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!
I'm in the same boat as you Jafant. My wife and I purchased a beautiful pice of property that we plan on building a house on. It came with a small cottage that we remodeled and now live in until the new house gets built. Due to the smaller rooms I had to sell of my system (except for the speakers I will never part with) and downsized to an integrated amp/sonos/dac.
One day I plan to put more than one system in this house but in the meantime I have been having fun trying different integrated amps/dacs etc. As maplegrove said above there is no way I would be able to have my speakers and not be able to listen to them.
Anyway since you asked about my system here is where it stands today:
Classic 6.6 (chinese junk) dual mono integrated amp with as good or better build quality than many amps I have owned or seen. I was turned on to this amp by the owner of Ginko Audio.
Speaker Art Super Clefs with custom Lee Taylor cabinets. Some of the best two way stand mounts out there with better bass than many floorstanders i've owned
Currently using a Grant Fidelity Dac (more chinese junk) but that will most likely change soon.
Jafant - Seeing your Thiels in your system picture they look lonesome . No wires even attached . If it were me i would have to hook something up to hear the great sounds the Thiels have to offer . Even a cheap integrated or receiver . Just me . You must have an alternative source of listening to music that tides you over . Hope your search comes to an end quickly . Life is short.
Jafant, someone bought the company very shortly before he passed away. Nothing seem to come from the company after that. John Dunlavy like Jim Thiel were such driving forces and as we have observed, very hard to replace. Most of the Dunlavy's were very large, and despite amazing performance, that might have been a challenge in the marketplace. John Dunlavy told me he was very excited about future projects before his health took a turn for the worse.
during my audition trials, I lifted the CS 2.4, CS 2.4 SE, CS 2.7 and CS 3.7 models for good measure. This is how I formed by basis for reporting such facts. It is one thing to look, visually inspect, any loudspeaker. It is quite different to actually pick it up (by yourself) and carry it around the listening room for placement purposes. The CS 3.7 is certainly more cumbersome and heavier to haul around from room to room.
Jafant, yes I have seen both the 2.4's and 3.7's. I think this might be a matter of perception rather than reality, or perhaps a visual aesthetic concern. All of Jim Thiel's CS designs have basically the same dispersion characteristics.. Though the footprint varies a small amount, all the Jim Thiel CS models have the same basic placement guidelines. In my conversations with Thiel regarding placement, they said that the recommended distances should be measured from the back of the woofers. As the Thiels are time aligned that would be nearly identical to the more obvious tweeters. Even if we were to get especially persnickety; though the 3.7's have larger woofers, with perhaps a larger magnet and motor assembly, those woofer faces are also by design shallower in depth. The distance from the back of the woofer, back wall, side wall, and listener should be nearly identical with either 2.4's or 3.7's. The only other concern regarding room capability would be bass output; again they are nearly identical. The difference in weight has no bearing on room compatibility, unless of course the floors are can't bear the extra weight, which to my thinking would be cause for a different and much more important concern.
If you have ever seen and stood next to the CS 3.7 loudspeakers, these things are big, massive, compared to the CS 2.4/ 2.4SE. Weighs much more as well.
^The 3.7's only go down a relatively insignificant 3 Hz compared to the 2.7's. If your room can accommodate the 2.4's, in all likelihood it can accommodate the 3.7's.
michaeljbrown have you auditioned the 7.2s before taking your decision to purchase CS6 ? If so what dit you like better about the 6s ? I might try to purchase a pair of 7.2s at some point unfortunately they are very rare on the used market. I love the older Thiels even though the 3.7s are still my favorite.
^The input impedance of the FPB 250 M's is passive friendly, but the sensitivity might be a concern at 2.4 V for full power output. You paid for that power, might as well get what you paid for. It might behoove you to make sure all your sources are up to that, and don't forget to consider your interconnects too. CD red book calls for 2 V, though many DACs put out more. Tuners, etc. are not likely to be fully up to it.
I'm shopping for another tube pre for my CS6's, last_lemming, so thanks for your input re the BAT3ix; that particular model is available I think on Audiogon. As for the Trump-priced Classic, I would think it would indeed sound as wonderful as it looks! My 6's are doing very nicely with my Krell fpb 250m monoblocks. And a plain old fpb 300 was fantastic on my 2.4's. Highly recommend Krell for the high current needed to drive the later Thiels. Of all the Thiels I've owned, the 6's are my favorites. Can't wait to try either a passive preamp (ordered a Schitt Saga) or that BAT 3x or ix. I'm also going to try the Lightspped Attenuator just for fun. I presently have a Transcendent Grounded Grid with the Krell monos into the CS6's. But who wants to spend just over a thousand bucks on a tube preamp? Must not sound as nice as BAT or AR or CJ....right? I'll know soon enough. So far the biggest bargain in Audio was the Grounded Grid. Maybe the Schitt will be an even greater bargain!
jafant the gentlemen you are referring to might be schumy, he uses a Musical Fidelity KW500 to drive his 7.2s. unsound thanks for the stereophile review.
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