I auditioned a pair of CS 1.6's at a local high-end store recently.
They seemed to be good speakers, but I'm not sure they're worth over $2000. The bass extension was fine - they seemed to go a little deeper than the specs indicate. However, there was a room-related resonance (according to the dealer) which gave some of the bass notes a boomy quality. Farther up, they were pretty neutral (I used the Editor's Choice CD). Overall, the sound was good, but not as good as I might expect for the price. They had a little "bubble" around instruments at times, perhaps a result of associated equipment, which sounded unrealistic to me.
I own and like a pair of Monitor Audio Bronze 2's, which go down about as far as the Thiels and are almost as neutral. They retail for $400/pair. They aren't perfect, but I think the value/money ratio is quite good.
The 1.6's are reputed to be much easier to drive than earlier Thiel models.
Wouldn't you expect a dealer trying to sell an expensive speaker to have treated the room? Otherwise they have to "explain" the room problem to customers.
Also, when listening to a system at a dealer, it is hard to know what you're hearing, if you don't happen to have the same equipment at home. They used an MF upsampling CD player with tubes, and Classe amplification - both of which are quite different from my equipment.
Finally, I think one should be able to expect more quality control in the high end - one reads too many examples of expensive products which are essentially "broken" or not working. Sending products like this to a magazine for a review is really dumb and, if it reflects the general qc of the company, a reason not to buy from them.
They seemed to be good speakers, but I'm not sure they're worth over $2000. The bass extension was fine - they seemed to go a little deeper than the specs indicate. However, there was a room-related resonance (according to the dealer) which gave some of the bass notes a boomy quality. Farther up, they were pretty neutral (I used the Editor's Choice CD). Overall, the sound was good, but not as good as I might expect for the price. They had a little "bubble" around instruments at times, perhaps a result of associated equipment, which sounded unrealistic to me.
I own and like a pair of Monitor Audio Bronze 2's, which go down about as far as the Thiels and are almost as neutral. They retail for $400/pair. They aren't perfect, but I think the value/money ratio is quite good.
The 1.6's are reputed to be much easier to drive than earlier Thiel models.
Wouldn't you expect a dealer trying to sell an expensive speaker to have treated the room? Otherwise they have to "explain" the room problem to customers.
Also, when listening to a system at a dealer, it is hard to know what you're hearing, if you don't happen to have the same equipment at home. They used an MF upsampling CD player with tubes, and Classe amplification - both of which are quite different from my equipment.
Finally, I think one should be able to expect more quality control in the high end - one reads too many examples of expensive products which are essentially "broken" or not working. Sending products like this to a magazine for a review is really dumb and, if it reflects the general qc of the company, a reason not to buy from them.