Thiel Owners

guy -

All speakers benefit from outboard crossovers. That takes the XO out of a dirty, vibratory environment, and allows better inter-component field optimization due to added distance from the driver fields. Speakers like the CS7 with their XO on the bottom below the passive radiator have a lot of distance to the nearest active driver. But many speakers have the XO mounted behind the woofer - an awful place.

Even the CS7ish speakers benefit from more space, quieter environment, removal of vibration and availability of air cooling - large advantages. A free-standing outboard XO requires a cabinet and an umbilical cord between XO and speaker. An underslung network greatly obviates those needs. We’re working on both. All XO upgrades will remove any /all electrolytic caps. Many models have 200 to 500 uF of electrolytic capacitance, even in the series feed signal path. Our new caps are a compact polypropylene that will be ganged as appropriate and radially positioned around a very high quality proprietary segmented cap. Almost all Thiels, even the CS5, 6 and 7 have electrolytics in the notch filters. Gone. In some cases this notch bundle can be retrofitted to existing internal boards, and then re-used if/when a more complete XO upgrade is later adopted.

The first 100 sample run of compact PPs arrived today. Wheels are turning.

Those large-value electrolytics would only be found in the lpf of the woofer, right?

My previous set of speakers had the XO located in a false bottom compartment. I always wondered why the designer chose such a distance/long wires over the more common arrangement.

The false bottom does more right than wrong. The 3.7 and possibly 2.7 use that arrangement, as did the 04/04a. 

Large value electrolytics turn up in notch filters in many models, including the 7.2 with 400uF in the upper midrange. As examples, the SCS4 has 300uF electrolytic in the woofer series feed. The CS3,.7 has 400uF primary series feed, the CS3.5 has 100uF midrange primary feed and 100uF tweeter secondary series feeds. The series feeds are more critical than parallel circuits, which are nonetheless more important than commonly thought. We are expanding the value equation beyond Jim’s bang/buck constraints.

hi Tom,  I was one of the fortunate men who got to experience Roger's system and room two weeks ago.  It amazes me that after almost 50 years of enjoying this great passion,  how many times the room is often an afterthought by many who search for great sound.   I have  done what i can to make my room as good sounding as possible (including putting his PZ boards under my 3.7's and screwing them into the floor joists), but the room that the two of you designed really opened my ears and eyes. 

I have been looking  the past few years to get some new speakers to replace my 3.7's but nothing (including Magico and Wilson) really motivated me to make a change. Now with the planned updates to the speakers in both crossover updates and new plinths make from PZ,  I have a feeling that my 3.7's in beautiful maple will not be leaving my room.  It has been a long and wonderful journey that I started with Thiel in 1985 with a pair of 2.0's, and have been a Thiel guy since with 2.2's, 2.4's,  2.7's, and now 3.7's.   I think at this point the only speaker i would covet would be the 7.2's like Roger played. 

Keep expanding that "value equation".  I think there are a ton of fans out here that will support what you and Roger are doing.   

Ron - thanks for your encouragement. Our upgrades cover more ground than XO and bases. Of great interest is an entirely new set of technologies that orchestrate energy propagation from source siignal to laminar flow propagation in air. Collectively we call them Propagation Technologies and WaveLaunch Technologies. At this point, our tech is quite well developed and the limiting factor is orchestrating a business to realize the improvements. You and thousands of other folks have been waiting a very long time. Life is life, and we can only do what we can do, but be assured that we are doing it every day.