Thiel Owners

beetle - point taken, many amps are not rated to 2 ohms, so we don't know their capability. It would be very instructive if you could learn the 2 ohm behavior of your Ayre amp so that we can learn from your experience. I have heard only praise of Ayre, but have never heard one myself. My theory predicts that it should do well into 2 ohms for it to meet your sonic requirements so well. Please report if you can supply such performance information to us.

I just ordered some Audyn Q4 capacitors to replace all the electrolytic one originally installed on my CS 3.6, in detail, four 100 uF/100v and one 66 uF/100V

That is fantastic, please let us know the sonic results. I suggest you also upgrade the resistors to Mills MRA-12s at the same time.

learn the 2 ohm behavior

Hi Tom, Stereophile has measured both Ayre models i have owned. Soundstage might have also measured the AX-5 but maybe it was the amp rather than integrated. Charles Hansen was not a fan of power ratings for amps. Here are some of his thoughts. Also, here

Edit - looks like my links don’t work. The short of it is he said you can’t predict how an amp will sound from its measurements. 

silvanik - fantastic indeed and we are most interested in your results. Sonic Craft has New Old Stock Mills MRAs.
FYI: all the copper in your 3.6s is 4-9s or better. Your solder is silver x tin, so it needs high temperature. The yellow bypasses are best of form styrene x tin foil.

A further thought for your consideration: While replacing the Electrolytic 3x100uF mid shunts plus the 1x100uF woofer shunt, you might play some swap. Your Audyns are probably better than the 2x 100uF PolyPropylene mid feeds. You might spend 2 of your Audyns there and move the original PPs to the woofer shunt and one of the mid shunts, placing your Audyns for maximum benefit in the mid feed.   

A further upgrade target is the 8.2uF PP in the tweeter feed. In addition to the 66uF shunt you are replacing, that 8.2 is the weak link in the tweeter circuit. Similarly  the 9.1uF PP in the  midrange shunt is a candidate. I mention these caps because their small values make them low-hanging fruit.

My 3.6 project is on the back burner, but I have been scheming for awhile.
Please share your progress and what you learn.

My impression of the Thiel CS2.4

My first impression when I unpack them is that they seem a bit
bigger than I remember. The craftmanship is impecable. Something
like this today would probably cost $20K. And they are heavy!!!
My only disappointment visually is that the bass driver is advertised
as 8in but I think the drivers are more like large 7in. I have
a pair of ScanSpeak 8in driver they they look quite bigger than
the CS2.4 "8in." Anyway, I build my own speakers so I usually don't
buy commercial speakers, but I have to have these and I am glad
I did. These are probably one of the very few that can do a perfect
step response. John Atkinson said that may be less than 10 speakers
in the world that can do this. Owning the CS2.4 is like owning
a piece of history. I think they will be a future classic.

I remember the first time I listened to them at an audio shop
a long time ago just after the speakers were introduced to the market,
and the first thing I said to the owner was that "They don't
sound bright at all". Every single review I've read always
said something to the effect that they are a bit bright and so
on which is odd. In my set up, they sound natural and the
treble is very sweet and not harsh or bright at all. But I
think they are very transparent, so I suppose if your electronics
are bright, it's possible that they will sound bright.

I have two setups in my house. One is Arcam CD23, Conrad Johnson 17LS, and Simaudio Moon W3. In this system, they sound very natural and neutral but very good. My other setup is Ayre QB9 DSD, Pass Lab XP10, and Simaudio W7 amp and in this system they actually sound a bit
warm (I though I was listening to a pair of Sonus Faber :-))
So I guess I couldn't make them sound bright :-).

Anyway, I am not going to repeat all the accolades they received
from professional magazines. But instead I am going talk about first order
filter which is used in the CS2.4. Actually they are not only
first order, they are also time coherent. You can use first
order in your design, but it does not automatically mean time
coherent. I have built speakers using various filter order such
as 4th order (24db roll off), 2nd order (12db roll off), and
first order (6db roll off), and without any doubt any my mind,
first order has the most natural and musical sound. As you go
to higher order, the sound does sound a bit "clearer" but less
and less natural. But I think higher order tend to spot light the
instruments but I don't think it's natural. The Thiel sounds unmistakenly
as a first order. I design my speakers using first order so
I know how first order sounds like.

Interestingly, something that I didn't expect, the CS2.4 has
a very similar soundstage as mine I guess because mine speaker
also use first order filter. I would like to describe
what an first order sounds like. Everything is very coherent,
no instrument or aspect of the soundstage is being favored.
The sound is spacious, airy, open, liquid, continuos like real life.
The treble is very integrated into the entire sound. In some
speakers that use higher order filters, the treble sometimes
feels like a separate element, like a shin that overlays the
sound. If you think about it, treble is part of every sound
such as your speech sibilance, the drum hit, and not just from
high hat. With first order filter, the treble is just like
that as in real life that it is within the sound, over overlaying
the sound. I listen to the CS2.4 I feel very at ease,
it's like I just sit back and enjoy the sound. I don't recall
feeling like that listening to any other commercial speakers.
The treble, the bass, the soundstage, everything is just right.

The other thing I like to talk about is time coherent.
As, I mentioned above, being first order does not automatically
mean time coherent. The CS2.4 goes a step further and also
is time coherent. The claim is that time coherent makes
the sound more natural and has better soundstage. My speakers
are first order but not time coherent, and compare mine vs.
the CS2.4, I guess the advantage of time coherent is subtle
because it's hard for me to tell. Mine and the CS2.4 use
completely different drivers so there are just too many variables.
But as I said above, even though the CS2.4 and mine use different
drives and designed by different persons, there is something
about the sound that is very similar that is very characteristic
of first order filter.

Anyway, if you are looking for a pair of speakers, I highly
recommend CS2.4 unfortunately they won't be easy to find.
I feel like if Thiel would make these as is today, a lot of
people will buy them.  I know Tom Thiel participates in this thread so may be we can convince him.  I think Thiel products are somewhat different from the past.  First order and time coherent are no longer part of their designs.  Besides Vandersteen, I don't know of anyone making first order time coherent speakers.  I can tell you from experience that it's not easy so maybe that's why no many people do it.