Thiel cs2.4 upgrade to cs 2.4 se

As the year ends, it marks a beginning of another new year and new hope.  I would like to take this opportunity wishing you and your family a wonderful year ahead.

@desmond888 
interesting report, thanks. Holco’s report is earlier on this thread.

My preliminary take is that the CSA is more transparent and resolved for pretty much all instruments and vocals. More open and clear, with notably better microdynamics. I will have more to say later, on the Thiel Owners thread.

But my subjective take should differ from yours. I have a late SE version with XOs sourced from FST. The coax feeds are Clarity SA but all other caps are CYC MKT, which is a lower quality. Also, I’ve been running Mills resistors since May. And my upgrade is a full rebuild with Multicap RTX bypasses on the coax feed CSAs. There is nothing from the OEM boards remaining, not even the coils. So, my starting and ending places are both substantially different than yours.

@desmond888 I now have CSAs in both channels (although 2nd channel without bypass caps). At first, I thought I heard a subtle “hallway echo” on male vocals and “silvery sheen” on female vocals. But now it all sounds clean, so I assume it was a burn-in thing. And all I can say is “WOW”! The transparency and resolution are top shelf. Super clean sounding with textures previously unnoticed. Intelligibility of lyrics previously mumbled. 

Now, my upgrade is much different than yours but I give CSA a big thumbs up! 

Dear all, 

I noticed the overall sound is changing. The initial perception of " imbalance" has become more balance. Also, it put more hot glue to secure the caps to board. It helps to reduce the vibration and makes the system sounded quieter. 

I will let it run in further before making further assessment.