Thiel Owners

Hello, all.

I am hoping to get some sage advice from fellow Thiel owners. Are Thiels more like an old Toyota Corolla or an air cooled Porsche? Are they outdated or classics?

I have a pair of CS 2.3s that I bought new from Ovation in Louisville, KY back in, I believe, 1997. I have enjoyed these speakers through the years but just recently got back into serious 2-channel listening. I moved my Denon AVR that was powering the Thiels to my home theater and acquired an entirely new front end over the past 2-3 years. My question is whether my speakers are now the weak link in my system, and I wonder if getting a modern speaker would be of benefit.

I would be comfortable getting speakers in the sub-$10k range. My room is 30' x 20' x 9'. I listen to 1960s-2000s rock (Beatles, Stones, Doors, Joe Walsh, etc)at 65-73 dB. No jazz. No classical. I like hearing detail, and I feel as though I am missing detail with my Thiels compared to my Apple Airpods when I listen to the same song using Qobuz. Vocals also seem thinly veiled compared to my earbuds coming through the Thiels.

My system consists of the following:

CAT 8 ethernet -> English Electric 8 switch -> CAT 6 -> NODE -> Denafrips Terminator II DAC -> Decware coaxial cable -> Schiit Freya+ -> Pangea XLR -> PS Audio M1200 monoblocks -> Audioquest William Tell -> Thiels

I have moved the Thiels all around and feel they are in their optimal locations. They are 5 or 6 feet from the back wall, 4-5 feet from the side walls, slightly toed in such that they cross a foot or so behind my head in the listening position. I also believe I have optimized the locations and settings on my dual SVS Ultra 16 subs.

Is the technology in new speakers likely to improve the sound quality from my system, or should I stay with my tried and true Thiels? Thoughts?

last night re-listened to my noise with the grill off and confirmed it's vibration coming from the passive radiator. I can stop it with my finger. Nothing seems loose on the outside though, so I took off the woofer and tried to feel around on the inside.

First let me say these screws have not been touched since I bought the speakers new and the heads were partially deformed from installation, I guess. Also it appears one was never installed - just an empty hole. They came out OK, but one ended up so mangled it's now unusable. Fortunately I have a few screws lying around that work. 

OK so as vair68robert described, the flat rubber ring was not attached to the main foam cover. It's held in place at the outer edge all around though and it does seem to lay flat. I think it could be glued down (with this?), but I'm sure I will make a mess of this project because it's on the inside where I can't see anything.

But I can cram my phone in there and take pics, resulting in this mosaic. Not as beautiful on the inside! But unless anyone has a better idea, I might be able to attempt the surgery this weekend.

cowhorn

Welcome! There are a few fans and owners of Model CS 2.3 speakers. Good move by replacing the Denon AvR. Your room is quite large. It could be a case of the front end not providing enough head-room? A pair of CS 3.7 loudspeakers would flourish in a room that size. Something to consider if you continue to enjoy Thiel Audio sound. I look forward in reading more developments.

Happy Listening!

barnett 

contact Rob at Coherent for instructions on how to remove the radiator.  It doesn't take much of a gap in the rubber surround to cause the flutter noise .  The glue I used is from SpeakerWorks.com .  Also make sure that the screw(s) that you use are non-magnetic . 

Good Luck

Rob 

cowhorn

2nd Note;

A Thiel speaker is dependable like a Toyota, exhilarating like a Porsche. 
 

Happy Listening!