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
vair68robert

Tom and Beetle have been working diligently this year on the whole upgraded XO project that will no doubt benefit many of the owners here.
I would be interested in learning more about your Amplifier upgrading project. Always great to have another DIY contributor here. I believe that makes 5 of you guys who can mod electronics and speakers.

Happy Holidays to You.
Jafant, since you brought up these "rules of engagement" I believe it behooves you to support the existence of them.

So what are the recommended caps and crossovers for the 2.7 without getting stupid expensive?   What are the main benefits please? 
Sam - my cap of choice is ClarityCap CSA with potential CMR bypasses. My resistor choice is Mills MRA-12 which is nearly best of form for reasonable cost. Our work is still in process.

Main benefits from upgrade include higher resolution, micro-dynamics and transparancy, which are already Thiel's strengths. I have not yet addressed the 2.7, so have no firm advice except that replacing all the sandcast resistors with MRAs will increase delicacy and refinement.
Edit: lol, Tom Thiel replied while I was typing all this

@samzx12 Tom Thiel is hoping to eventually address the 2.7 but it is the very newest design and he has it as lower priority after older models such as 2.4 and 3.6.

If you read thru this thread you can see his intentions. The sandcast wirewound resistors are replaced with Mills MRA-12. I did this in May, a very worthwhile and cost effective upgrade. Most importantly, it mitigated a glassy quality in the midrange and with added ease of presentation. But I also heard some improvements in microdynamics, “fullness” of sound, soundstaging, and, maybe, a bit more bass impact. I highly recommend this to all Thiel owners.

Tom has decided on Clarity CSAs for most caps. Clarity CMR might be a possibility for cost-no-object CS7.2 and 3.7 when/if he addresses them. @holco used Janzen to good result in his 2.4s (check his comments in this thread or the one regarding CS2.4 upgrades). I currently have CSA in one channel, bypassed with 1% Multicap RTX. I also replaced all of my coils which were OEM from FST-China. These were poorly wound. New coils are ERSE or Janzen, including a couple of foil types, and are clearly of higher quality construction.

I haven’t done any serious comparisons yet as things are still burning in (just did this Sunday). That said, my initial impression is improved resolution and microdynamics. For example, I’ve been startled a couple of times at the clarity and focus of vocal inflections from background singers. My goal was to have a near-SOTA speaker from the midbass up, for a fraction the cost of new. I think I have a good chance of getting that.