Thiel Owners

tomthiel

Thank you very much for your response and wonderful history lesson on the CS3. I was 18 when my uncle purchased these and I learned most of what I know about jazz from him, and through the CS3's. Lovely memories.  

As I mentioned, the tweeter cavity is not deep enough for the Morel and I'm hoping for advice on the best method of modifying it. The long screw at the center of the cavity appears to be an important part of the structural integrity, so I imagine removing it and simply opening the cavity completely is not the best course. What would you advise? Also hoping for a couple suggestions on a repair technician for the bass equalizer.

Thanks again 

Jim - let's revisit your actual questions:

Tweeter cavity - I don't remember that tweeter mounting having a back in the cavity. It is possible that the early iterations, like yours, had it and it didn't stick or that you have an aftermarket tweak.

The first order of business is to make your tweeter fit, and if you lose that closed back, don't worry about it. If you keep it, a bolt  from there to the back would best be non-conductive and at least be non-magnetic. If yours is magnetic it may be causing more harm than good.

Onward to deepening the hole. Router bits are available with a flush-trim ball-bearing at the shaft end of the cutter. That bearing guides against the circumference of the mounting cavity and can be set to any depth. If you're not equipped, many woodworking shops would have such a setup.

Regarding repair of your EQ. I highly recommend Bill Thalmann of Music Technology in Springfield Virginia. He has the schematic and knowledge for repair. However, some parts are no longer available. We are working on an update. Meanwhile send me a PM to possibly trade yours for one I have here.

Tom Thiel with the recent improvements made to my sound system with my laminar devices it has even made the low bass more apparent as a supplement to the soundstage. This has been a noticeable factor to the landscape of soundstage for years with my stereo sub set up to my mains run full range. I understand some of the fundamentals of music start in the bass range but not all but the subs do have harmonics well above their crossover point.

I have never read a satifactory explanation of why a pair of well set up subs add to the enhacement of soundstage. Can you add your input and experience . Thanks.

Tom D

Jim - Memory develops holes at 40 years out. This morning I pulled a tweeter on a CS3 I have in storage. Yep. The tweeter cavity has a 1/4" thick back with a lag bolt to the cabinet back. (No dodging - I did it!) That isolated the tweeter, plus was a quick-assembly method to clamp the baffle until the glue dried. And yes the bolt does add some structural stiffness for the tweeter mount.

But meanwhile, we learned about eddy-current distortions. On that front, that steel bolt is in line with the donut hole of the tweeter magnet which is the worst place for saturation distortion. I suggest that you'll get cleaner highs with the steel bolt gone. Best is no metal there at all (better than non-metallic which is better than what you have.)

That baffle is 2" thick. Deepening that pocket will remove the back, which is OK. The tweeter cup is sealed. I suggest adding some BluTac to the back of the tweeter cut to quiet any surface noise.

@jchussey , The Thiel's are a complete speaker "system". The baffle angle was determined by the depth of the specific drivers chosen at the time. The crossovers were designed to compensate for the specific driver anomalies used at the time. And, time is the operative word here, in that is the very thing that most separates Thiel's from the very vast majority of other loudspeakers; their almost unique ability to preserve accurate time. Any changes without further very specific modifications will undermine that quality.

While I was aware of the scarcity of genuine Thiel CS 3.5 midrange drivers, I was unaware that that extended to early CS 3 tweeters. Does Rob at Coherent Source have any? Perhaps @tomthiel can comment if something like this might be a suitable replacement:

Thiel CS2 Tweeter in original Thiel box Dynaudio D-28AF - Speakers (highperformancestereo.com)

and there's this:

THIEL CS3 ELECTRIC BASS EQUALIZER | eBay

These are listed as pickup only, but as this pair's woofers need replacement, I'd hate to see two pairs of these classic speakers ruined if one pair could be sacrificed to save the other pair. Perhaps the seller would consider parting out:

Thiel CS3 80s Real Wood | Dan's Shop | Reverb

Though there's something to be said about modifying these old classics to be improved, but I find it an anathema to see these old beauties bastardized Willy Nilly to undermine them to be compromised versions of what they once were.

Good luck with the project, I do hope you can save them.