Thiel cs2.4 upgrade to cs 2.4 se

Agreed. SE looks glamour. I like its finishing in particular. It is a great speaker but need power to optimise its performance.

Dear Jafant,
Thanks for the lead.

Dear dgarretson,
Pls pardon my ignorent. May i summarise your points. I just need to buy two ClarityCaps SA of value 14uf and 28uf each to replace the existing two caps w value 1uf. ( May i know the sequence?)
Alternatively, i buy 2 units CSA/250 or CMR/400v of value 14uf and 28uf to replace the existing two caps w value 1uf.
Pls help to confirm on whether my interpretation is correct. Tq

Noted with thanks. I shall check over this one or two weekends. I will post again shall i need futher assistance. Thank you do much for your wonderfull and useful advice.

Dear jafant,
Sure. But it may take same time as currently i m required to travel more often to solicit more new biz in view of global economy slowdown. Not easy in banking industry now.

Dear friends, i tried to kick start my caps upgrading project but unsuccessful. In parcular, i have removed the screws at the bottom of thiel speakers but  can not open the enclosure. May i know anybody can enlighten me on how to dismantle the speakers to gain access to the crossover?

Sorry guys, busy lately as i need to travel extensively due to job requirement. I therefore have to postpone my project to next year.
Holco, can you advise how to gain access to the crossover? I can not find any opening from the bottom of the speaker. I tried to gain acess via the radiator but unsucessful. After removing the screws of the radiator, the radiator still stuck to the speaker box enclosure. It looks like it was glued to the enclosure. I dare not force open it worrying it may damage it. Your advice is highly appreciated.

Thank you for the wonderful advice. Sorry to ask one more question. May i know how to remove the crossover module from the speaker box and how to stick it back after the modification?

Dear holco, 
I intend to give thiel 2. 4 a new heart by replacing the existing capacitors for the wofer w new original thiel capacitors to preserve its original sound. May i know what is the brand of the capacitor that used by thiel? From the photos that you attached i can not view its brand. Your advice is highly appreciated. Tq.

Please pardon my ignorance. I thought it will lose its capacitance overtime.  That is why i  came out an idea to replace the old for new.
For changing to different brand of the capacitors, my worry is it will change the original character of the speaker.

Dear Beetlemania, 
I will take your advice to  scrutinize the thread suggested by you.
Thank you for the information.

Hi guys, i intend to get claritycap csa 10 ohm + 3.9ohm to replace the original caps 13ohm +1ohm and claritycap csa 10ohm +18ohm to replace 27ohm + 1ohm original caps. Do i need to change or remove any resistors? Any opion on this combination? 

Thank you guys for all the valuable information. I have just ordered the claritycap csa combinations i suggested earlier. I'm no expert in this area therefore decided to only upgrade a few caps at this juncture. I hope i can complete  the project in dec or jan and share its result with all of you thereafter.

Hi guys, 

I just realised that there are two versions of claritycap csa i.e 250v and 630v. I have ordered 250v version. Is there any concerned and or any sonic difference?

For beetlemania,

From the thiel owner thread, you have changed all the ceramics resistors to Mills resistors and gained vast improvement. Nevertheless,  I noticed all the original ceramic resistors are rated 10w but Mills MRA12 are rated 12w. Is there any particular reasons that you changed the spec?

Beetlemania, thank you for the wonderful information.

Dear holco and beetlemania,
I tried to remove the radiator but unsucessful. The radiator is still stuck with the enclosure. As adviced by holco, i shall remove the radiator by push it through one of the screw hole. Shall i push much harder through the screw hole by a smaller screw driver or there is other alternative. I'm worried that i might damage the radiator. Your help is much appreciated.

Shall i push much harder through the screw hole by a smaller screw driver or there is other alternative?

Thanks holco. Finally, i managed to get it removed from the enclosure. Removing the caps and having the csa caps soldered are not easy tasks for amateur like me. I did the soldering within the enclosure as i was  reluctant to disconnect the connecting wiring.  I took about 6 hours to eventually completed the task.

Attached  herewith some photos for sharing.

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ao0sy7r7uybljls/AABS6soB9u_rDu7CnWUizpbPa?dl=0

Initial audition showed that the high and mid are more resolved, sweet and opened as opposite to be more recess for the original caps. In addition, the timbre and textures of the instruments are more prominent with more mircro dynamic and details.

The only complaint is it is not as balance as yet with the high and mid improved at the expense of lower bass. In particular, the ratio for high and mid overwhelm the lower bass.

But It is not fair to make such a negative comments now as the caps need time to run in. 

My opinion is it is a great upgrade and i shall post further comments after the caps have run in.

Thank you guys for the wonderful advices.

For information, i used hot glue to hold caps to the board.

These are the video taken from my system  before caps upgrade.

.https://www.dropbox.com/sh/je1j26kz490h60m/AACXIv6OTbbT7nor-L1yhFraa?dl=0

For comparison, i will share the video after the caps upgrade 2 or 3 weeks later when the caps settled in. I welcome any opinions and views after the upgrade.

Dear holco and beetlemania, 

The mid and high have opened up with more air and sense of space. The tonal balance has shifted towards slightly warmer as compared to very neutral in the original caps. All acoustic instruments  sound wonderful particularly violin as it sounded sweeter but less impressive for modern instruments. Imaging also improved significantly with a larger object.

Nevertheless, i hear the sound is changing with the caps started to break in. I shall post my exprience and seek advices from Tom  in thiel owner thread after the caps have run in.

Perhaps, i can post a video for sharing.

Dear holco,
Thank you for your concern. In fact, i dont have any room issues. I have a tall ceiling, it is about 14 feet high and my system is opened and layback. If i play full orchestra classical music, it sounds like i m sitting in the concert hall with a tall ceiling.
I guess  the video picked up some echo from the back wall where the recording was made.

Btw, may i know what brand of the solder thiel is using? I found out that the melting point is higher. I used wbt solder with silver content but intend to use thiel solder to match with the rest of the soldering points.

Beetlemania, for my curiosity, may i know what brand of the mpt caps thiel is using ?

Dear beetlemania, 

I did not change other thing except the caps i mentioned in the forum. The only variable is i used two clatitycaps of (10uf +3.9uf= 13.9uf) as compared with its original caps of (13uf +1uf = 14uf). There is a deviation of 0.1uf. 

I will let it run in further before making further assessment.

Btw, holco, may i know what is the character of  jantzen capacitors?

Thus far, i found out the clarity caps csa tends to produce a less fatigue sound/ golden sound, something similar to class A amp sound but it is not my cup of tea. 
 I prefer a more neutral and clean sounding caps. I might need to recap or mix the cap later after confirming the sound.

As the year ends, it marks a beginning of another new year and new hope.  I would like to take this opportunity wishing you and your family a wonderful year ahead.

Dear all, 

I noticed the overall sound is changing. The initial perception of " imbalance" has become more balance. Also, it put more hot glue to secure the caps to board. It helps to reduce the vibration and makes the system sounded quieter. 

I will let it run in further before making further assessment. 

Unfortunately,  my power amp has some issues following a rainy day. I need to send it for service.
Sadly, i have to say that  i cannot contribute more at the moment. 
Nevetheless, i'm glad to hear that all your upgrades yielding postive results.

I may need to recheck all soldering of the caps in the crossover after i have serviced my amp. My last heard was not so great.  Somehow i feel that some frequencies were either weaker or missing resulting it to lose excitement. 

May i know how to check the crossover with a capacitance meter and what is the value i shall get with the new caps?

Dear beetlemania,
I'm comtemplating to  upgrade the resistors in my xover suggested by you. May i know is there any sonic difference between the old millls resistor vs vishay mills resistor?  Which one sounds better? 

Dear holco,
Can you share some videos or thoughts  after the major upgrade?

Sorry guys, i still have yet to send my amp for service.  Just excited with beetlemania resistors upgrade.

Dear holco,

Your system looks neat and clean.

Well done for your upgrade. Your system sounds wonderful. I can  hear that your system is very airy and opened now. The sound stage is big and wide.The high frequency is well extended without fatigue but smooth. Your speakers have  wide dispersion.  The speakers sound  totally disappeared from your system.

The above are just my two cents.

Dear jafant,

I'm using meridian cd player g08 for source, goldmund 18.4 mono blocks paired with pathos in control pre-amp driving thiel 2.4.
As my power amp is currently out for service, i have used my av amp, denon to run in my speakers.
I hear the mid starts to open up and high is more resolved. Hope that the mid can open up more and make it sounds balance. Otherwise, i may need to un and resolder the caps. 

You are using thiel speakers too? Can you share your system with us?
 

Dear holco,

After you mounted the Jantzen wax coils, i noticed the sound is more transparent but slightly edgy. I think you need to run in further to discover its full potential.

I strongly believe that it is another great upgrade.

Lately, i'm busy with company new system. I have yet to find and send it a suitable technician.

Finally, i managed to find time sending it for service. It needs some time for checking and servicing. Will provide further update when it is ready. 

Hi guys, 
 Finally, i had my amp repaired. It sounds great driving my caps upgraded thiel. Additionally, i have diy 3 new hifi racks in replacement of old tv console. I have recorded its performance for sharing. https://www.dropbox.com/s/ypsafv26i1em454/VID-20191203-WA0003.mp4?dl=0

In the video, i was playing streaming music from my synology nas, connecting to my newly bought wadia di122 dac via chromcast wirelessly.  Further, I was using pathos in control pre-amp and goldmund power amp 18.4  driving the newly recapped thiel 2.4. With the new racks, it also elevated its performance to a new level.

My meridian g08 cd player has been left idle for months as i find that playing streaming music controlling from hand phone is more convinient. 

This is a clearer view of my diy hifi racks.https://www.dropbox.com/s/wdg3vxubu8g3t2u/IMG-20191207-WA0001.jpg?dl=0

Happy New Year to all of you.