Jim Thiel made some fantastic designs. In particular, some of his drivers were and still are among the best ever, IMO. I think his main shortcoming was relying almost exclusively on measurements and not so much on listening. The CS2.4SE seems to be an acknowledgement that SQ can be improved by tweaking the crossover, if not the wiring. Jim Thiel in the UltraAudio review of the CS2.4SE:
The improved resolution is not the kind of thing that shows up well in measurements;
the magnitude of the difference between the CS2.4 and the CS2.4SE is more easily heard
than discerned from graphs. The new capacitors allow more nuance, air, detail, and decay
to be reproduced by the coaxial drive unit. This was especially evident to us when
listening to recordings that contained realistic reverberation, as well as recordings
where the instruments were not processed heavily.
Jim Thiel passed too soon, at the height of his abilities. It a shame to see what has become of his company. If only he had groomed an engineer to carry his legacy . . .
The only speakers I've heard that I think are better than the CS3.7 or CS7.2 are far costlier - designs from TAD, Vivid, Avalon and the Vandersteen 7 (I'm curious to hear the 5A Carbon). In the meantime, you'll be seeing me post more often here . . . I've bought a pair of Thiels, should be in my living room this time next week.
