Thiel CS 1.2 User manual

THIEL
Model
CSl.2
CoherentSource@
loudspeaker
system
OWNER
INFORMATION

Congratulations
onyour
purchase
oftheTHIELmodel
CSl.2loudspeaker system.
It istheresultofa
long
anddedicatedeffortto
providevery
accuratemusic
reproduction.We
haveusedonlythehighest
quality
componentsandtaken
great
careinitsconstruction.Properlysetupandusedwith
good
asso-
ciatedequipment,theCS1.2s
will provideyou
witha
great
dealofmusicalenjoymentformany
years.
Speaker
Placement
TheCSl-2sarerelativelynon-crhicaltoroorn
placernent
and
w;llprovidegood resuhsfrom
almostanywhere.However,
here
are
some
guidelines
tohelp
you
achievethe
bestsound
fromyoui
speakers.Spealer
placemenr
willaffecttheaccuracy
oftimbre,spat;al
performance.
andbass
performance.
Distancefromwalls:THIELspeakers.andmostothers.soundbestif theyare
placed
wellawayfromallwalls.Such
placement
optinizesimaginganddepth.andmusicallimbresarereproducedwiththeleaslcoloration
because
i!allows
the
initialsoundcomingfromihespeakerrobedistincdyseparaledintimefromthesecondarysound
ofwallreflections. If
reflectionsareheardtoo
quickly
rfterthe
primary
sound.
your
brain
tendstointerpretthem
as
part
oftheinitialsound,
causing
the
perceived
timbreto
be
alteredandthe
spatialcharacteristicstobeconfused.
Ifyou experiment,
youwill notice
a
majorimprovement
inopenness
when
thespeakersarceventwofeetfromther€arwall
insteadofone.
We
liketoseethespeakersthrcefeetfromtherear
wall
andfivefeetfron thesidewall.Also.it isnot
desnableforlargeobjectstobe
placed
nearthespeakerssincethesewillalsobeasourceofunwantedearlyreflectionsthat
r€duceimagingaccuracy.
Spacing:
Becauseoftheirverywide,evendispersion
ofenergy,
THIELspealersshouldusually
be
placed
fanherapart
thanmost.Oprimumimagingisusuallyachievedwhenthespealersandthelistenerformanequilateral
triangle.although
thiswilldependonthe
width
oftheroom anarowroom
willrequirccloser placement.Ifthe
speakersaretoofarapartfora
given
environment.therewill lendiobea"hole inthemiddleofthesoundstagetiftheyaretooclosetogether,theimage
willbecompressedandwillnotachieveoptimumwidth.
Aiming: Weusually
prefer
theimagingobtainedwhenthespealcrsare
pointed
straighlaheadrarherthan
po;nting
toward
the
listener.This
placementproduces
thelargest,mostnarural
soundslage.
However,toeingrhe
speakers;nsomewhatmay
produce
morespecific
placements
ofinstruments.
Also,if it is
nor
possible
to
get
thespeakersfarenoughawayfromtheside
walls,atoed-in
position
canbehelpfultoreducethestrengthofwallreflections.
Bass:
Bi$sresponseisalsoaffectedbyspealcr
placernenl-
Ingeneral, whenaspeakeriscloseto
awallthe bassresponse
is
stronger
and
placing
aspeakerinacomerwillrnaleitevenrnoreso.Inordertoachieve
properly
balancedbass,
iris
necessaryforthespeaker
to
beused
intheenvironmentforwhichit was
designed.
THIELspeakers
aredesignedtoprovide
accuratebass
whenpositioned
away
from
all
walls thesame position
that
providesthe
best
imaging.
Listener
position:
TheCSl.2s
provide
broaddispersionofenergyalallfrequenciesandtherefore
providegood
results
throughoutalargelisteningarea.Bestimagingis
provided
foralistenercenteredinfrontofthe
speakers.Optimun
phase
andtimealignmentis
provided
only
foraseated listenerwho
isejghto.morefeet away
from
thespeakers.
AIIaspectsoJspeaker
placement
aredependentanthe
particklar
roon.Sin':eewryraomisdifferen!,ohaftlnles catlb?
Biren,and
erperin?
tatbnis eftssxt
)^
tua,:hiereth?bestftsltlts.
Connectingthe Speakers
TheCSl.2'sinputlerminalsarelocatedonthebottomofthespeaker.To
gain
accesstothesethespealershouldbelaidon
irsba.k.Maketu-?thxtallo necth sarctipht.
Ii isessentialfor
properperformance
thatbothspealersinastereosystembewiredinthesame
polarit].
Theinput
terminalsarecolorcoded
tofacil;tatethis.Thewireconnectedtothcredinputterminalofeachspe.ker
shouldconnecttothe
respective
pos;tive
output
terminals
oftheamplifier.The speakersshouldbe
connected1otheamplifierw;thhighquality
cabletoinsureminimallossofpowerand
proper
controlbytheamplifier.If thespeakersa.ebeingconnectedtoavacuum
tubeamplifierwithvariousimpedancelaps,the4ohmtap
willprobablygive
thebestresults.
If iheamplifierhasaspeakerfuseorif afuseisusedinlinetothespeakers,
we
recommendavalueof2ampsofth€normal
blowtype
(type
3AG-2amp).Althoughfusesoffersome
protection,
theydonotnecessarily
protecl
thespeakeragainstalt
typesofoverload
andalsoinlroduceaudibledegradationofthesignal.TheCSl.2isaruggedloudspealcrthatcan
onlybe
damaged
byextrerneoverloadingandfusingisnoinecessary.

Stabilize.
Pins
Spea-kers
posilioned
onasoftsurfacesuchascarpetingoran
unevensu.faceareabletorockbackandforth
slightlyand
willvibrateinreaction
tothoseforcesihespeaker
generates
tomove
thedriverdiaphragms.
(Every
actionhas
anequaland
opposite
reaction.)
Thismotionofthespeakercausesaloss
ofmusicalinfonnationandreducesrheclarity
ofthemusic.
Inordertoeliminatethiseffect,theTHIELCSI.2
canbeusedwiththeincludedstabilizer
pins.
The
srabilizer
pins,
either
oftwotyp€s,are
pushed
intothr€e
pre-dr;lled
holesinthebaseofeachspeakerThe poiniedpins
are
forspeakerstharwill be
placed
oncarpet.The
pointpenetrates
rhecarpet
andallowsthespeakertor€sifirmlyonthefloor.
Theroundedslabilizer
pins
areforspeakersihatare
placed
onahard, unevensurface.Thethree
pinsprovide
astable
foundationwhichel;minares
someobscuringofinlbrmalionand
produces
acleane.,
morearticulatesound.
Th€rearesomeapplicationswhere
thestabilizer
pins
willnotbringanirnprovement
insoundbutmayactuallymake
it
worse.Thissiruation
occurs
when
iheflooritselfisnorrigidandthereforevibrateswhen
connededtoihespeakersvia
the
slabilizerpins.Weencourageyou
toexperimenttoderermineforyourselfwhelher
ornotthisisihecase.
Werecommend
lhat
you
determinethe
position
ofyourspeakers
beforeinseningihe
pointed
srabilizerpins.Toinsertthe
pins,
rihthespeakerforward
and
push
theiwoback
pins
fullyintothe1
'deep
holes
locatedineachbackcornerofthe
plinth.
Thenrockthesperler
backwafdandinsertthefionipin. Finally.
press
fimly onthetopofthespeakerwithaslightrocking
motionuntilthepinspenet.ate
lbecarpetcomplerely.Tocheckthatlhepins
arcfirmlyseated,lighilyiapthe
backandsideof
thespeaker.Thereshouldbenomovem€ntandthespeaker
shouldf€elsolidlyinplace.
lfthe speakerismovedwith
the
p;ns
inplace, careshouldbeialentolifl thespeakersstraightupwarduntilallthe pins
haveclearedthe
carpel.Also,tiltingthespeakersoitsweightisresring
onanysingle
pin
candamageihewood
base.
Please
becautionedthatthe
pointedpins canbedangero sif ot usedwithcarc.TheJcanca sesma dentsin ha |'ood
tloon andit ispossible
to damaqecarye^ if thespeikersarcnovedincoftectlJ withthepi sin place.
AssociatedEquipment
The
CSI.2isa
very
high
quality
soundreproducerandwill benefit from
usewiththebestassociated
equipment.Sinceiris
extremelyaccurate.it will revealsourcesofdistoniongenerared
elsewhereinihesystem.For
example.distortionresulring
fromcartridgemisalignrneniorinferior
electronics
willbereproducedaccurarely.Also,the quality
oftheinterconnecrcables
and
spealercables
will significandyeffectthe performance
oftbesysrem.
PowerRequirements
It isimponanttohave
enough
power
to
play
atthelevel
you
desirewithout
distortion.Ifhighsoundl€velsare
desired.the
CSl.2saredes;gnedtobeusedwithamplifi€rsratedupto 150watts
per
channel.If youplay ihespeakersmoreloudly
rhan
thevolumetheamplifiercancleanly
produce,
thearnplifiefwillproduce
overload
(clipping)
distonion.
Thesoundwitl
becomecomprcssed,slrained,andin
extremecases.obviouslydisrorr€d.Thisdislonionis
actuallynon,musicalu.hlititrt
€nery)andsince
it isconcentmtedinthebighfiequencyregionwhere
thespeakerisleastableiohandleir,rweeters
canbe
damagedinextremecases.
Keepinmindthatsound
qraliry
isusuallymuchmoreimponant
thansound
qrdrriry.
Therecanbelargedifferences
inrhe
sonic
perfonnance
oftwoamplifiersofequal
power
which
are
moreimportant
thanalargedifferenceinpower.
Almosr
everybodywill be happierwith
a50
watt
amplitierofhighsonic
quality
rhan
with
a200
watt
amplifierofmediocre
sonic
quality.
Forthisreason,we
feelthereisnosubsiitureforlisteningtomakeyour
amplifierdecision.
The
question
"how
much
power
doI need?"doesnothavethe
simpleanswermost
people
expecrbecauseir;! not
determinedonlybytheloudspeaker'sefficiency,but
alsobythe
volume
desiredandthesizeoftheroom.Ifall tbreelactors
areaverage.aboui50watts
per
channelisrequired.
Eachfactorcanraiseorlowerthisamount
byaboutthreerimes.
1)A spealerwithalowefficiency
of84dB,AV,m
willrequire
twicethe
powerofan
average
87dBA-mspeakerandonc
with
ahighmtingofgodB,Aff'm willrequneonlyhallthe
power
ofanaveragespeaker.Usually,highefficiency
caDbe
obtainedonlybytradingoffsonic
quality-there
areveryfew
spealersthat
prcvide
a
very
highlevelofboth.The
CSI.2is
ofaverageefficiency
(87dB)
andthereforerequiresanormal
amounrofpower.
2)Usually,
people
who"don'tlikemusicloud"
candecrcasetheir
power
ioaboutone-half.Also,
people
who
likemusic
loudshouldincreasetheir
power
by2times
ormore. Most
people
fallwithinanormalrange.
3)A smallroomwillneedless
power
fora
g;ven
loudness
levelthanalargeroom.A verysrnallroom
of 1000cufr(l1 x
l1
'withan8'ceiling)will usuallyrequ;re
onlyhalfthe
power
ofanaveragesizeroom.A large
roomof6000cuft (20x30
witha l0'ceiling)will usually require
twicetheaverage
power.
lf thelisteningroomis
connectedtoanotherroombyalarge
openarea,therequired
power
will increase,butnotbytbeamountofthecombinedroomvolume.lfrhe
roomhasa
"dropped"
ceiling
w;thI;ghtpanels,
theceilingwill bealmosttransparentacoustically
andthespaceabovethece;ling
should
beadded.lfthe
panels
areheavytheywill actasamorenormalceiling.
With
allthisinmind.a
p€rson
whodoesn'tlikero
play
rnusic
very
loudlyandhasasmallroomcan
get
highquality
sound
with
only20wattswhereasa
person
whosometimeslikes
to
play
loudlyandhasalargeroommayneed
150
wans.

CabinetFinish Care
THIELwoodcabinets
possess
ahigh
qualiiy
lacquerfinish
ihatisbothbeautifulanddurable.Howev€r,anywoodfinish
canbedamagedbyexcessivemoisture,dryness,
ordirect
sunlight.W}lencleaning
your
speakers,avoid
usingoils.
waxes,orpolishesthatcontainsilicone,
suchasPledgeor
Johnson's.WerecommendusingEndust.Ifyou
owna
gloss
blalklatque'cabiner.
pleaie
reierrorhernnrucrion\
includedwithitsspecialcabinet
care
kit.
The
grilles
canbecleanedofdustbyusinganupholstery
altachmentofa vacuumcleaner.Toprevent damagetothe
tweeter.takecarenottopush theclothin towardthetopof
the
grille.
Service
Ifyoursyslemrequiresservice,contactyour
authorized
THIELdealer.Ifyou needmcontactTHIEL.servrce
infomationandlechnicatsupportisavailableat
(606)
254-
9427,Monday-Friday,8:30a.m. 5:00
p.m.
Eastem
Time.
Grille
The
grille
ontheCSl.2isdesignedasaninlegral
part
of
thesystemroreduceunwanteddiffractioneffects.Therefore.
ilmustremaininplace for
proper
operation.Ifyou wish
io
temporarilyremoveil firstloosenthetwoscrewsthatsecure
thetrimstriptothefrontofthespeaker.Pullthebottomof
the
grille
frameawayfromthespeakeraninchorlwoand
thenlift the
grille
upward1oremoveit.Whenreplacing
the
grille,
first
push
thetopdownontothebafileandthen
push
thebottomback
intowards
rhespeaker.
LIMITEDWARRANTY
THIELwarantseveryTHIELmodelCSl.2systemagainstdefecisinmaterialsandworkmanship
tolheoricinalowner
fo.aperiod
oftenyearsf.om thedateofpurchase. THIELwill,alnocharge,replaceanydefective
part
andmake
any
repai$necessarytoensure
itsproperperformance
whenthedefectiveuniiisretumedtous
postpaid.
This
waranty
doesnotcoverdamageduetoaccidentorabuseandisvoidifthe unithasbeentamperedwith.
Thiswarantyisautomaticandnoregistrationisrequired.Thiswananty
givesyou
specificlegalnghN.Youmayalso
haveotherrightswhichare
pariiculartoyour
state.
Thefollowinginformationisfor
yourrecords.
SerialNumbers
PurchaseDarc
THIET
1026NandinoBoulevard
Lexington,Kentucky40511
-1
207