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Solving the THIEL CS 5i's - vs- CS 7.2 Debate

Well I have been a huge THIEL fan for years. I have owned the CS 7.2's for 4 plus years and the CS 5i's for 3 years. In that time I have been begging for the correct room / source / amplification setup to host an ultimate drag out and shoot out. The stars aligned post new year and I had the extra help to move these monsters around and begin the process to initiate a formal showdown of these extraordinary components and literal masterpieces of speaker construction and design.

To address the weary on what I leveraged to orchestrate this debate, the amplification stage was handled by twin KRELL FPB 650m's, piped through the KRELL KCT, AudioQuest interconnects and woeful Denon CD section. All other things being equal the downside on the CD and speaker cabling should balance the field between the two.

I ran a battery of CD,s and moved the speakers forward and backward, toe in and straight up and I now have what is my ultimate conclusion. At this point I am looking for supporting evidence from the community or welcome an additional party to sit and listen to the setup.

At some point in this thread I can discuss the nuances between the two speakers, however, I will come out and say that the CS 7.2's are pure illustrated magic and profoundly demonstrated a by far greater representation of what I would expect from the original source.

At the end of the day they were the better sounding speakers to my ears in that room, given this setup.

Were the CS 5i's able to bring tears to my eyes? = yes.

Did the CS 7.2's do a better job of handling the soundstage? = yes

I would love to hear feedback if folks have any regarding a direct speaker to speaker comparison.

I will also state that by themselves the CS 5i's sound brilliant.

Thank you,
David
davidstingray

Showing 1 response by stevecham

stevecham
3,340 posts
 
The CS6s were reported to be Jim's favorite speakers I can hear why. I have owned a pair now for ten years, and reluctantly have to offer them for sale due to a downsize. They are dynamic, smooth and extended, but beyond that, they conveyed all the detail inherent in the source. I previsouly had a pre-owned pair of CS7s and the CS6s were by far the outperformers. In some ways, comparing the CS5i to the CS7.2 is a little misalinged only because the CS7.2's driver were manufactured entirely by Thiel, as were the CS6, which were the first model where all the drivers were Thiels own.

And yes, the FPB series of Krell amps were the perfect partner to the big Thiels because they were optimal current sources to drive the <3 Ohm impedances at soem frequencies. That combination was never harsh, nor bright, as some would claim misguidely and misinformed.
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