Thiel Owners

@vair68robert 

So, you have installed Cardas hook up wire and compared it to “original” and “new” Thiel? 
IIRC, @tomthiel said that OEM was sourced from Straightwire (at least for “original” Thiel) but it was never resolved whether my SEs were equipped with that or sourced from FST. It did appear to be 18 ga and twisted per the Thiel recipe.

Note that I also replaced the gold over brass OEM binding posts with Cardas rhodium over silver. On paper, a notable upgrade. I cannot say to what degree the sonics are resulting from the wire versus binding posts. 

@beetlemania 
I too replaced the posts with the Cardas rodium/silver with the gold plated nuts , a lot of work for little if any gain .
To clarify I replaced the new Thiel wire and made the assumption 
that your 2.4se's came with Striaghtwire 18 guage solid wire ,
but either way the Cardas wiring was a big upgrade for both of us .
I used 17.5 awg for the tweeter and mid-range and 15.5awg for the woofer and to the inputs on the crossover boards .
I am curious about the new Straight wire configurations that Tom is experimenting with .
Did you use ERSE Fiol/Q for all 3 speakers ?

snbeall- The PCS was introduced in 2000. If yours has a double magnet on the woofer, that constitutes the upgrade. Interesting thing that double magnet. Its obvious purpose is to reduce EMF leakage for use near a video monitor. However, the reduced stray fields also reduce interaction with the crossover inductors and lead wires for more solidity and transparency, especially with complex and/or loud music.

Did you use ERSE Fiol/Q for all 3 speakers ?

I imagine you mean all three boards?

The 2.4 uses a mechanical crossover for the tweeter/mid, so only two boards. The coax and woofer boards each have one coil in the direct feed path and those are the ones Tom selected as targets for foil type.

But I’ve read, and now experienced, that caps in the shunt position can have audible consequences even on the woofer board. Some consider better components in shunts to not result in better SQ, all the more so on the woofer. To be fair, the 2.4 crossover is at 700 cycles (IIRC) and, with the low slopes, that woofer is really covering most of the midrange. But, my point is I will not be surprised to read reports of improved SQ using foil type coils in the shunt position.

Excellent discussion- All.
Reading across other Audio forums, Cardas Rhodium/Silver is the preferred binding post upgrade. This technique is applied to loudspeaker as well as Power amp posts. Silver tends to act as a superior conductor on several Audio fronts. Presentation and sound can portray brightness and or lean. At any rate Silver is very fast sounding. One audition with a Nordost cable or cord is all it takes.

Happy Listening!