The CS1.5 spent its whole life on Stereophile’s Class A (limited bass) list. But its design constraints are real - a seated listener at least 100" away. Also, the only baked-in timbral balance assumption is that it is on a floor. The anechoic (no floor) frequency balance is shelved down 2dB below 200 Hz such that floor placement makes it flat.) Placement relative to walls, including the wall behind it, greatly affects amplitude and quality of bass. Your stage height observation is due to spectral interference from lobing of the individual drivers. Those propagation patterns integrate beyond about 8’ listening distance. I suspect you can get it close to right by careful attention to ear height and cabinet tilt. You gain some positional flexibility by listening up to 25° off axis (which would be straight-ahead at 10'.) If you have placed your speakers along the room’s diagonal axis, then the side wall reflection will be greatly reduced. If not, the Thiel wide-dispersion characteristic works against you in that small room.
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@gryphon1972 , The CS 1.5's are a honey of a little speaker, and FWIW the first 1 series that I genunely liked. With that said, I think your room (and amplification) is too small for them. Something like the Thiel MCS or SCS would work much better for your circumstances. They are by design more suited for the placements you have available to you. Even then, with impedance loads dropping to around 3 Ohms you'll need more power from your amplification. As most amps aren't typically spec'd to 3 Ohms, you'll probably have to find the still hard to find 2 Ohm spec'd amps that are actually spec'd to provide at least 200 Watts into 2 Ohms. Don't be fooled be specs that suggest that the amp is "stable" into such loads, as that is not at all the same. |
Thank you @tomthiel @unsound . Yes I am still playing around with all the variables within the constraints of my room. One thing I really loved the 1.5s now in my system is the vocals sounded very real. So most of the time instead of trying to set it up right, I am sucked into listening to music. Especially with the current distance which has slight bass reinforcement making it a slightly fuller sound. Soundstage depth is a little lesser and on certain music the bass notes seems a little muddy. Will keep moving the speakers and hopefully can find the best position in my small room. I do like the pairing with the Aegirs amp even though the low power. I have tried it in my living room with my Cambridge cxa 81 which I don’t really like as the sound is lean in the midrange although bass control is better. Until I find a bigger better room and a more powerful amp that has the similar sound signature of the Aegirs. It will be finding the best room placement I have in my current place and enjoying the speakers 😄. I really loved how this speaker sounds despite the fussy setup requirements from equipment and placement. |
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