96/100
Pros: Great Sound Quality, Fantastic Imaging (wall-to-wall /
floor-to-ceiling), The Most Solid Build Quality, Good Value,
Excellent Finish, A Spectacular Combination for Both Music &
Movies. A great value.
Cons: Very revealing. These speakers will reveal faults in your
electronics or the recording.
MCS-1 in black $2,200/ea, CS-2.4 $3,900 the pair - depending
upon finish
Thiel Audio has a stellar reputation in the audiophile community.
For years they resisted the temptation to take the multi channel
plunge. Jim Thiel's philosophy is if you can't do it right, don't
bother. He bothered. It was definitely worth it.
Thiel has introduced a whole range of custom installation and
multi-channel products over the last few years. The MCS-1 is the
flagship of the custom install product range. I sports a pair of
6-1/2" woofers flanking a coaxial mid/tweeter combination. Unlike
many (most?) speaker manufacturers, even premium ones, the
drivers are designed and built in-house. They can be used as a
center when combined with a pair of other Thiel speakers as is
done here, or can be used in triplicate as a front stage.
The CS-2.4 is a replacement for the CS-2.3, which was a favorite
in the Thiel lineup. The new speaker not only features improved
sonic qualities, but is much easier to drive. This eliminates what
has been a knock against Thiel speakers for years. They can be
a very difficult load for your electronics. Thankfully, that is not an
issue here.
The 2.4s, while certainly benefiting from premium electronics, do
not require it. An amp from the likes of Adcom, NAD or Rotel will
do just fine. There is no need to break out the Krell or Levinson
gear. I have listened to these speakers for extended periods with
Adcom, NAD & B&K electronics and have been quite pleased.
Just by looking at these speakers, you can tell they are something
beyond your average speaker. Fit & finish is impeccable. Thiel
offers several standard wood veneers in addition to custom
finishes. They even go so far as to veneer each speaker in a pair
from the same tree to ensure consistency in the grain pattern.
Build quality is extremely solid. The cabinets resonate about like a
cinder block; very solid.
I listened to these speakers with my reference Bryston gear after
thoroughly breaking them in with a variety of different electronics.
The Thiels definitely benefit from a good break-in period. After
break in, the speakers really loosened up, delivering extreme
transparency, and just about disappeared completely! One
characteristic of Thiel's minimum phase crossover design is the
way it allows the speaker to completely recreate the space around
the instruments. This is partially due to the extremely low
distortion, short coil/long gap driver design. The imaging is
sublime in the way it extends far beyond the outside of the
speaker trio. It redefines the term "sound stage".
This combination of the MCS-1 center and the CS-2.4s for left
and right really delivers incredible dynamics along with the
fantastic sense of transparency and broad, 3D image. They can
convey every subtle nuance and texture and then instantly
recreate the most horrific explosion with equal aplomb.
A hallmark of Thiel speakers has always been scads of low and
very articulate bass. The 2.4s deliver in spades. You could even
get by without a sub if you had to. Not that I recommend ditching
your sub, but most subs fail to define the bass and don't offer the
intricate texture that the Thiels are capable of way down low. Of
course Jim Thiel has developed a solution for that as well, but that
is a subject for another time.
As could be expected for a combination of this pedigree, this trio
integrates spectacularly well. They are extremely well matched
sonicly. The MCS-1 has all the dynamics of the 2.4 without the
very low bass reproduction. One great aspect of these speakers
is their ability to sound so natural. Nothing is altered from the
original recording.
I have listened to this combination with a B&K AVR-507 receiver
and was quite surprised. Voices and nature sounds I assumed
were coming through an open door when I had my back turned to
the speakers, were actually being reproduced by the Thiels! You
can imagine the results with a stack of good separates.
In short, these speakers offer an outstanding combination for
those who demand spectacular performance for both music and
home theater. They will not disappoint on either count. Build
quality and sound quality from a really high quality group of
people. This combination is a winner!
Pros: Great Sound Quality, Fantastic Imaging (wall-to-wall /
floor-to-ceiling), The Most Solid Build Quality, Good Value,
Excellent Finish, A Spectacular Combination for Both Music &
Movies. A great value.
Cons: Very revealing. These speakers will reveal faults in your
electronics or the recording.
MCS-1 in black $2,200/ea, CS-2.4 $3,900 the pair - depending
upon finish
Thiel Audio has a stellar reputation in the audiophile community.
For years they resisted the temptation to take the multi channel
plunge. Jim Thiel's philosophy is if you can't do it right, don't
bother. He bothered. It was definitely worth it.
Thiel has introduced a whole range of custom installation and
multi-channel products over the last few years. The MCS-1 is the
flagship of the custom install product range. I sports a pair of
6-1/2" woofers flanking a coaxial mid/tweeter combination. Unlike
many (most?) speaker manufacturers, even premium ones, the
drivers are designed and built in-house. They can be used as a
center when combined with a pair of other Thiel speakers as is
done here, or can be used in triplicate as a front stage.
The CS-2.4 is a replacement for the CS-2.3, which was a favorite
in the Thiel lineup. The new speaker not only features improved
sonic qualities, but is much easier to drive. This eliminates what
has been a knock against Thiel speakers for years. They can be
a very difficult load for your electronics. Thankfully, that is not an
issue here.
The 2.4s, while certainly benefiting from premium electronics, do
not require it. An amp from the likes of Adcom, NAD or Rotel will
do just fine. There is no need to break out the Krell or Levinson
gear. I have listened to these speakers for extended periods with
Adcom, NAD & B&K electronics and have been quite pleased.
Just by looking at these speakers, you can tell they are something
beyond your average speaker. Fit & finish is impeccable. Thiel
offers several standard wood veneers in addition to custom
finishes. They even go so far as to veneer each speaker in a pair
from the same tree to ensure consistency in the grain pattern.
Build quality is extremely solid. The cabinets resonate about like a
cinder block; very solid.
I listened to these speakers with my reference Bryston gear after
thoroughly breaking them in with a variety of different electronics.
The Thiels definitely benefit from a good break-in period. After
break in, the speakers really loosened up, delivering extreme
transparency, and just about disappeared completely! One
characteristic of Thiel's minimum phase crossover design is the
way it allows the speaker to completely recreate the space around
the instruments. This is partially due to the extremely low
distortion, short coil/long gap driver design. The imaging is
sublime in the way it extends far beyond the outside of the
speaker trio. It redefines the term "sound stage".
This combination of the MCS-1 center and the CS-2.4s for left
and right really delivers incredible dynamics along with the
fantastic sense of transparency and broad, 3D image. They can
convey every subtle nuance and texture and then instantly
recreate the most horrific explosion with equal aplomb.
A hallmark of Thiel speakers has always been scads of low and
very articulate bass. The 2.4s deliver in spades. You could even
get by without a sub if you had to. Not that I recommend ditching
your sub, but most subs fail to define the bass and don't offer the
intricate texture that the Thiels are capable of way down low. Of
course Jim Thiel has developed a solution for that as well, but that
is a subject for another time.
As could be expected for a combination of this pedigree, this trio
integrates spectacularly well. They are extremely well matched
sonicly. The MCS-1 has all the dynamics of the 2.4 without the
very low bass reproduction. One great aspect of these speakers
is their ability to sound so natural. Nothing is altered from the
original recording.
I have listened to this combination with a B&K AVR-507 receiver
and was quite surprised. Voices and nature sounds I assumed
were coming through an open door when I had my back turned to
the speakers, were actually being reproduced by the Thiels! You
can imagine the results with a stack of good separates.
In short, these speakers offer an outstanding combination for
those who demand spectacular performance for both music and
home theater. They will not disappoint on either count. Build
quality and sound quality from a really high quality group of
people. This combination is a winner!
| Thiel coaxial midrange / tweeter |
The MCS-1 center
channel speaker
channel speaker
Click photos to
enlarge
enlarge
Thiel Audio
CS-2.4 / MCS-1
LCR speaker combo
CS-2.4 / MCS-1
LCR speaker combo
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