Thiel Owners


Guys-

I just scored a sweet pair of CS 2.4SE loudspeakers. Anyone else currently or previously owned this model?
Owners of the CS 2.4 or CS 2.7 are free to chime in as well. Thiel are excellent w/ both tubed or solid-state gear!

Keep me posted & Happy Listening!
128x128jafant

tomthiel

 

Never a skipping record. Thank You for the update. A (big) corner has been turned indeed. I am looking forward in reading/seeing your Collaborator's listening room.

Fascinating progress.

 

Happy Listening!

JA - my news may sound like a skipping record, but from here it sounds good. The lab has only the SCS4s as the test mule due to tight space. Other models are in storage. I'm picking up a  CS5i pair this month. The SCS4s have focused my efforts and increased productivity. The big, general lesson has been Jim's brilliance as a value engineer (in addition to his inventiveness.) A lot of funds can be spent on Thiel speaker upgrades to get very little musical upgrade and/or even sonic downgrade in some aspects. My task is to keep every ounce of Jim's solutions while adding qualitative upgrades at defensible cost. Real progress is being made.

In particular, I have developed a hookup wire solution that keeps the solid simplicity of Thiel's traditional solid 18-2 in Teflon while further augmenting performance. This wire gig has been a very deep dive and the result adds high end air and ease as well as full range increase in clarity and dimensionality. Presently looking for a manufacturer willing to cope with its particulars.

I'm filling my prototype iteration needs via hand-spinning with a shop-built contraption. Starting to hot-rod / repurpose an old-school spinning wheel to make first generation samples. This wire is also being tested in inductors, which may add value without the down-sides of foil coils. Stay tuned.

Lots of capacitor round-robin has led to our own custom caps by Reliable. Trials have been definitive in favor of their 'segmented' (Multi-Cap) technology. The segment ratios represent new work. First small run for 4 pairs of SCS4s is expected next week for beta review by collaborators.

The surface wavelaunch and port airflow technology keeps getting better. I'll get next generation samples this coming week for trials.

Some cabinet stiffening schemes are getting mature. Both internal and external treatments will diminish chatter and raise vibrational frequencies to substantially reduce their impact.

Later this month I'm looking forward to visiting a collaborator who has built a purpose-built listening room with my design input. We'll be tuning it and making future plans before the end of the year.

It's been very slow going, but a corner has been turned and real goods and products are taking form.

tomthiel

 

Thank You for running down Thiel Audio's driver evolution. I hope that you are well this Fall evening and having fun in Garage or Studio.

 

Happy Listening!

@jafant thank you and it's great to be back :)

I'm running a Modwright preamp with upgraded Nuforce class D monoblocks with the Thiel PCSs.  Great combo with them and it's a very natural sound.  

I pieced this system together a while ago and it's served me well.  Now that I'm working from home I get to enjoy it much more as it's located in my home office.  

All

 

Over on U.S. Audiomart there is an Oppo 105 modded by Mr. Bill Thalmann.

Located in WI. I hope this special player finds the next good home.

 

Happy Listening!

samgupta101

 

Good to see your return here. There are a few fans and owners of PCS on the Panel. What other gear is in your system?

 

Happy Listening!

jumping back on this thread as an original owner of Amberwood PCSs...they never cease to amaze me and I'm currently running them in a nearfield setup.  

I look forward to hanging out with everyone here :)

thoft - about drivers. I'll prepare a more detailed list but here's a general arc.

Early (0 series) were all essentially stock drivers with small choices such as dust cap, surround type, etc.

The 1983 CS3 had a customized Vifa woofer. Very interactive development, but stock parts. Through the 80s that process became more and more custom. The 1990 CS2.2 had all custom drivers, co-developed with and made by Vifa.

Early 90s we developed our own capability which was used for rapid prototyping. Vifa made them from parts and technologies we developed. Those Vifa catalog numbers can be bought and/or easily cross-referenced.

Our needs outgrew Vifa's (and anybody else's) willingness to produce our eccentric designs. 1995 onward we began making our own drivers in-house. CS6 woofer was (I think) the first all-thiel designed and manufactured driver. All the coaxes (after the 1990 SCS) were in-house Thiel design and manufacturing.

In the 2000s, some of those in-house coaxes were made by FST / China. Same Thiel design, off-shore source. (SCS, MCS and PowerPoint coaxes). The '.7' star plane and radial wave drivers were designed and prototyped in Lexington, but (as far as I know) all made by FST.

That's the broad-brush overview. I'll compile and follow up with a list if you wish.

All

 

there is a sweet Sony ES SCD-1 player w/ VSE mods over on U.S. Audiomart.

Farmington, CT area. I hope this classic finds the next good home.

 

Happy Listening!

thieliste

 

Nice catch! I hope these CS 3.7 speakers find the next good home.

 

Happy Listening!

rc1985

 

Thank You for the Simply Speakers product. Good to read that your CS 1.2 driver is operational.

 

Happy Listening!

Update - I used MI-3035 adhesive from Simply Speakers to reattach the surround and cone on my CS 1.2 driver and it worked great 😎

The 7.2’s have finally arrived at home! Really impressive great looking, Morado finish, perfectly maintained, no a single dent or scratch, beautiful! The sound is beyond my expectations given my current listening room. I have tried some amplifiers to drive them, my loved McCormack DNA-2, wich is my long time reference, very good result , no dubt, and my recent discover, a real pro amplifier, the Crown I-Tech 9000HD, (1500Wrms/ch at 8 ohm, 3000Wrms/ch at 4 ohm and 2500Wrms/ch at 2 ohm)....do not laugh about this before you listen to it, it’s a I class amplifier (similar to D but with improved efficiency, patented by Crown) that push the bass depth, speed and dynamic beyond your imagination but without harshness or lack of refinement in mid high region. After a big delay for many reasons, finally I started since few days to realize a dedicated large room wich will be ready hopefully within the end of year to let my systems to sound at their best, a relaxing and comfortable room separated from my house in Tuscany countryside. It’s a pity that I could spent only two days with them, due to my job I had to leave to Indonesia for two weeks, anyway my short so far listening session has been enough to state that these artwork are definitely a decent step up above my 3,6’s. Can’t wait to get home back to enjoy again such fantastic sound experience!

Amberwood is my second favorite. Rosewood is my #1 but can inly be found in earlier model as it is near impossible to source enough certified rosewood from Brazil/Boliva.

@duramax , Amberwood, very pretty, wish I knew how to post a picture here

 

 

@rc1985 to follow up on what @duramax747 has posted; Jim Thiel sometimes ordered customized variations for his specific applications of what appeared to be off the shelf drivers. Using a stock replacement driver could be different from the originals used and might also create a mismatch. You might want to reach out to Coherent Source for more information, rebuild or replacement.

@thoft A given room will accentuate or diminish the volume of specific bass frequencies, but not extend the depth of bass output limitations. 

rc1985

if you repair/replace one speaker I'd encourage you to do the same with the other speaker. With the painstaking process Thiel had to match components and drivers, in turn the end user should do the same. 

What finish are your speakers?

I'm the original owner of a pair of CS 1.2's I'm putting back into service after years in storage. One speaker seems fine. but the other has the rubber surround separated from the cone. The rubber is in great shape, no deterioration like often found with foam, so is the fix as simple as glueing the two together again? If so any specific glue that should be used? I've also read Madisound has the original woofer available for $86, is this the smarter way to go? Thanks!

@gman56

The Thiel PCS with proper power are fantastic. Very deep bass and very clean, they were mostly very good at medium range. 

I'm back alive guys, currently going back to college and getting my hands on a more capable threshold amp but unfortunately no thiel speakers near me for sale

g-man56

 

Welcome! Good to see you here today. The Panel has 1 or 2 PCS fans/owners.

Stay tuned until one of our PCS experts chimes in to address your query. What other gear is in your System?

 

Happy Listening!

trickeydude

 

Welcome! The 3.6 speaker is worth around $1500. 

 

Happy Listening!

Hello All! A long time lurker chiming in for the first time.
I’m wondering if anyone here has experience tweaking the PCSs. Ever since one of my 3.5s lost a mid, I’ve been listening to a pair of PCSs that I inherited from my father at his death a few years ago. The set was pretty badly damaged in the mails, (original shipping boxes were long gone) and I lovingly restored the distressed boxes while our friend Rob Gillum reviewed the drivers and replaced the shot tweeters. I wanted to restore them in honor of my dad. Although they obviously can’t and don’t stand in for 3.5s, I live in an NYC apartment and I was rarely able to make use of the full range of the 3.5s. Of course I’m thrilled to hear that there might be a Renaissance package in the offing, and plan to take full advantage of it when it arrives, I’m wondering if anyone here has PCSs and has ventured to tweak them, as I have found that they are brilliant in the near-field arrangement that my living conditions lend itself to, and wonder if they might be further optimized.

In any case, this forum has been a real treasure for me, and I’d like to personally thank you all for your shared enthusiasm and research. I hope it goes on forever!

Good morning! So I’ve decided to sell my CS3.7s because I don’t have the capital to spend on a more powerful amp, new preamp, or integrated amp. And I’m happy enough right now with my recently recapped ‘78 Sansui G7500 system. The oak cabinets are in great shape and speakers are as well. How much could I expect to get for my set? Thanks!

 

I only heard the 7.2s in an audio shop once, way back in the late 90s.  But the sound is burned in to my brain - some Miles Davis and Dave Brubeck, sounded more live than almost anything I'd heard before.

tomthiel

actually can't wait to fire up these new babies, big expectations, I'll report here my impression compared to my 3.6's.....until my wife will fire me😅 At the end I consider music as huge part of my life and she knows, to be honest she respect my hobby and never complain me😁

jafant

Yes, I know, this place is a gold mine for every serious Thiel's lover. I'm proud to enlarge my Thiel collection, even because my dedicate listening room is now finally under construction. It is a stand alone construction in my house area but enough far from it to let me to crank up the volume anytime if I wish. Living in countryside has pros and cons.....

I had a 3.6 .  Although they were voiced differently than Vandersteen offerings, what they did have and what I respond to is phase coherency.

tomthiel

 

Good to see you here. I hope that you are well and had a prosperous Summer.

Fall is here, what is on your radar for this Season?

 

Happy Listening!

silvanik

 

Nice score on the CS 7.2 speakers. Read through these pages and you will find several fans and owners on The Panel.

 

Happy Listening!