@ronkent Thanks for the report. I'm not surprised. I don't consider Thiels the best available but I do consider them the best at their price points. They "punch well above their weight class". IMO, models like the CS3.7 and 7.2 just miss the ultimate tier of performance. If Tom Thiel is able to design hot rod kits for the CS3.7 (it's on his radar but he is working on older models first) I expect the performance to rise to that next tier. I suspect a 3.7 with an upgraded crossover will be sonically competitive with models costing ~$50+K (I'm thinking stuff like the Vandersteen 7 and Vivid Giya).
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@beetlemania you are welcome. this sure is a fun but challenging hobby. I agree with your statements about punching above their weight class. The Magicos are so well designed with one of the most rigid cabinets on the market and I think one reason they sound so clean is that there are no colorations imparted to the sound by the cabinets. The Thiels i am thinking, have more cabinet resonances and nothing will change that. Changing speakers is such a pain (selling and shipping the old ones for example) that i probably will be keeping these for many years. the crossover upgrade sounds awesome but i for one am not qualified to go in and change everything so i guess that it is not in my future. thanks. |
The Thiels i am thinking, have more cabinet resonances and nothing will change that. Changing speakers is such a pain (selling and shipping the old ones for example) that i probably will be keeping these for many years. the crossover upgrade sounds awesome but i for one am not qualified to go in and change everything so i guess that it is not in my future.Tom Thiel has an idea for identifying cabinet resonances and, possibly, addressing them. Stay tuned. In the meantime, the CS3.7 is not too bad in that regard:https://www.stereophile.com/content/thiel-cs37-loudspeaker-measurements For comparison, here is a $50K Wilson (Wilson makes some of the very best cabinets in the business): https://www.stereophile.com/content/wilson-audio-specialties-alexia-loudspeaker-measurements If you are not comfortable building new crossovers, I imagine there will be a couple of options depending your confidence level with a soldering gun: 1) Rob Gillum can build and install these, altho' that means shipping or personally transporting your speakers to Lexington; or 2) the CS3.7 boards appear easily accessible: http://www.theaudiobeat.com/visits/thiel_audio_carries_on.htm (assuming that panel isn't glued on), so you might have Rob Gillum build the new boards, ship them to you, and you would only need to replace the boards. Alternatively, you could have someone local do this last bit (friend or technician at a local shop). But temper any excitement you might have - Tom is unlikely to have a solution for the CS3.7 until next year. I have the CS2.4SE, now with Mills MRA-12 resistors over the OEM sandcast resistors. This was a worthwhile upgrade! I have ordered new bypass caps and will build entirely new boards later this year. |
Hi All, I recently purchased a pair of CS 2.7 that I am running with a peachtree nova 300 and accessing Tidal as a source. I found the highs a little bright and the lows so so. I purchased these pieces used because I was tired of reading and not listening and learning hands on. I should first tell you i'm 52 and just 3 months ago heard for the very first time a legit Audiophile system. What rock have I been under!! I cant believe I haven't done this sooner rang through my head. So from that day I have been trying to educate myself so I do this once and do it right! After a couple months of this dance I decided to just buy a used system that I could at least play with and learn hands on, Will Thiels SS-2 Smart Sub work with the 2.7's? Also I found an available "Filter" for high mids on Ebay for $85 is that a scam? Didn't know rules on dropping a link here. If it could take a little bit of the edge of the high end it would be worth it. Thank you, Dan |
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