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!
Good to see you - zkga I have not heard any of the Alpha Core nor Anticable offerings. Each brand has a strong following. I will search over the other audio forums and try to get answer for you regarding sonic matches. When I was auditioning Thiel speakers, attempting to nail down the model that I wanted for myself, Audioquest products were involved. Excellent sound and an excellent value- even the older cables/cords. Happy Listening!
I got my 2.4's running. I sent one low freq driver in to Rob at Thiel and he run it through a scan and he found it was okay. So I looked at the connections inside the cabinet a lot better than I did before I sent it in. I looked it really good over then so I thought I wouldn't find a loose connection. Well I found a loose connection on the board for that driver. I put everything back together, it works fine. Now I am ecstatic at how they sound. Much better than my recollection of the 1.2's that I had 20yrs ago, and those sounded very good and balanced.
Jafant, have you used Anticable IC's with your Thiels? . I've had great luck with Audioquest (Cheetah XLR) in the past but am having a hard time find anything used in the length I need. I'm changing my room around to support longer, balanced IC's (3 meters) and shorter speaker cables. planning on the alpha core MI 2's or the 3.1 anticables. Thoughts?
Right On! prof I spent some demo time a few years back w/ the Paradigm Signature (S8) speaker with an Anthem pre/processor, power amp and Audioquest cabling all around. Not sure which cross-over is deployed in that model compared to Thiel? I concur w/ your thoughts/impressions- very clean and very clear in presentation. Still, to my ears, the S8 did not get the timbre nor richness accurate. This is not a fault, merely, different. Indeed, Anthem does build powerful amps. Happy Listening!
The Paradigms were mated with a big Anthem amp. Don’t know which one, but it was big! I first listened to some vinyl (I don’t know what record player) and then I listened to my own burned CD demo tracks (I think it might have been a Bryston CD player, but not sure).
I paid no attention to cables, sorry ;-)
My feeling is that I’d prefer the Paradigms on tubes, like my CJ amps. I found the Paradigms a bit relentless to listen to after a while. Though I’d be a bit wary about the bass control if they weren’t paired well with the right tube amp, just because even with the Anthem they were just edging into the "rich, round bass" territory and I don’t know if they’d edge over into loose bass. Thought not against the back wall, they were closer than I’d want ideally so I heard a little bass lift (even though the Paradigm’s downward facing port is supposed to make them less sensitive in terms of placement). As usual I took various seating positions, close and far, to take the room out of the equation to some degree.
The main impression is very open, airy - giving a very live realism - and very clean and clear.
In comparison I've dialed in my Thiels to achieve a sound I prefer, which is an almost ideal (to my tastes) combination of clarity, energy and warmth. They are completely unfatiguing. The Paradigms tended to emphasize the artificial nature of recordings, with harder sibilance and a slight hi-lighting of singers breath over the actual vocal tone of the note, the slightly icy, chalky character of bow on string emphasized vs the deeper string tones. Singers always sounded very clear in a "hi-fi" manner, but never particularly warm and real.
In comparison, my Thiels/CJ combo has more warmth, and less emphasis on the lower treble area, for a slightly darker sound, but to my ears less artificial and electronic.
The Paradigms were often captivating, though. They have a big, full sound - so you get really nice scale for the size - I woudn't need any bigger (though I think I get even bigger scale from the 3.7s when they are set up).
In terms of clarity and realism, the Paradigms gave one of the most impressive playbacks of Herbie Hancock's song Chameleon that I've ever heard!
Absolute Sound interview with Golden Ear's Sandy Gross states he looked at buying Thiel before starting Golden Ear, even meeting with Kathy Gornik. Interesting.
+1 on the CS6s. I'm going on 13 years with my pair and they never fail to satisfy. I swear bass extension keeps improving year after year. Mine are Amberwood.
Hey guys, Last year I got my first pair of Thiels, birdseye 1.5's that were local to me. Loved them right off! I immediately started looking for 3.6's based on a lot of the feedback here. Thiel's don't come up for sale often here in the NW but I just picked up a nice pair of 2 2's today. they sound good, a little more depth and presence in the midrange and some needed weight in the lower bass. diggin it! I'll probably list the 1.5's in a week or so
I agree with you about the looks of the 2.7s ,they are gorgeous the 3.7s kinda look like a skinny r2d2.
Ha, just this weekend I had a guest say the 3.7s looked like a skinny R2D2!
Having hosted a gathering of pals, I was doing a little poll as to which speakers I should keep, on looks alone. For me it seems a no-brainer: the 2.7s. Yet opinion was divided on the looks of the speakers with, to my surprise, slightly more people preferring the look of the big 3.7s!
They thought the 3.7s looked a bit more cool, different "statement-like."
prof Finding the sweet spot seems elusive even for an experienced listener like you. I have experienced that listening to one genre of music things can sound spot on, then when listening to another like classical they aren't as focused. Being kind of slow and lazy it took me over a month before I moved the speakers toe-in 1/4" more in and seemed to have found the spot. My speakers are now aimed about 16" from each ear. I use classical because it is recorded with 2 microphones, mimicking sitting in the best position during a live concert . . I see that toe-in is a large part of speaker conversation , no right answer because I think that different music and music that has been recorded at different times and analog vs. digital recording means that there will always be compromise in finding the sweet spot. but knowing that 1/4" movement can make a large difference makes experimenting easy and free and rewarding.
I agree with you about the looks of the 2.7s ,they are gorgeous the 3.7s kinda look like a skinny r2d2.
Warren ans any other Rush fan out there I went to my local record store The House of Records ( it actually was a house ) looking for a 2112 album and or Gold cd and found Feedback, Wow fantastic covers by them from 2004, they didn't have the others .
Friday and it's raining, good listening weather. Rob
My CS6’s are sounding particularly nice today! I switched cartridges, went from Transfiguration Proteus to my old standby Ortofon Jubilee. A little more heft in the midrange for the Thiels. The Proteus however is a champ at frequency extremes.
Went to the new Thiel web site and they are now only offering 2 speakers. The Aurora Tour $599 and the Aurora Home $899. Nothing else on the Shop section. The Mark Mason designs are no longer listed.
As above, I am certain those 3.7 speakers will indeed find a good home. Equally helpful to learn the serial numbers on this pair- could be the last numbers built? Happy Listening!
Good to see you- thieliste I have had several home improvement projects this year, unexpectedly, that has taken quite much of my time in addition to the work schedule. Any system updates has been pushed into 2018. How about yourself? How did you spend the Summer season? Happy Listening!
I appreciate your being my audiophile conscience :-)
I certainly know what you mean about hearing something off with a set up, knowing that I would have sold the system that didn't have such faults.
On the other hand, I also have other things to balance - room aesthetics and ergonomics, which provide constant, strong motivation to replace the 3.7s. I put a ridiculous amount of money and energy - 2 years - into the design and reno of that room so that it could accommodate both the new home theater system and 2 channel listening, in a way in which every element is ergonomically and aesthetically "perfect" for my goals.
It's only when I introduced the big Thiels to the room that it was thrown off kilter. Originally I bought them with the plan that I'd move them in and out of the room, as I used to go through "2 channel listening phases" and "home theater phases."
I've tried everything, making wheeled platforms, adding wheels to the speakers, using a dolly, adding sliding feet. Nothing truly makes them easy to get in and out of the room. And I've realized I listen to 2 channel so often that the only route that makes sense is to have permanent 2 channel speakers in there that stay, and which also look right.
The 2.7s, in size and finish, suit that goal pretty much perfectly. When I look at the room with the 2.7s I swoon at how nice it looks. When the 3.7s are in there it's always a bit of a drop in my heart because they impede on the balance I sought so hard to construct.
So, yes if I get rid of the 3.7s I will no doubt miss them on various pieces of music, or hear something in the 2.7s that were more perfect on the 3.7s. On the other hand, I have to weigh that against the even more constant visual/ergonomic frustration in keeping the 3.7s. Such is life...
Excellent, you have been giving both the 2.7s and 3.7s the attention they deserve to make your decision. Yes, The 2.7s might need the assist of a pair of subs to fulfill the full range that the 3.7s have. Good luck intergrating them. I will just remind you that as long as you have the 3.7s available. You will be tempted that the 2.7s will satisfy. About a month or two after you let them go; you will hear that one note, one passage that goes; blah. I know this is a hard decision. You have taken your time. Work the problem and make sure of long term satisfaction. Took me 4 Years to find my speaker. And I tried a 300lb sub ( Wilson speakers / Wilson sub); was amazing most of the time but every once in awhile; I would get that blah moment. Subs are a tricky thing. There are Systems that can help with sorting the subs out. Might be worth giving one of them a try with the subs. I am confident that you will sort everything out. Take your time. The chase is sometimes better than the end game.
I will indeed watch that sale. I’m really liking the 2.7s. I hit a "sweet spot" in positioning them which gave me the best depth and tonality. Now they are getting more soundstage depth like the 3.7s. Tonally the sound is ravishing on the 2.7s - lush, transient clarity, sparkle on top, rich dark tones when appropriate in the lower mids, and an aliveness that even the 3.7s don’t quite do.
There are many tracks that I actually like a bit better on the 2.7s, though also tracks that were better on the 3.7s. Sometimes I will miss the vastness of the 3.7s presentation that can just be hallucinatory. The 2.7s counter this with a greater sense of density in imaging - the way a bongo or a synth part will just ripple the air right in front of me. Centered vocals have a "thereness" that is like someone has rushed in and set up a center channel.
In contrast to what we often hear "get the smaller speaker for the smaller room," the 2.7s have been more challenging to set up in getting the type of performance I was used to with the 3.7s. In fact they seem to have a warmth in the upper bass either due to design, or to interaction with my room (though my room is well treated). I’ve got it almost dialed out, but not totally. Most of the time, though, the bass is superb.
Overall I’d still call the 3.7s the betters speaker - bigger, airier soundstage, richer/bigger sonic presentation and image sizes, more relaxed, slightly more resolving I think, and it seems perhaps the cabinet design and different rippled woofer of the 3.7s get the best out of the whole package - they just sound more perfectly realized in terms of completely disappearing as a sound source.
But the 2.7s are so gorgeous sounding I may almost have been weened off the 3.7s. I’ve actually ordered a pair of JL Audio 110 subs. I usually HATE subwoofers, but I want to see if I can integrate them to give some more bass reach and weight to the 2.7s, and if that happens I will likely sell my 3.7s.
margmike When Rob ( from Thiel ) e-mailed me about questions regarding upgrading my 2.7s similar to the upgrade of the 2.4 to a 2.4SE he informed me that it was more than upgraded capacitors, they re-engineered the values .
Warren I've decided that Rush's 2112 will be my one and only Rush album, it fits more in with ELP and Yes from the time period, both of whom I saw back in the 70's.
My favorite autographed was Cat Woman Julie Numar , what happened to your system views ?
I did not notice the dent until you pointed it out. Should be a point of negotiation.
marqmike - Per Rob ; Is it an easy swap out to fix? I did not know that it was a passive radiator. Info here might help a potential buyer.
Are the binding posts on the back or bottom of the Speaker?
Otherwise, they look in good shape. If I were to buy; I would try to negotiate for a full set of replacement drivers to be included or price reduced for the same.
Thanks Jafant Yes damaged in freight. The previous owner had no problem that I encountered with the driver. When I got them the next day I hooked them up and that driver was cutting in and out. When it was on it had a static sound. I called Rob and the lady answered took my message. The next day I got an email from Rob suggesting what was wrong and what he could do. Very professional treatment be those two. Thanks for the name to contact.
I got my 2.4’s about three weeks ago. One lower frequency driver is being sent off to Rob for rebuild. While those speakers are getting a vacation I thought I could do some upgrades if any are available. Could you tell me about any. I think it has been mentioned that you can change some capacitors to something like the SE model has. And DGarretson has been mentioned about that if I remember right. Could you please give any particulars on how I could go about that route. Also is there any other mods that are completely worthy of doing for that speaker. Is any other components on the crossovers, or wool fiber fill, internal wiring a notable upgrade. If it is not a notable upgrade I am not interested, I don’t want to just make a side ward move just changing the sound. It makes sense I got Thiel speakers for the Thiel sound, so not to smart of me to change that. If there is not a considerable improvement on a mod I will just concern myself with ancillary items. Thank you for any suggestions freinds.
Hmmm...I take it people are aware that in some blind listening tests the listeners were unable to distinguish between high end cable and some coat hangers.
Thanks! for sharing- William. hope your B.A.T. is settling well into your system. I checked out the Ginger Baker tune that you suggested- excellent Jazz track. Feel free to mention more tracks for testing one's system. Enjoy the Fall season. Happy Listening!
You must have a verified phone number and physical address in order to post in the Audiogon Forums. Please return to Audiogon.com and complete this step. If you have any questions please contact Support.
