I've had the little Thiel 02s in my system for quite a while and they continued to enthrall me. I still think they somehow get a sense of the exact differences in materials, and the way an instrument produces it's sound, than maybe anything else I've owned.
But I just switched back to the 2.7s which are of course overall more sophisticated and enveloping. Among the most satisfying differences is the sheer sense of ease a bigger floor stander gives. The small two way 02s quickly give a sense of becoming strained when asked to produce more rousing music at higher volumes (though, within a comfortable volume limit, they still seem to convey more liveliness and enthusiasm in some sense). But the ease and dynamics of the 2.7s seem almost unrestricted in comparison. Strings swell, horns blast, drums pound, the sound breathes dynamically in more convincing and unrestrained manner.
Which is why I've never been able to stick just to smaller stand mounted speakers for the long haul.