placement and aiming will be unique for each particular vehicle, and it's best to actually test as many of the possible mounting locations with both measurements and listening tests in your vehicle before committing to particular mounting locations and fabrication of custom panels, etc.

What locations and aiming work best in one particular vehicle may be horrible in another.

You might search for Build Logs here by other members that have the same vehicle to see what they ended up doing and what the pros and cons might be.

IMHO, for the price paid, Audison should include the custom installation work, LOL! But I would at least contact their tech support and ask for their recommendation regarding placement and type & size of enclosure.

If they can't or don't provide at least that information via a _friendly, prompt, personal reply_ after having spent that much coin, I would be fairly disappointed/pissed/disgusted.  

With all that being said, the dealers or shops who sell these exclusive, high-end THESIS products _should_ have some good recommendations regarding the best placement, enclosures, and aiming for these.

Enjoy the music!


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## MFW (Aug 20, 2020)

Hey thanks for the welcome  

Appreciate the really good in depth response. Starting to sound more clear to me now which means I’m learning haha. 

I have a 2019 Lexus NX300 F Sport. I will check the build log area and see what I can find. I’ll also give a message to Audison they have been helpful before. 

Since this was my first SQ system ever. Audison was definitely expensive I think I paid 4200 for the set. 

I’m just aiming to get the best sound possible. My current shop had them in an in closure and now they have it like iB and never got a real answer why we ditched the other idea. So we are currently going over it again. 

Currently the tweeter is going in the A - Sail. The doors from my understanding still oem not sure what is going on behind it. 

I’ve been trying to find pictures of good designs to copy from Pinterest and google but not much library lol or things that spoke to me like this is the one or a good candidate yet. 

Thanks again I’ll do some more poking around and searching on here. 


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## captainobvious (Mar 11, 2006)

bbfoto said:


> _Pfoof, Pfoof..."Steve Weigner, white courtesy telephone, please. DIYMA peeps are requesting your attention."...Click. LOL_
> 
> Agreed. That would be nice. I'll offer up my Utopia 3.5WM for objective testing and/or listening. I've got another 3.5" mid that I can temporarily swap into my sail panel pods.
> 
> I'd also like to see the 4" Purifi PTT4.0W04, the 3" Eton 3-212/C8/25 HEX Symphony II, and the 3" Xcelsus XXM325 in that test.


LOL!


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## bbfoto (Aug 28, 2005)

bertholomey said:


> There are a few sets now in the States, and I finally got a price. It is high. MSRP is $1799.....that isn’t for a 3-way set, that is for a pair of 3” midrange. I believe that is the same price the version 2 of the tweeters were as well.
> 
> It is very, very unlikely I will entertain the thought of replacing my version 1 Thesis mid ranges - according to the one I got them from, they were fairly new when I got them, and I love the sound of them. The new drivers look ‘better’ on paper, but it is hard to tell if I would prefer the sound because the cone material has changed. Without hearing them side by side in a baffle........



Well, I'm starting to see these for sale Online in Europe...the U.K. and Italy, specifically, at the following prices that include VAT which we most likely wouldn't pay if they will ship to the U.S. ...

U.K. £949.00 = $1220 USD
Italy € 809.00 = $948 USD

I've purchased some Gladen Aerospace drivers directly from a car audio shop in Germany with no VAT and no import duties. For example the Aerospace 20 tweeters were around $315 shipped to SoCal. They were almost triple that from dealers in the States.  

I'll check with that German dealer and see if they can get a hold of these Audison mids.


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## Wayne85 (Sep 25, 2020)

bbfoto said:


> Well, I'm starting to see these for sale Online in Europe...the U.K. and Italy, specifically, at the following prices that include VAT which we most likely wouldn't pay if they will ship to the U.S. ...
> 
> U.K. £949.00 = $1220 USD
> Italy € 809.00 = $948 USD
> ...


wow.. huge price different.. do u mind share the shop name? or PM me please? thank you.


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## bbfoto (Aug 28, 2005)

bertholomey said:


> There are a few sets now in the States, and I finally got a price. It is high. MSRP is $1799.....that isn’t for a 3-way set, that is for a pair of 3” midrange. I believe that is the same price the version 2 of the tweeters were as well.
> 
> It is very, very unlikely I will entertain the thought of replacing my version 1 Thesis mid ranges - according to the one I got them from, they were fairly new when I got them, and I love the sound of them. The new drivers look ‘better’ on paper, but it is hard to tell if I would prefer the sound because the cone material has changed. Without hearing them side by side in a baffle...





Wayne85 said:


> wow.. huge price different.. do u mind share the shop name? or PM me please? thank you.



For anyone that's interested, I just received an email Price Quote from a dealer in Germany that will ship to the U.S.

Will PM you two guys soon with contact details. I've ordered my Gladen Aerospace components from them in the past (2018) and they were received promptly, brand new & legit, and with no import duties to SoCal.

The price for the Audison pair is €704.76 + €39.00 for DHL International shipping. No VAT.

That's currently about $880 USD shipped.

Also note that you would not have a U.S.A. Warranty of any kind, so order at your own risk.


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## maximus5403 (Aug 19, 2010)

That's a really good price. Much less than dealer cost here in the US.


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## bbfoto (Aug 28, 2005)

maximus5403 said:


> That's a really good price. Much less than dealer cost here in the US.


Fo' Sho'! I realize that the U.S. distributor & dealers need to make a profit (and are most likely paying some import duties), but considering they are getting them AT COST from Elettromedia EU, a markup that's more than 100% over the EU MSRP is a bit aggressive IMO.

If I planned ahead, I could probably get a decent plane ticket to Germany/Italy/France with the difference in the U.S. cost and at least spend some time visiting friends in Europe as well.

But it's actually a better deal to have them shipped to the U.S. as that avoids the significant VAT charges.


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## maximus5403 (Aug 19, 2010)

The dealers in the US have to purchase from Elettromedia USA. THESIS pricing currently compared to about 3-4 years ago has increased at least 20%. Dealer cost on these 3.0 is over $1K. I have a relative that's a dealer so even I would be better off purchasing from Europe, just no warranty... I know certain items like bit processors are made in Italy so dealer cost hasn't jumped on those, but most of the speakers (not sure about THESIS) are made in Asia so they are probably tariffed heavily.

I'm strongly considering THESIS 1.5 & 3.0 for the front stage in my upcoming X6M build but it's hard to justify the cost as it's 3X the cost of a Mille Legend Set. I keep going back and forth on it.


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## Ge0 (Jul 23, 2007)

I'll pass. No warranty kills it for me regardless of the discounts that can be had...

Ge0


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## bbfoto (Aug 28, 2005)

maximus5403 said:


> The dealers in the US have to purchase from Elettromedia USA. THESIS pricing currently compared to about 3-4 years ago has increased at least 20%. Dealer cost on these 3.0 is over $1K. I have a relative that's a dealer so even I would be better off purchasing from Europe, just no warranty... I know certain items like bit processors are made in Italy so dealer cost hasn't jumped on those, but most of the speakers (not sure about THESIS) are made in Asia so they are probably tariffed heavily.
> 
> I'm strongly considering THESIS 1.5 & 3.0 for the front stage in my upcoming X6M build but it's hard to justify the cost as it's 3X the cost of a Mille Legend Set. I keep going back and forth on it.





Ge0 said:


> I'll pass. No warranty kills it for me regardless of the discounts that can be had...
> 
> Ge0


I get it. It's still a lot of money and a gamble for sure. However, I doubt that you'd experience very many, if any, manufacturing defects considering these are Audison's TOTL THESIS drivers and they know that they should be absolutely PERFECT due to both their reputation and considering the price they are demanding.

And most manufacturers don't cover blatant misuse/abuse anyway so there's that.

You can also purchase 2 complete pairs from Europe for the price of just one pair in the U.S., so it's somewhat of a "break-even gamble"...unless you are getting them at dealer cost here.


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## 01LSi (Jul 27, 2012)

Do we know how these sound yet in comparison to 3.5wm or other top tier midranges for example or is the jury out on that


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## Ge0 (Jul 23, 2007)

01LSi said:


> Do we know how these sound yet in comparison to 3.5wm or other top tier midranges for example or is the jury out on that


I may have the opportunity coming up to compare them against the Dynaudio Esotar2 E430. But, I won't have the coin to also compare against the Focal Utopia 3.5WM .

Ge0


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## MFW (Aug 20, 2020)

Ive heard the focal 3.5 and i currently own the thesis voce 3" if i had to compare them both since what people are asking Focals sound bright while the Audisons sound more realistic its a great driver. You cant go wrong with both depending on what your looking for. The Thesis violino ii Tweeter can sing like no tomorrow probably the best tweeter i have heard so far and Mid Range are really well made very impressive as well. Im still trying to figure out the 6.5 Sax ii. That one lacks but well see with another tune.


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## bbfoto (Aug 28, 2005)

01LSi said:


> Do we know how these sound yet in comparison to 3.5wm or other top tier midranges for example or is the jury out on that.


Besides _MFW_ who posted above, I don't know of anybody else Stateside that has heard them or compared them to the usual suspects.

I'd still love to hear them as they look to be designed with the attention to details in all the right places.

I'm not so sure about the change in cone material, but there are plenty of polymer cones that "sound good" and exhibit no major issues within their intended passband, so?

I would really like to see ErinH test these on the Klippel. I'm interested to see the effects (or lack thereof) from the "integrated" smooth transition dustcap.

The motor design also looks nicely optimized and supposedly correlates well to the supplied FR & impedance plots.

Obviously very curious about these but already have too many unfinished projects looming to add more to the pot. Maybe next year.


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## 4runner 13 (Nov 17, 2018)

they sound amazing on yhis vid 3 way set up! !


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## 4runner 13 (Nov 17, 2018)




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## MythosDreamLab (Nov 28, 2020)

Hey just wondering if any of you guys are still looking for these babies?









SOLD: Audison Thesis Th 3.0 II VOCE 3" Midrange...


Free bump! Amazing speakers here for a great guy!




www.diymobileaudio.com


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## ramses974 (Nov 3, 2015)

Not very fan , i have had the complete set up from Audison Thesis with amp... I prefer the TS-062 PRS or the TSS-01 ODR range, they sound better and more realistic


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## toneloc2 (Nov 29, 2015)

any other comparisons with these? i'm running the focal m's combo and would be interested to know the difference.


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## bbfoto (Aug 28, 2005)

toneloc2 said:


> any other comparisons with these? i'm running the focal m's combo and would be interested to know the difference.


PM'd

It's hard to beat the Focal Utopia WM's, unless you don't like extreme detail and a holographic 3D soundstage. 

To be fair, sometimes I do like a smoother/mellower and more "easygoing" presentation. But in the end I'm a detail and imaging/soundstage freak. 

Get on with some more tuning or fix installation issues if you aren't satisfied with the WM's.


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## outroku (Jul 20, 2014)

Ge0 said:


> I'll pass. No warranty kills it for me regardless of the discounts that can be had...


Just bought my Sax II from an authorized dealer in Italy and it comes with a 2-year warranty. Would it cost a touch more to have to ship them back to Italy vs. the U.S. for warranty services? Sure...maybe $40 more. Doesn't even come close to outweighing my decision to pay $1100 less than a U.S. dealer.


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