This surprised me, given the efforts Jim Thiel makes to minimize distortion in his woofers. Part of the problem seems to be "chuffing" coming from the shallow port.…
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But there still wasn't any deep bass, nor was there the "rounded" quality to the upper bass that I had found appealing with the Mirage MRM-1, reviewed elsewhere in this issue. On the 1/3-octave warble tones on Test CD 3, the speaker really didn't want to "give" any lower than the 63Hz band in-room, and was producing some doubling at lower frequencies. The end result was a rather "gruff" quality to the Thiel's low registers.
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Three-way, stand-mounted, reflex-loaded loudspeaker. Drive-units (all anodized aluminum): 1" (25mm) dome tweeter coaxially mounted in 4" (76mm) cone midrange; 6.5" (165mm) cone woofer. Bandwidth: 55Hz-23kHz, -3dB. Frequency response: 57Hz-18kHz, ±2dB. Phase response: ±10 degrees, minimum. Sensitivity: 87dB/2.83V/m. Impedance: 4 ohms nominal, 3.3 ohms minimum. Recommended power: 50-200W.
Dimensions: 19" (483mm) H by 7.25" (185mm) W by 11.5" (292mm) D. Weight: 30 lbs (13.6kg) each.
Serial numbers of units reviewed: 367, 368.
Finishes:…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Office System
Digital source: Meridian 500 CD transport, Panasonic A-120 CD/DVD player, Musical Fidelity X-24K 24/96 D/A processor.
Amplification: Yamaha @PET RP-U100 desktop receiver.
Cables: Canare interconnects, AudioQuest CV-4 and Symo loudspeaker cables.
Accessories: Pentium MMX 166MHz with Digital Audio Labs CardDeluxe soundcard connected to D/A via 75 ohm S/PDIF link, running Windows 98, WinAmp 2.5, and CoolEdit 2000.
Home system
Digital source: Mark Levinson No.31.5 CD transport and No.30.6 D/A processor, connected with…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
To judge from his speaker designs---all of which feature generally low impedances---Jim Thiel has no sympathy for amplifier designers. While not as demanding as some Thiel speakers, the PCS's impedance magnitude (fig.1) hovers between 4 and 6 ohms over most of the band, and drops to 3 ohms in the lower midrange. Note also the punishing combination of 4 ohms magnitude and 55 degrees capacitive phase angle at 120Hz. This is a speaker that needs to be driven by an amplifier rated into 2 ohms to give of its best. But at least that amplifier doesn't have to be very…
In the vertical plane, the PCS's dispersion pattern (fig.5) indicates that it is very important not to sit with your ears above the tweeter, as a deep suckout appears around 700Hz (presumably where the woofer crosses over to the coaxial unit) even as little as 5 degrees above that axis. High stands will be better than low ones. The spatially averaged in-room response (fig.6) ties in pretty well with my auditioning comment: a basically flat balance with restricted bass extension and perhaps a little too much energy in the region covered by the coaxial unit.
Fig.5 Thiel PCS, vertical…
That's right, that's no typo; the name of this speaker is the Thiel CS.5—not 1.5, not 8.5, just point five. The CS.5 is the smallest of Thiel's floorstanding CS (Coherent Source) loudspeaker family, and is likely to remain so—a name like CS.125, for example, is a bit unwieldy. If you're familiar with the rest of Thiel's CS line, then you can imagine what the CS.5 looks like: it resembles the other CS speakers, except it's smaller (footnote 1). And, being a typical smartypants 'ender (as in "high-ender"), I bet you think you know 'zactly how these sound, too, don't you? Well? I thought so.…
The CS.5's supplied spikes, unlike the binding posts, are as user-friendly as they come. Instead of the usual fiddly screw-in models (complete with lock nuts), you get three slip-in spikes per speaker. Just insert spike A into hole B, and you're done. They form a pretty tight fit; every time I picked a speaker up, they stayed firmly seated. Of course, my listening-room floor is flat; if yours isn't, well, maybe you should consider a new home.
Finally, each and every audio manufacturer (hell, any manufacturer) should study what the Thielfolk do for user documentation. If you pay attention…
With the audio system in the room that now houses what passes for a "Home Theater" setup, I had been extremely underwhelmed by the spatial effects on this LP. I realize now that the primary reason for the ho-hum presentation was that that room was a nightmare for imaging, with a sliding glass door for the right wall, no wall for the left wall, a ceiling that slopes downward from left to right, a partial wall behind the speakers...I could go on, but you get the idea. But neither was I certain that part of the problem wasn't because it was an LP, not a CD, figuring that maybe those tricky…
As for 1, this wasn't a problem with most music I listened to; however, pieces that tended to flex the walls and let me feel the low notes, via the Vandersteens, had less impact with the Thiels. "The Gates of Däfos," from Däfos (Reference RR-12 CD), was a good example of this: when The Beast gets dropped, I didn't feel it with the Thiels, whereas I did with the 'steens (and even more so with mightier bass-reproducers).
Now for 2: we're not quite talking "one-note bass"—more like "two- or three-note bass." I could differentiate the pitch on these lower notes, but just. Not bad for what's…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Thiel CS.5Two-way, ported, floorstanding loudspeaker. Drive-units: 6.5" paper-cone woofer, 1" aluminum-dome tweeter. Frequency response: 55Hz-20kHz ±3dB. Phase response: minimum ±10 degrees. Sensitivity: 87dB/2.8V/m. Impedance: 4 ohms, 3.2 ohms minimum. Recommended power: 30-150W.
Dimensions: 8" W by 11" D by 31" H. Weight: 35 lbs.
Serial numbers of units reviewed: 0545/6.
Price: $1350/pair; $1380/pair, West Coast price; walnut or black finishes (optional finishes extra). Warranty: 10 years. Approximate number of dealers: 55.
Manufacturer: Thiel,…