Thiel CS.5 Dimensions

TONALITY 75
DYNAMICS 75
RESOLUTION 82
IMAGING 80
TIMING 79
OVERALL 77
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
THE RAMBUNCTIOUS BABY
AUGUST 1995 VOLUME 2, ISSUE 8
Exploring Frontiers of Sound
TM
reprinted with permission from
The 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.
The Thiel
CS.5 Loudspeaker 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
Upper bass has a slight emphasis, no low bass.
Instrumental timbre is exceptional.
THIEL CS.5 LOUDSPEAKER
Treble compresses slightly during demanding peaks.
Excellent microdynamic resolution brings back the
realism of the performance.
Tonal resolution is very good indeed! Good detail without
harshness.
If you want a high quality speaker with a wide listening
area, the CS.5 will do it.
Excellent image separation and focus. Never wavered.
Large “sweet pot” where imaging and accurate tone can
be enjoyed by many.
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.
By Dayna B, The Hi-Fi Hussy

was full, providing instruments with a
satisfying amount of body. Low bass? Get
a life—you know better than to even ask.
Thiel only specs the CS.5 down to 55Hz.
Overall, however, the CS.5 realistically
recreated the musical event.
Dynamically, the CS.5 was impressively
responsive on Massenet’s Ed Cid (Klavier
Records KS 522—vinyl, of course).
Castanets came through clean and woody,
with fast initial attacks and equally quick
releases. Cymbals had precise leading
edges and appropriate shimmering decay.
The string section? Smooooothduring the
soft passages, with some loss of refine-
ment during demanding passages. The
timing was excellent, though, with
fundamentals tightly bound to their
harmonics, resulting in finely focused
instrumental images.
Enter Queensryche’s Promised Land (EMI
E1-30711). The Thiel again displayed its
excellent transient response. There is,
however, a slight tonal rise in the upper
bass. This distortion was not obnoxious,
but noticeable. Given the lack of extension
in the mid and low bass, the slight rise
helps fill things out. Actually, many might
think this a plus for most “modern” music,
adding a bit of extra bass punch. Is this a
good Rock speaker? You bet! It can get
rowdy with the best of ‘em.
Okay, so the CS.5 is not perfect. You’ll
never hear a perfect speaker. Hey! If you
are even considering buying a pair of
speakers for $2,000 or more, give this
little beauty a listen first. It could save you
a lot of money. Rock on!
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