Thiel CS.5 Product Support Bulletin

AUGUST 1995 VOLUME 2, ISSUE 8
T
HE
The Thiel
CS.5 Loudspeaker
By Dayna B, The Hi-Fi Hussy
T
he floorstanding $1,350
Thiel CS.5 loudspeaker is
the littlest Thiel to stand
on its own and, just like a
lot of baby brothers, it has
got an attitude. "Hey!
Look at me! I can play
too!" And can it ever.
Standing nearly as tall as
its prodigious sibling—the CS1.5—the
CS.5 is a two way design featuring a 6.5
inch woofer and one inch metal tweeter.
reprinted with permission from
E x p l o r i n g F r o n t i e r s o f S o u n d
R
AMBUNCTIOUS
Good looking? Oh yeah! It dresses up as
nicely as the whole Thiel family in a
classy to-die-for wood finish. The CS.5 is
not only beautiful to look at, it's beautiful
to listen to! Sure, it won't go as low (It's
voice hasn't changed yet), but it'll go
loud!
Starting off with Clair MarIo's Let It Go
(Sheffield Lab CD-29) there was a nice
sense of "air" to the vocals. Timbral and
dynamic shading was so good, the
emotion of the music just poured out.
Both piano and cello were full and
resonant. Detail was good without
sounding analytical. When, however,
passages became difficult, the highs

TONALITY

DYNAMICS

RESOLUTION

IMAGING

TIMING

OVERALL

TM
tended toward hardness. Don't get me
wrong, though. It never actually became
brittle sounding. It just lost its smoothness.
On Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet (Minne-
apolis Symphony Orchestra,
Skrowaczewski, Mercury CD 432 004-2),
the soundstage was wide and nicely
layered. The CS.5 produced an excellent
soundstage that was limited only by its
compressed stage height. The accuracy of
tone and timbre allowed easy identification
of all instruments in the symphony, even
during complex passages. During the
"Death of Tybalt," the brass had just the
right amount of bite for the mood, not to
mention the instrument. And the midrange
THIEL CS.5 LOUDSPEAKER
Upper bass has a slight emphasis, no low bass.
75
Instrumental timbre is exceptional.
75
Treble compresses slightly during demanding peaks.
Excellent microdynamic resolution brings back the
realism of the performance.
82 Tonal resolution is very good indeed! Good detail without
harshness.
80 Excellent image separation and focus. Never wavered.
Large "sweet pot" where imaging and accurate tone can
be enjoyed by many.
79
Harmonics are so well stacked upon the fundamentals
that, in most cases, the deep bass is not missed. Very
good rhythm and pace which leads to musical
involvement.
77 If you want a high quality speaker with a wide listening
area, the CS.5 will do it.
B
ABY