One of the remarkable stories to emerge from the demise of high-end loudspeaker brand THIEL Audio, which went out of business in 2018, was the phoenix-like rising of THIEL Service from the ashes of the bankrupt company. Long-time head of service Rob Gillum, sensing the continuing needs of a significant installed base of THIEL owners, purchased service-connected assets out of the bankrupt company and launched the independent Coherent Source Service (CSS), a full-fledged repair center dedicated to servicing the ongoing needs of THIEL legacy model owners everywhere.
Now, in the wake of Rob Gillum’s recent retirement, CSS has been acquired by Gary Dayton, another long-time THIEL service executive (trained by Gillum), who seeks to carry on the mantle of offering THIEL owners ongoing exceptional service of THIEL legacy products.
Learn all about this latest transition of Coherent Source Service
Strata-gee was the first to tell the world the remarkable story of THIEL – first of its demise, and then of the incredible effort of Rob Gillum, one of the most experienced and knowledgeable THIEL experts, to keep alive the ability to service the needs of the greater THIEL community. It’s a modern-day tale that hearkens to a bygone era of the audio industry, when strong and supportive communities were formed and blossomed over the years surrounding certain high-end, high-performance brands…like THIEL Audio.
Keeping CSS in the Family
Facing many obstacles to his goal of spinning off service operations, Gillum was able to overcome them all and turn Coherent Source Service into a freestanding success over these last seven years or so. After a job well done, Gillum was ready to retire. But what was to become of Coherent Source Service? The solution Gillum came up with was to keep CSS in the family, so to speak, via his long friendship with another former THIEL Audio employee, Gary Dayton.
In February, the two reached a definitive agreement in which Gary Dayton would acquire the entirety of Coherent Source Service from Rob Gillum. The deal closed in May, and there has been no disruption in services for the significant pool of THIEL customers in need of parts or service for their THIEL speakers.
An 8-Year Stint at THIEL
Dayton’s first stint with THIEL commenced in 2005, when he joined the company as customer support and technical support manager. In time, he was promoted to Director of Product Development – a role of great significance in a product-centric company. Throughout his time at THIEL, Dayton worked with Rob Gillum and many others in a very hands-on product role.
Dayton left THIEL in 2013 and moved to another high-performance manufacturer, Bryston. Joining Bryston as a product specialist, Dayton was eventually promoted to Vice President of Sales – a role he held until 2021. Following Bryston, Dayton joined Sound United/Masimo first in marketing and ultimately in product planning.
Expert Service of THIEL Speakers, Usually with Original Parts
Now the center of his work life is back in Lexington, KY, as the new owner of Coherent Source Service. Interestingly, even though the last owners of THIEL had packed up the company and moved its headquarters to Nashville, the THIEL service operations remained in Lexington and that is where Coherent Source Service remains to this day.
Coherent Source Service can provide expert repair of nearly every speaker THIEL produced, and in most cases using original parts. CSS maintains new-old-stock of many original parts and has ongoing relationships with original suppliers that can still produce critical parts. In addition to an impressive parts inventory and active supply chain, CSS has critical assembly fixtures, testing facilities, and documentation that make it possible to restore THIEL speakers to original operating parameters. I am looking forward to working with enthusiastic clients from around the world. Our goal is to ensure that THIEL owners can happily enjoy their wonderful loudspeakers well into the foreseeable future.
Gary Dayton, New owner of Coherent Source Service
The Main Company is Gone, But Service and Support Go On
This is the first time I’ve ever heard of a high-end audio specialty company going out of business, but leaving behind a fully operational service and maintenance facility capable of fully restoring that company’s legacy products to original spec performance, many times with original parts.
As Dayton noted above – and reiterated to me on a Zoom interview – “Not only do I have a warehouse full of new old-parts, I still have existing relationships with the original parts suppliers,” Dayton said. “And in the rare situation where the customer needs a part no longer available, we have identified market-available parts that can replace the (unavailable) original parts with nearly identical performance.”
Dayton Considers Interesting Growth Initiatives
Dayton has also launched a new initiative that may help extend the THIEL legend. For those interested in obtaining THIEL loudspeakers, he acquires models from the secondary market, fully restores them, and resells them to music lovers seeking a more affordable audiophile option.
Dayton is also considering future expansion opportunities for CSS. For example, he sees an opportunity to offer upgrade kits that will offer newer, later technology parts that not only maintain THIEL legacy products, but actually could upgrade the performance.
Learn More Here…
CSS is also investigating the possibility of expanding into offering service and maintenance support for one or more other high-end brands. In this way, CSS both expands its operations…and extends its level of professional service to other brands…an effort that is likely to equally delight lovers of those other high-performance brands.
Learn more about Coherent Source Service by visiting coherentsourceservice.com.
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