2. speakers
  3. 1389847275

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 9 responses by unsound

unsound
7,308 posts
 
I had the opportunity to do almost the exact same comparison in very large room at a dealers years ago, and on different occasions with different electronics; Krell and Levinson. I think the cables were MIT.
Interestingly enough, I came to the complete opposite opinion. Though with lower power the 7's might have had the advantage. I much preferred the Krell gear, but some others preferred the Levinson. To each his own. Thanks for sharing!
unsound
7,308 posts
 
Kacz, IMHO not too well, other than dynamic range the 6's were a very expensive upgrade over the 3 series. Again, IMHO one of Thiel's worst values.
unsound
7,308 posts
 
On one occasion Jim Thiel did the set up for 5's. The ML gear the dealer provided this time didn't offer the same quaity micro and macro dynamics as the Krells previously heard in the same room on a different occasion (on solo instruments the transient response was equal, but the ML couldn't compare on symphonic tracks in this regard). But, the focus, soundstage, imaging, and body that was demonstrated that day in my experience has yet to be improved upon at any cost, any where, or at any other time. Only much, much more expensive gear matched them in that regard, but those much more expensive systems couldn't approach the 5s for top to bottom coherence. YMMV.
unsound
7,308 posts
 
For $3K you can find 5s.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/THIEL-CS-5I-ONE-OF-THE-BEST-FLAG-SHIP-MODEL-/171215215943?pt=Speakers_Subwoofers&hash=item27dd38dd47

http://www.stereophile.com/content/thiel-cs36-loudspeaker-specifications

http://www.stereophile.com/content/thiel-cs6-loudspeaker-specifications
unsound
7,308 posts
 
Please continue to share your results. I for one am interested.
unsound
7,308 posts
 
Like what you like. It's about pleasing your ears. With that said, I wouldn't be surprised if different placement might change your perspective. Of course the 7's just might work better in your room, or just press your buttons better.
unsound
7,308 posts
 
Just for the record, I never said that the 6s weren't better than the 3.6s. It's just that at double the cost from $4K to $8K one gets basically the same bass response, same sensitivity, nearly the same impedance load, and a bit less power handling. IMHO, Thiels 3 series were always the sweet spot for value. Just because the (IMHO) 6's and perhaps the worst value Thiels the SCT4Ts weren't as good a value as some other Thiels, didn't make them a bad speaker(s), or worth it to those who didn't mind the extra cost. The 6's do have a much sturdier cabinet! Value and quality are sometimes two different considerations.
unsound
7,308 posts
 
No, the 6's don't compare to the 5's (in an appropriate room with appropriate gear and set up) IMHO. YMMV.
unsound
7,308 posts
 
^Still, unfortunately not!

More to discover