Thiel Owners


Guys-

I just scored a sweet pair of CS 2.4SE loudspeakers. Anyone else currently or previously owned this model?
Owners of the CS 2.4 or CS 2.7 are free to chime in as well. Thiel are excellent w/ both tubed or solid-state gear!

Keep me posted & Happy Listening!
128x128jafant

Stating serial numbers helps in reconstructing the flow of events. I left Thiel in 1995 and am playing catch-up with changes of various sorts. Of particular interest is that crossover manufacture was taken to Asia (with considerable care) and some performance changes. Over these past few years here on this forum, I've been able to piece together a picture of what happened when with what performance consequences. Thiel's Chinese crossovers used components that were cloned from the long-term "western" components. The layouts also migrated from point to point on masonite to high-quality fiberglas. My bottom line is that I prefer, subjectively supported with inferences from measurements, the original made in Lexington boards. But the Chinese equivalents are quite good - with some exceptions: we've found Chinese crossovers with downright sloppy coils that were audibly inferior when directly compared to Thiel's AcoustaCoil / ERSE coils, which I consider best of form.

This sleuthing would not be necessary if the New Thiel owners had honored and kept the extensive body of records that we kept from day 1. On the bright side, our view of Thiel history is gradually coming into focus.

cascadesphil

 

Excellent summation. I hope that you are well and enjoying Fall season.

 

Happy Listening!

tomthiel

 

No doubt that S/N information will be of service to Rob Gillum at CSS.

Good to read that valuable information is helping your perspective in Thiel Audio history.

 

Happy Listening!

As an example, my Thiel CS 3.7 serial numbers are 87 and 88.  I don't know how many pairs were sold in total, but obviously it was one of the earliest sets built (I had 7.2s before that).  I have a couple of pairs of old SCS2s (for side and back surrounds in my integrated AV system) and the serial numbers are worn off from those.  I also have an MCS1 center channel and a pair of the original Power Points for front height channels.  I bought one pair of the SCS2s used (the customer of the store died and they were too beat up for them to take in trade so I stripped off the beat up black ash and painted them the color of the walls.  At one point in the old house, I had that pair of SCS2s hung on the wall (with Ominmounts) as left and right channels in the bedroom.  I've also owned 2.3s and when my friend worked in the stereo store for about 6 years I help deliver and set-up a bunch of different pairs (mainly 1.6s and 1.7s and 2.3s and 2.4s).  When I decided to upgrade my 2.3s, I was on a business trip in the Palo Alto, CA area and was fortunate a dealer there had all the Thiel models on the floor and they were gracious enough to let me spend time comparing the 6s and 7.2s for quite a while so I could make up my mind.

@jafant 

Yeah, I am familiar with the Tellurium Q (TQ) Black series and Silver series, and now with Ultra Silver. For my next upgrade, I am looking at the Silver Diamond series.

 

While my CS2.7 pairs have the S/N of 101 & 102, with tiger ebony finishing.