Thiel CS 5i, 7.2. and others

I have owned the 3.6's, the 5i's, the 6's ,and the 7.2's over the years. To my ears, with the right amps, the 5i's were the best. When I had the 5i's properly placed and fed by Levinson 20.6's they were stunning. The higher freqs. were a bit rolled off though, as compared to my current speakers. The mids were on the money. The bass is what grabbed you though. You could "feel" each note struck...not harsh, not "boomy" as with most subs I've tried. I'd be particularly intrested in auditioning the 7.2's with the new Thiel subs. The 7.2's have a better top end to my ears, but not by much.....but the bass is a tad shy as compared to the 5i's. If you have the horsepower to feed the 5i's ( dips to near or < 1 Ohm at times) go for them at the used price of 2-4K...you will never be disappointed.

I had the 3.6, the 6 and the 7.2 in the past: to my ears the 6 was the best sounding, a little less open and transparent than the 7.2 but more coherent and sweet in the mid-higs. Unfortunately I didn't hear the 5i but, for what I heard about them from other audiophiles, they were Thiel's best loudspeaker ever, probably discontinued because of low WAF and for their extreme difficult to drive load. Buy the present pair advertised at only 3k if you can ! Just my 2 cents.

I have never owned a 5i. But I have the 7.2 now. I started with CS2, then 3.6, other brands, and now 7.2. 7.2 is way better than the 3.6 in every area you can name. Used market will be a good way to find a pair of 7.2.

I haven't heard the 7.2's. I haven't heard any speakers that bettered than the 5i's. That said, I think they are more demanding about room and placement than other Thiels I've heard, and man oh man do they need a serious amplifier budget to really get the most out of them!

Lest anyone get the idea they can easily drive the 6(?)Ohm CS 5's. I believe the Thiel CS 5's have a 3 Ohm nominal impedance and a 2 Ohm minimum impedance.

The CS 5i's are a hog on power demands and need a decent size room but are the best sounding Thiel I heard.

Danhirsh,
When I said that about THIEL, I was sort of saying it about all loudspeakers. We all have our favorites--maybe a function of our hearing.
Being overly sensitive to the high frequencies, I neverthless loved the articulation of the THIEL Loudspeakers as well as the scientific approach that he employed in his designs, that, plus Jim was my mentor in High End Audio, got me involved in the industry in the early '80's. Plus, he was a giant of an intellect regardless of one's personal tastes in loudspeakers. His work was brilliant in so many ways.
When I worked for him, I found him to be much greater than I could even have imagined. Oftentimes, at a distance, those we admire, become less through daily contact--the opposite was true of Jim--he was as hard of a working person, dedicated, that I have ever known--AND a really great and gentle man too--and for all of his personal gifts, the most humble genius I've ever met.

One day in his lab, while discussing his designs I told him that I liked the CS5 above all his others, and thought that it had to do with limited bandwidth that the drivers were asked to cover--a fact which I felt gave the speakers a more effortless sound. Plus the overall, 'brightness' that some people did not like in the THIEL's was absent in the CS5--likely due to midrange offset. We were in total agreement on these points.
For those who don't know, the CS5 was his first and last Cost No Object design, done in late '88--a project which lasted many, many months. It was designed, in part, if I recall correctly, due to the Asian market asking Jim to design a 'no holds barred' product.
Crossovers, (by memory here) of 70Hz, 400Hz 2K, 3K gave the speaker a really great image density (that's what I meant when talking about midrange 'offset') that some first order crossovers don't seem to possess, perhaps due to 'lobing' and other cancellation issues consistent with that design. To me, it was a GREAT SPEAKER...and a wonderful Birthday present that year from my wife.
For anyone who's thinking of this price (about 3 to 5K perhaps) a well taken care of used pair is a real bargain.

Larry

Larry, all excellent points! I've always thought that Jim's best designs were his sealed boxed ones. I suspect his sealed boxed speakers were better able to maintain the time and phase coherence that were at the very least part of Thiel's hallmarks.

Unsound,
You might consider, (if your significant other, assuming you have one, I DO NOT at this point in my life) has not probs with a speaker of that size, selling the 3.5's and getting the CS5's.
They really are quite wonderful--and I can only imagine what they'd sound like with Auricaps and better air core inductors, resisters etc.
Its a shame that Jim only had time to build ONE model with parts of this ilk before he left this mortal coil.
Though I haven't heard the 2.4SE, I am convinced they are remarkably better than the standard versions.

Larry

Larry, my "significant other" gives me carte blanche on such matters, except of course for expense:-). I've heard the CS5's often, and think they are amongst the best I've ever heard. Unfortunately the amplifier requirements scare me. I am thinking of going to something similar, but easier to drive; Dunlavy SCIVa's

Unsound,
One of the salient points I made in other posts was, I used, as a retailer, the Adcom 535 Amplifier, which was rated at 60WPC into 8 ohms. Highish current, but not a HIGH current amp which doubles into progressively lower resistance.
What amp do you have now?
I CAN tell you, and this is opinion based, that the Dunlavy's you mention, don't really compare in terms of resolution, deep, deep bass or imaging density.
AND, as I mentioned previously, if you read it, that one can only imagine, what the CS5's COULD have sounded like with Auricaps or Mundorf Oil/Gold/Silvers in place of the generally mundane parts found in this incredibly heavy crossover that Jim used.
Call me or write, so we can discuss this, lrsky@insightbb.com
Larry

I've heard the CS5's with Adcom, Krell and Levinson. I didn't care much at all for the the Adcoms, was somehat impressed with the Levinsons, and never heard anything sound quite so good (before) as with the Krells. I have heard the Dunlavy's sound quite good with less expensive amplification than the Cs5's seemed to need for my satisfaction.

Coyotesx5,
I agree completely that Orion's or anyone's value of a product is at best 'iffy'.
Utility is the only measure of a product's worth...using a little lattitude in it's definition as an economic term.
From a purely 'musical or musical enjoyment standpoint', how does one assign more value to a 'new' pair of inferior speakers? Some of us blanche at 'used', which is a shame really. A used pair of CS5's or 5i's would be a tremendous find at the general asking price, and should be seriously considered.

Larry

BTW,
The Adcom 535 comment was made, not to make anyone think that this was in any way a good match, just that an adequate current amp can handle them. Of course the better you put with them...well, the sky was the limit.
They were truly magical speakers, and I can only say that, with the Gryphon Amp a personal favorite, the'd be spectacular. Some years ago, I mated the CS 7.2 with a Callisto, Integrated (Gryphon) and the results were better than with any other electronics, from a purely musical standpoint. (This comparison included, Ayre, Krell, McIntosh, and a couple of others which I've forgotten--all separates too, compared to the Integrated.
What a speaker...magic.

Larry