Loaned Thiel CS2s...

A friend stopped by to visit me today.

I offered him some motorcycle riding pants, two very nice helmets, a tank bag, and other stuff a few weeks back, as he just got a new bike.

As a suprise, he brought over some Thiels- the CS2s.

Bad news is he forgot the banana clips for 'em, so I can't play 'em yet.

Good news is they're here for 4 weeks or so, and maybe permanent, after a gear swap.

Anyone familar with the CS2s?

nice! i'm betting that you will like them. it will be interesting to see how they compare to some of your other noteworthy speakers.

I'm looking forward to what Gino has t say about them.

From what I've read, they are late enough in the Thiel lineup to get over what many felt were a bit too much treble in the earliest of models, via the crossover, and early enough to avoid what some feel is a return to that, when they went to metal domed tweets.

They also are devoid of the external electronic crossover box, and this avoid what some claim is a dryness to the sound, via the transistors in 'em.

They are placed in the same league of the Vandy 2s/2cs, but the vandies go down to the low 30s, where the Thiels go to 42 or so.

Not very efficient either, but I don't play at deafening levels.

One thing I've heard across the board on them though- they are extremely revealing of your equiptment.

are you serious?

Did you forget I am the resident Thiel Meister?

CS-2 is a very nice speaker, albeit somewhat dated(1985-91) retailed for $1650. Worth about $400 in mint condition.

What banana clips, why not spades?

Use very Good cables (Kimber 8TC for ex.) Speaker is quite revealing with the proper electronics, bass is rolled off at about 50hz. Will handle power good to very good, but not at club levels.

Any other questions , ring my bell!

Glad to have your imput.

Seem like a nice speaker.

Interested to hear how they sound compared to the DQ-10s.

Wish I had some Vandies here to compare 'em to, as well.

Here is a good review that compares them favorably to a Quad 63.

http://stereophile.com/floorloudspeakers/1085thiel/

Are these the cool tall wedged shape things with the KEF like oval woofer? If so I bet your going to trade a bunch of stuff for them.



This post has been edited by Superfly on September 11, 2007 08:51 pm

Those are great looking speakers. I'd love to hear a pair.

cubdog

Kelly,

Not the oval woofer, but still a 3-way design.

Her's somer pics took at lou's house...

Attached Image (Click thumbnail to expand)

and a nudie...

Attached Image (Click thumbnail to expand)

Overall, vandies 2c would satisfy.... but accuracy would go to Thiel 2s.

Which would I take in that fight?..... vandies at this price point.

but, if I would were doing mastering of recordings....ah.... another story indeed!

This post has been edited by Ginovino on September 12, 2007 07:58 pm

Allrighty....

Here's the latest on the Thiels....



Buddy Birddog brought down some very uncommon Mission 750 limited edition bi-ampable beauties to play with, for a shootout againdt the Thiels, the JBL L-46s, Infinity QAs, and the ADS L1230s.

I know, I know- totally unfair. And a poor match-up for a wrestling match.

We ran 'em off the freshly repaired Denon 1500, and through a QED passive pre-amp my buddy Jorge gave me.

Anyhoo, back to the speakers....

The ADS was a monster in the bass department. So good, rich, controlled and tight, they were grin inducing. Midrange was nice, as was top end. Overall, a very good speaker. Remember- Telarc used it's bigger brother, the L1530, for monitors.

Next were the Infinity QAs. Great speakers indeed, with an emit tweeter and a 10" woofer.

Sibilance was an issue, lotsssss of esssssssssssessssssssssss, but that emit showed promise. The 10" woofer was a great performer, but alas, we felt there was a suckout in the midrange.

The Missions came up to bat- wonderful little gems! The upper range was fantastic- detail, tonality, airiness! Sustain and decay of notes was untouchable by the others. Untouchable! and they imaged fantastic, and sounded much bigger than they were. Of course, bass was non-existant. But give 'em a break- they were no bigger than a shoebox, for Pete's sake!

We passed on the JBLs for a bit, and went directly to the Thiels.

Well, oddly, the upper range on those Missions was better- better sustain of notes, better decay... the Thiels seemed rolled off at the top. And even wierder- according to many- the Thiels are supposed to be a bit bright- these were warm, languid, lazy, almost. Kinda syrupy.

They promised no fatigue, and were the easiest to listen to by far. Real smooth and easy. By far the most balanced of the speakers. and... satisfactory bass.






So... tonight I finish putting together the Sansui CA-2000 that was intermittant. Lucky for me, the innards were spotless, and no caps were bulging. Whew! A full can of DeOxit later, and a thorough cosmetic cleaning as well, I was assembling it to put back in the system.

Finished up about 11:30 pm, and hooked it up to the amp. I was confident. So confident, in fact, I also hooked up the PS Audio DAC to my Sony C75ES (optical out only). Used a decent optical cable- my friend John gave me a very nice one, but it was out of my reach- so I "run what I brung"... so to speak.

I crossed my fingers, and hit the switches...



....everything came to life. Niiiiiiiice.



So, then I hit "play" on that Sony...





















Well, transformed, I tell ya!

The bass was instantly more pronounced and tighter, on those Thiels. The top end got almost all that sparkle of those incredible little Missions.

And the Thiels went from this cozy comforting fur coat to a tight, rippling vinyl body suit- every flaw, every hidden note, every fart of a flea, every spilt drink in the console room came to life. And BIGGER than life. No more of that noticeable roll-off- it still may be there, but isn't as dominant as it once was. And they did get a bit brighter while they were at it.

What was the majik? I dunno- maybe the amplification of the Sansui, or the addition of the PS Audio DAC, I dunno.

But it really did transform the Thiels into chest-heaving beasts, with manners of a gentleman.






All lesser hi-fi, I'll show you to the door now.



This post has been edited by thedelihaus on September 19, 2007 09:28 pm

how did the others fair with the same source and amp?

I haven't tried them yet.

I imagine they'll all benefit though.

Cripes, I love those ADS L1230s. But these Thiels are so nice. and the score on the Vandies I got.

I wish my problems were always this difficult!!!

I am pleased to read the Thiels produced satisfactory sound for the age and design vintage of that model. The others model under review seemed to perform as I thought they should have.

Not knowing the impedance curve of those models, what I can share is virtually all Thiels are very CURRENT hungry especially in the 4ohm range. My gut inclination is the QED is noted for making OEM products and not in the same league, no less the same dimension as the other electronics in the test.

Denon products are notoriously well made and have always met or exceeded their power claims. I venture to add, I bet the "cans" in the 1500 amp are quite large.

Cliche time....GIGO!!! GIGO!!! garbage in, garbage out!!!
Ergo, the cleanup of the CA-2000 showing such promise, not only with the Thiel, with the others as well when they are tested.

Thiel bias??? possibly, but there are times I wish I had something else like PSB or Vandies as the Thiels reveal many flaws in my expensive sound system and poor listening room acoustics.

Just imagine what the sound could be with better speaker cables (Kimber 8TC a particularly nice pairing from my personal experience, highly recommended)

Keep us updated!