Detailed sound, dynamics, great soundstage.

Lacking in deep bass.

Losing all the audiophile catchphrases: they make any music sound great. They have provided me with endless hours of pleasure, and on the odd occasion my neighbours too!

Used with a Krell KAV300i amplifier and Theta Miles CD player.

Similar Products Used:

Magnepan SMGb, B&W 602.

I listened to these little guys last night. This is the first pair of Thiels I have ever heard (I'm fairly new to this game) but they definitely portrayed all of the characteristics I have heard associated with their speakers.
I listened to these through a B&K AVR202 and a Pioneer CD player (unsure of which model.) CD's I listened to were Allman Brothers (Eat a Peach), Derek Trucks (Out Of The Madness), Jamiroquai (Travelling Without Moving.)

These speakers didn't jump right out and grab me, but once I really started to listen, I was amazed. Imaging was spot-on. Especially with 'Eat a Peach' (which is not a great sounding recording) I could distinctly hear a strong snare rattle on the right hand side drummer for instance. And the left-hand side drummer's cymbals were extremely detailed. During 'Little Martha' I could hear Dickie Betts' breaths like he was in the room with me. The pause in the beginning of 'Stand Back' I had to replay a couple of times just because I was so amazed with what I was hearing. You could hear fingers sliding on strings and the moment just seemed "real" like I was sitting in the studio hearing them record live.

On the Derek Trucks CD (a much more modern recording) things really opened up. The highs were crystalline, the midrange was spot-on and the imaging was even better.

Jamiroquai (again more modern, "digital" music) wasn't as outstanding. These types of recordings (in my opinion) require more bass than these .5's were capable of putting out. The highs were exciting, but didn't provide the low-end I desired. But, then again, these speakers are very obviously not made to really throw out the low stuff.

On the whole, these speakers seemed very flat and without coloration (And I do not consider this a fault, believe me). I think this is why they didn't "run up and grab me" like some other speakers do. I felt like these speakers were giving me as close to an exact representation of the recording as possible. Again, these were Thiel attributes I had commonly heard...and in this case it rang true. Don't get me wrong about the bass attributes, on most music the bass was musical and well-represented. It was the super-low, in your face bass that was lacking (not necessarily a bad thing-depends on your preference.) I think that for most "analog" music the bass would be sufficient.

I have many other speakers to listen too in this price range (Maggie 1.6's, B&W DM604's, Paradigm Ref. Studio 60's etc..and a whole range of bookshelves mated with subwoofers) So I haven't quite made up my mind. I will DEFINITELY be listening to these again when I get around to hearing those other speakers, as they are still on my list. I would be very interested in hearing these guys mated to a good, musical subwoofer, too.

This is a tough decision, as I REALLY liked these speakers...but...I give 'em four stars, only missing five for their slight lack of bass. IMHO, 5 star speakers should be PERFECT.

I Agree with most of you who think Thiel 0.5 lack of bass. It is especially true when it is play in a large room and pair with tube power amp. That's the show room condition I heard this speaker. It sound really good with Golden tube Audio 40se, with only 40w/ch the bass is a little weak, but the midrange and high are truely beautiful for a speaker cost about $1500. Other speakers I like in this price range are Vandersteen 2ce, B&W 805, but thiel is the one I like most.
OK, may be I am biased. I actually like all thiel products, I own a pair of Thiel 22. However, the things I hate with Thiel speakers are their unadjustable spikes and the location of their cable connectors. Unless your floor is perfectly level, you need adjustable spikes. I strongly believe unlevel speaker degrade sound quality.

As a conclusion, this speaker is an overachiever. For the price, sound quality, build quality, and furnish are excellent!!

Natural sound, good details, fast response, great image

Need careful system match, have a hard time to reproduce large scale music

I am satisfy with my baby Thiel in my living room for 8 months. This speaker bring a lot of music to my everyday life.
I enjoy music from pop, jazz, vocal to classics. With a delicate amplifier, the female sound could be enchant. With a powerful amplifier, the music will be very solid and fast. With the right amplification, the music is very lovely. The best match I ever hear is with Krell. Of course, not many people will use a Krell to match this small baby. However, a wide range of high quality Japanese amplifier can do the job. This is what I choose for my Thiel.
However, with a mis-match system, the sound will be too bright and the bass will be a little few. Having a reasonable amplifier, I use cables with soft high and rich mid/bass to fine tune my system. The result is very good. Of course, speaker placement will make a difference, too.
However, the limitation is still there for a small box. When I listen to symphony or similar music, I can not get the scale I want. I have heard the scale I want from Genesis AMP-1, Genesis G1, top Eggleston, and the like. Thus, I can't blame my baby Thiel. I understand that I can't satisfy unless I upgrade to a much higher level.
The bass is enough for me. I like solid bass rather than big but messy bass. Still, I add a M&K sub for my home theater application. I found that this is a good add to music performance but need careful match.
Not a perfect speaker for sure. If I want to pursuit vocals only, I will go for Sonus Faber with valve amplifier. If I want rock, I may go for other US brands such as NHT or AR. If I only go for classics, I may choose British brands. If I need 80% for everything, my Thiel is doing a good job.
Rating may not be fair to evaluate a speaker because there is no "perfect speaker". For this price, I think Thiel CS.5 is very good. There are very good ones around with this price. However, personal taste and need is everything.

Similar Products Used:

KEF, B&W, Sonus Faber

TIGHT bass - very clear reproduction of acoustic instruments

could have a little higher soundstage - but since I listen sitting down, I don't notice it

Outstanding - these fill my admittedly small listening room with sound. Imaging and clarity are unbelievable. For those of you who think they lack bass, listen to modern recordings by someone like Stanley Turrentine or Houston Person - bass is more than adequate. (I always wonder what someone who complains about a component was listening to at the time. Was there a lot of bass in the recording to begin with, or are you automatically disappointed at a lack of THUMP THUMP THUMP?)

Two hints to get the most out of these speakers. First, make sure you have the best CD player you can find. I couldn't believe the difference in clarity when I junked my old Sony for an Arcam 8SE. Second, get the speakers as far apart as you can - ten to twelve feet minimum. If you won't follow these two suggestions, buy something else - you aren't giving the Thiels a chance to sound their best, and you'll wonder why you spent all that money.

Similar Products Used:

Auditioned B&W - don't remember model. Have had Thiels since late 1995 and been happy with them ever since

As I contemplate upgrading my home theater speakers (B&W DM602) I had a chance to listen to these. Upfront they were out of my price range, but I had never heard Thiels before so I thought why not. I was most disappointed with these more as a value for the money play than anything else. Yes it is a nice speaker but at $1450 pr., I really felt that they would never satisfy me. After having read all of the glowing mass media advertising mag suck up reviews I expected more. Not much bass (ok, small box), good image (just don't move your head) and a very flat, neutral sound (not what I had heard about Thiel). At the end of my demo (my discs, Sheffield Lab, 20Bit Narada etc.) the salesman senses my disapointment and basically says that I really need to listen to the 1.5's (2250 pr.) because that is a "much better speaker" (salesman). He basically downplayed the .5 as a poor attempt by Thiel citing the difference in construction and the fact that is only a "2-way" (salesman). Then he went on to point put that the Rega CD player is not his favorite sounding player (?) and that the Transparent Music Wave Plus cable tends to affect sound quality because of the network (huh?) making the speakers sound dull. After this dismal foray I will probably keep my 602's and keep looking.

uncolored, honest presentation, great imaging, naturalness to vocals.

last octave of bass

Well, after reading a few reviews, I must be doing -everything- wrong. My baby Thiels are set up in a pseudo equilateral triangle arrangement, they're slightly toed in, I sit WAY too close, and I dare to use interconnects and speaker cable that some consider bright. Wow. Thing is, these are not in the least bit bright and sound great in my limited space!. My earlier Thiel 04a's had a much hotter tweeter, although not 'edgy' or obnoxious. In my listening room, with my meager associated equipment, the .5's provide the least colored and most coherent sound at anywhere near the buck. These are the most important characteristics for me, as most other speakers impart a grain or coloration to vocals and instruments in a manner than offends me, whereas the Thiels are much more natural, and also, unfortunately, very revealing of poor source material. As most of the current crop of CDs are recorded rather bright and edgy at times... well, then the Thiels will sound a bit bright and edgy. Can't help you there. Give the .5's some good program material, and they just might be your ticket. They tend to err on the side of subtraction rather than addition, in that they do not add what is not there, and I find their reputed lack of bass only to be a problem for hard core funk and R&B, in most everything else it's fine. The quality of your cabling and front end definitely make a difference in the quality of the bass, so don't skimp there. At 1500/pair, there are compromises to be made. I hate edgy sounding or tonally colored speakers, being that I've heard (and lust after) 'the good stuff' (Pipedreams, big Martin Logans), so I'm very happy with the .5's, although there are certainly a lot of very good choices out there you should investigate as well. But 'bright', in my room, no, the .5's are far from that.

Associated Equipment:

Rega Planet 2000
Marantz PM57 Integrated
AR Turntable / Mission774 arm / Grado 8mr
Kimber Silver Streak Interconnects
Kimber 4TC speaker cable

Similar Products Used:

other Thiels, heard most everything else

Ease of placement, overall musical presentation, and appearance

I am very surprised at the overall rating of this speaker from Thiel. I bought the CS.5 about a year ago now and have only grown to like them more and more. The best way to describe the CS.5 is 4 out of 5 in every way you could judge based on the audio or appearance. They may not be 5/5 for any one area but I just got sick and tired of other rave speakers that did 5/5 on one trait and 3/5 on the others. This lead to a very frustrating search. I am extremely happy to have found the Thiel CS.5. Also, I have put them on 4” custom MDF stands that help lift up the sound stage.

The following is a list of speakers I auditioned in my search. This should help give an idea of my preferences and why I bought the Thiels.

Thiel CS1.5, great overall, slightly out of budget and there is a hardness in the upper mids, too analytical
EPOS 12, excellent clarity but the soundstage was within the speakers, frustratingly small
Proac Table, loved them but I wanted more base, sound stage smaller than Thiel
B&W 601, 602, 605?, too dry, bass hump
Paradigm Studio 20, Active 20, Studio 100, why does Paradigm, Mirage, Energy insist of 60-100Hz emphasis. I have tried to love these brands as they are really cost effective but that bass just gets in the way of the music
Totem One and Signature, excellent sound stage, some lower mid colouration and a tad bright, the lower mid colouration gave a signature to all types of music but mostly on vocals.

Style, build quality, Thiel's customer service, openness.

Accurate but not low bass, binding post location

THis is nothing but a quick note. I love these speakers! It is that simple. I have looked at other types of speakers, specifically Aerial 7B-which were nice but were they 4times nicer? I always come back to the Thiels and enjoy them. I use them for stereo and HT currently. My hopes are to upgrade to 2.3s soon. These speakers may not be for you, but if you are looking at speakers that range from $1000-$1500 you need to listen to these!

B&K 307
Acurus A250
Bettercables
Thiel SCS center

Similar Products Used:

B&W.
Compared to PSB, Paradigm

As soon as I set them up the one thing they had that they didn't in the dealer's showroom was bass. Now of course the dealer showroom had 16ft ceilings which would give any speaker more work having to fill such a volume. The 55hz rating by Thiel is a little conservative. They had about as much low frequency output as did my Klipsch Epic Series 2, which use two 8 inch drivers. Everything above the bass is very nice. They soundstage and image wonderfully and voices are very solid, while not being hard. I wouldn't use tubes with this speaker. However, it has the kindest impedence of all the Thiel floorstanders so it is the best match for alot of tube gear that would get used with a speaker in its price range. Its rated 87db efficiency is also probably a little low, but not high enough for most triodes. I like them alot and give them three stars.