Thiel Owners

Rosami - your detailed comparison of the 2.4 vs 3.6 reads like the design brief for the two products.

The Renaissance Project work has illuminated ways to make qualitative improvements for all Thiel models. I especially thank members of this forum for raising questions and perspectives that I, nor probably Jim, had considered. Remember the Vandersteen baffleless question? I responded with the company line of "one baffle, like one instrument". Then I scratched my head and went to work finding holes in my incomplete thinking. All in, I am addressing forms of distortion that contribute to that "upper frequency harsh glare" which I attribute to the speaker in some degree. Most of you have ameliorated it with careful and expensive system engineering. Thiel audio also used that particular equipment and sources that made it sound good. I believe we'll find ways to allow Thiel speakers to shine with most equipment and sources rather than a small subset as is presently necessary. 

I also thank those of you who are running parallel experiments and sharing outcomes with me. Even though progress is slow, progress is being made.

Indeed, this has been a fantastic thread. Thanks for kicking it off, @jafant

We are very fortunate to have Tom Thiel participating. When I bought my 2.4SEs, I had an inkling to upgrade the crossovers. But I had nowhere near in mind to take it as far as Tom coached me. I would have been nibbling around the edges and not making near the difference compared to the informed decisions from Tom's mind.

I remain *super* happy with my upgrade and haven't budged from my position that these are my last speakers. In fact, with my DAC upgraded I doubt I'll make any further changes to my system other than to try the baffle treatments Tom is experimenting with. 

Hello all...it’s been a while since I last posted, but I have finally caught up with the 9 (!) pages of forum posts since I last visited. 
Kudos to JAfant for starting such a wonderfully informative, collaborative & civil discussion on our amazing speakers...4 years strong!

My system remains unchanged: ARC LS-7 line stage, PH 3 phono pre amp & D-240 MKII ss amp. Main source these days is a Blue Sound Vault 2 with Tidal streaming. 
I continue to look forward to going to mono block amplification in effort to drive my CS 3.5s with greater authority & control. To that end, while we have many thoughts & feedback on tubes & solid state, I find myself wondering about the possibility of Class-D digital amplification. Anyone here have any thoughts on the usual suspect audiophile models from Bel Canto, Theta Digital, Wadia, etc? I had a chance to try ARC’s 450M Class-D amps, but they were bought before I could schedule a listen. 
Thanks for the knowledge & experience you’ve all shared here...it’s truly an exceptional forum!  And, like so many others here, I really look forward to Tom Thiel’s & other’s efforts to hot rodding/extending our Thiels for the foreseeable future.

Happy 2020!

Arvin C

Jafant this is a great thread! Glad you started it!! So happy Tom Thiel is actively involved and posting!! I’m going to post a follow up to my cs7s I bought in early November after having 3.6s that I bought new in dec of 92 I haven’t changed any equipment or cables the cs 7s are better to my ears than the 3.6s in every way (And I’m a big 3.6 fan!!) the bass is deeper  and more realistic, the mids and highs are very detailed the imaging is superb.This is with a cheap pioneer CD player through a proceed avp1 dac I can’t imagine what they will sound like when I get better equipment.The one thing I did notice is my bryston 4 nrb although sounds good and plays at a decent volume level isn’t able to make them play as loud as it did when I had my 3.6s you definitely need a big amp! Anyone contemplating the cs 7s don’t hesitate getting a pair, especially at the prices they are going for! David 

Jafant,

Concur that this thread is a great resource for the Thiel community.

Happy Anniversary!