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Solving the THIEL CS 5i's - vs- CS 7.2 Debate

Well I have been a huge THIEL fan for years. I have owned the CS 7.2's for 4 plus years and the CS 5i's for 3 years. In that time I have been begging for the correct room / source / amplification setup to host an ultimate drag out and shoot out. The stars aligned post new year and I had the extra help to move these monsters around and begin the process to initiate a formal showdown of these extraordinary components and literal masterpieces of speaker construction and design.

To address the weary on what I leveraged to orchestrate this debate, the amplification stage was handled by twin KRELL FPB 650m's, piped through the KRELL KCT, AudioQuest interconnects and woeful Denon CD section. All other things being equal the downside on the CD and speaker cabling should balance the field between the two.

I ran a battery of CD,s and moved the speakers forward and backward, toe in and straight up and I now have what is my ultimate conclusion. At this point I am looking for supporting evidence from the community or welcome an additional party to sit and listen to the setup.

At some point in this thread I can discuss the nuances between the two speakers, however, I will come out and say that the CS 7.2's are pure illustrated magic and profoundly demonstrated a by far greater representation of what I would expect from the original source.

At the end of the day they were the better sounding speakers to my ears in that room, given this setup.

Were the CS 5i's able to bring tears to my eyes? = yes.

Did the CS 7.2's do a better job of handling the soundstage? = yes

I would love to hear feedback if folks have any regarding a direct speaker to speaker comparison.

I will also state that by themselves the CS 5i's sound brilliant.

Thank you,
David
davidstingray
michaeljbrown
146 posts
 
I find that my CS 5's need to be more widely spaced. I think about 10 feet in my room works best, with the back wall 4 ft and side walls more than 2 feet. 10 feet is too close to sit for these as opposed to the 2.4's,which I found to be dialed in nicely in the triangular mode. I sit about 14-15 feet from the 5's.
If my room were larger, I would space them at closer to 12 feet apart.
Just for what its worth, as I live with these on a daily basis.
pops
2,272 posts
 
I agree with Michaeljbrown about spacing. I have my CS6's spaced about 12 feet apart center to center and 3 feet from the front wall. That leaves me about 2 feet on each side but I have treatment on the side walls. And I sit about 14 feet from each speaker. Gives a more open and realistic presentation.

Even the 3.6's work better this way in my room.
audiolabyrinth's avatar
audiolabyrinth
4,555 posts
 
@ Michaeljbrown, Hi, I do not own Thiels, I respect the company as part of the American heritage of high-end audio, I own JBL speakers, I am not going to hi-jack this thread talking about JBl at all!, However, your speaker placement is similar to my own, this took 3-months of heart-ache to achieve because of inside fireing 12 inch woofers, My placement is 5 degrees toed in, 32 inches from rear wall, 21 inches from side walls, the speakers are 76 inches apart, the room is only 11 foot 4 inches wide!,, If my room were larger, I would space them a little more,, The reason I have elaborated on this, It is in my exsperience, That these kinds of placement results in a far better sound stage, alot deeper soundstage, imageing, etc..., thus creating a real 3- dimensional sound stage, so to me, your sound must be awsome to say the least!
tonywinsc
583 posts
 
I have had the Thiel CS6's for almost 7 years now. I love the sound of them. I moved up from the CS3.6's and found it to be a significant upgrade all other things being equal. I use a Pass Labs amp with MIT cables. I got no complaints about the sound. I am certainly used to them; but from time to time they still give me goosebumps.

I have mine spaced 10ft apart center to center with 5+ feet clearance to the side walls. They are almost 3 ft away from the front wall. My listening position is 10ft from the front plane of the speakers. The back wall is another 12ft away and I have a 13ft high ceiling. I get a large soundstage well beyond the speakers with records and even with a few CDs. It took me a good year to get the set-up like I wanted it. I tried 8-9ft and up to 12ft; but I didn't want my couch protruding into the room that far to make the correct triangle.
unsound
7,313 posts
 
Just for the record, I never said that the 6s weren't better than the 3.6s. It's just that at double the cost from $4K to $8K one gets basically the same bass response, same sensitivity, nearly the same impedance load, and a bit less power handling. IMHO, Thiels 3 series were always the sweet spot for value. Just because the (IMHO) 6's and perhaps the worst value Thiels the SCT4Ts weren't as good a value as some other Thiels, didn't make them a bad speaker(s), or worth it to those who didn't mind the extra cost. The 6's do have a much sturdier cabinet! Value and quality are sometimes two different considerations.
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