Joliet Jim

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
I bought these in 1982 at Audio Consultants in Evanston. I use them to drive a 1964 Fisher 500-C tube receiver, and the combination astonishes friends who come over for a listen.

We auditioned the Thiels against quite a few speakers costing more, and my lady friend, the oboe player, made the choice. In 1982, these speakers cost $1400, and that was not cheap then.

I suppose if I had many thousands of dollars to spend, I would upgrade to the Thiel's latest top-of -the line.

But these old speakers are in perfect condition and display a fabulous presence: clear, clean and very dynamic, and I am so happy with them, I think I'd actually use inherited money to buy something else. Maybe, maybe a subwoofer. But the bass is pretty good just the way these speakers came from the factory.

rickywallace

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 1.00 votes

Price Paid:  $1600.00 from Sound Gallery, Lexin

Summary:
Dear Thiel fans,

I am still using my Thiel CS2s. I purchased them in 1988, for about $1600 and had only one problem: replacing a driver. They have been marvelous. My system consists of mostly budget audiophile components: Adcom 555 amp, PS Audio 4.6 preamp, Thorens 146 turntable, cheap Sony cd player, Arcam tuner, Arcici turntable stand. That's about it except for the wires and interconnects.

The Thiels are some of the greatest speakers that I've ever heard. I am thinking about buying the 2.4s in the Crutchfield cataolog. I think they cost about $2400.
Also, I'm thinking about buying the NAD 515 BEE cd player to soften my system. If you can afford Thiels, buy them. Crutchfield's price ifor the 2.4s is very reasonable!

Strengths:
Ruthlessly revealiing, neutral, and accurate throughout its range. You must get used to no coloration-perfect neutrality.

Weaknesses:
None!

Price Paid:  $500.00 from Audio Consultants

Summary:
Incredibly detailed, transparent speaker with an immense soundstage and airy highs.
Awesome value, (I picked them up for 500$ in a teak finish).

I'm running them off an elderly reciever from the late 70s (150 wpc), and I'm quite satisfied. A sub will be added for that extra response in the bass, but otherwise quite wonderful. Of the speakers I auditioned, I found these to be superior to all but the Magnepan 1.6QR (and obviously it's larger siblings), but with a difference of 1000$, the choice was easy.

Strengths:
-Incredibly detailed, smooth highs (not bright as I have often heard them to be reviewed)

- Midrange was smooth, and nearly perfect, only paling in comparison to magnepans that I've heard.

- Phenomenal build quality with real wood veneers and reasonably attractive grilles.

- Incredible price-performance ratio. I found these to be superior to the B&W XT4, which retails for 2500$ a pair, in comparison to the 500$ I paid for my CS2s.

Weaknesses:
- Bass, while well defined was not nearly as firm and extended as it could have ideally been. I will be adding a subwoofer fairly soon in order to rectify this, but usable tones cut out around 33 hz, and it trails off sharply after 38-39 hz or so.

- Still not as dynamic and agressive as other auditioned speakers (this could be argued to be a pro)

- Power is required for proper use. Lots of power. 150 wpc works just fine for me.

Similar Products Used:
B&W DM602s3
Paradigm S2
Magnepan 1.6QR
B&W XT4

MarioM

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Visitors rate this review
4.00 of 5, 1.00 votes

Price Paid:  $700.00 from Audio Club

Summary:
This is the first version of the cs2 that i have. The spec is : bw 42Hz-22KHz +/- 3 db, very flat amplitude response 43hz-20KHz +/- 2 db, phase response min +/- 10 degrees, sensitivity 87 dB ([at] 1 watt-meter, impedance 6 ohms, rec power 40-250 watts, size 31x31x100 cm, weight 62 lbs each. I have buy the speaker first and i have buy all the others components of my audio system after for matching with this speaker. I have noticed that with wrong component these speaker can sound bright. I chose my component for having a soft and warm sound whithout loosing on openness and precison. my associated equipment is : Jolida jd1501rc hybrid integrated amp, Van den Hul cs-122 speaker cables, the brand new Rega Apollo cd player (it is fantastic with the Thiel). The interconnect for the cd is a audioquest anaconda that give a extra openness and clarity. My mitsubishi da-f20 tuner match also very well with this setup. the result is unbelivable for a old speaker. This speaker are a bargain.

Strengths:
Analog sound, precise imaging, can listen long time with no fatigue. A can ear all detail at low level

Weaknesses:
none at this price

analogmaster

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Visitors rate this review
4.00 of 5, 3.00 votes

Price Paid:  $550.00 from Brack Electronics

Summary:
In the past, I have had bookshelf speakers with me, I did have an oppertunity to try out floorstanders, but the three or four different models I tried, did not work for me, cuz I was always aware of their presence, they did not disappear leaving with a soundstage only like their bookshelf couterparts. I have had some really great souding booKshelf speakers such as Totem Mite, Dynaudio Audience 42, Mission M60i, Linn Tukan, Mission 771e, Energy C2, and out of all these speakers, Energy C2s were in my system for over 5 years, all others spent 6 months to a year. I just happen to go to this Brack Electronics which is in Thornhill, a subarb of Toronto. They had some really high quality gear there, such as Mark Levinson, Classe, Dynaudio and other great gear which is out of reach for most of us. And just on my way out, I saw a pair of used Thiels. I asked if I can audition them, sales person said that I am welcome to audition them, and set them up and connected them with a Rotel integrated amp, and Classe CD player, I had my own cd with me, Eagles "The Long Run" album. The first thing I noticed that these Thiels, which were about 40 inches tall, totally disappeared and all remained was music only, it sounded so good, you could almost "Touch it", I was sold within a minute. These are used, there are some minor nicks but overall they are in really good condition, three way, that was the first time that I bought/heard a three way speaker system. Once I got them home, they are very heavy, about 62lbs each, my wife liked them alot for their looks, when I played Patrick O'Hearn's "So Flows the Current" cd, my wife and I, both of use were floored, for the first time in my life, I heard that re-produced music can be re-produced just like a live show, guys and girls, you really have to be here with me, these speakers sound so real, it is beyond beliefe. From now on, I will not even consider a two-way design, you are not going to get tremendous bass out of a 6 inch woofer and a tweeter, you have to have bigger drivers and it should be three-way, just like these Thiels, it has 8 inch woofer, 4.5inch mid and 1inch tweeter. Everything else sounded great hifi, with these Thiels in the chain, it sounds live, but remember, you have to use a half decent recording, you cannot put on a crapy recording and expect these to produce phenominal sound, they would not, you would hear exactly what is on the recording. In other words, there is no coloration of any kind here, some speakers, including floor standers, they emphasis in one area but lacking somewhere else. These Thiels CS2, which were manufactured between 1988 to 1992, are totally honest and have unclored sound, and for the price I paid, which is in Cnd funds, they are a steal. If you can find these used, buy them, you will stop looking for speakers, I guarantee it.

Strengths:
Silky mids and highs,so real you can touch them, tremendous bass, they disappear totally leaving soundstage only.

Weaknesses:
Once you listen to these, you will get hooked and would not settle for anything else.

Similar Products Used:
The other floorstanders I had were Signet, Mission 773e, Studio Labs.