Jazzman - I know a little which I'll be glad to remember. You might read Stereophile's 1995 review when it was introduced, https://www.stereophile.com/floorloudspeakers/223/index.htmlI find it nearly incredible that this little, inexpensive speaker performed so very well - compare that review with products costing high multiples of its $1k+ / pair. The .5 was my last production engineering product before leaving Thiel for New Hampshire. It got the same 1" MDF walls and interior cabinet bracing, which resulted in the deadest of any Thiel product ever. The Vifa drivers were entirely Thiel-designed with the fancy magnet structures, and the "paper" woofer cone actually had multiple-fiber reinforcement and damped coating, which made it behave extremely well. The crossover, although quite simple, has the same high-purity copper coils, polypropylene caps and low-induction resistors as the rest of the family. The .5 got a full technical paper, and its attributes, performance and measurements could easily be read as applying to a $10K speaker with the exception of its bass extension. The CS.5 was an exercise is how inexpensively we could produce an full-bore Thiel speaker.
On a personal note, in 1997 I introduced a pair to the resident musical theatre producer of my new-home rural New Hampshire village, which led to more pairs, and the founding of a small local Performing Arts Foundation. I am on the board and produce musical events at our Arts Center, using Thiel speakers, which were originally borrowed .5s, then my 2.2s and now 1.6s since my 2.2s are in the redevelopment studio.
Your son is very fortunate to ge those .5s. There are plenty of spare drivers and parts to last his lifetime. I have .5 drivers here for comparative analysis and they are really exceptional. Do note that electrolytic caps can deteriorate in storage and might best be replaced before putting them back into service if more than 30 years has elapsed. I'm glad you asked.
On a personal note, in 1997 I introduced a pair to the resident musical theatre producer of my new-home rural New Hampshire village, which led to more pairs, and the founding of a small local Performing Arts Foundation. I am on the board and produce musical events at our Arts Center, using Thiel speakers, which were originally borrowed .5s, then my 2.2s and now 1.6s since my 2.2s are in the redevelopment studio.
Your son is very fortunate to ge those .5s. There are plenty of spare drivers and parts to last his lifetime. I have .5 drivers here for comparative analysis and they are really exceptional. Do note that electrolytic caps can deteriorate in storage and might best be replaced before putting them back into service if more than 30 years has elapsed. I'm glad you asked.
