Thiel cs1.2 vintage Tower speakers - $100 (Rochester)

[Yukon888]

Not affiliated, but I'm wondering if these would be worth looking into?

http://rochester.craigslist.org/eld/5435199481.html

 

[Yukon888]

I have a Yamaha p2200 (240wpc) currently connected to ADS L880's. Would the Thiel's offer much improvement over the ADS's?

 

[PeerlessK]

Not a huge ADS fan but there are a few ADS speakers I like . The l880 wins here to my ears . I've owned the cs1.2 a few years back after two voice coil rubbing issues later . Fed up I sold them . Don't regret it iether because the l880 speaker came into play after . Had I gotten the ADS speakers while having the thiel 1.2 ,s I can definitely say the thiel would have been boxed up .

 

[sum of sand]

For what comes up around here I'd say 100 is pretty good deal
I saw these but since I picked my ba A200 for 80 and revamping them I'm pretty happy
From reviews it seems all 3 are pretty equal
The ad sounded like they make come down slightly due to condition

 

[Yukon888]

Thanks everyone for your replies, and thanks PeerlessK for sharing your experience with these speakers. I've decided to pass on the Thiels.

 

[soundmotor]

The L880 dips well into the 4-ohm range and any amp driving those should have no trouble.

 

[dezmond76]

If I didn't find a pair of l300's and ar9's in the last week, I probably would have inquired.

 

[RossW]

Different sounds, Thiels tend to be forward (I hesitate to say "bright" because it's not unpleasant, there's just more treble energy than most people are used to). I have a set of CS3.5 that have stuck around for 5+ years and won't be leaving any time soon. That being said ADS made some exceptional speakers, in a matchup of L880 vs CS1.2 I think it likely comes down the personal taste.

As for necessary amplification, the Thiels are a significantly more challenging load. The L880 is 8 ohm nominal (although they no doubt dip down into the 4s at times) and 89db efficient whereas the Thiels are 4 ohm nominal (if anything like their larger relatives they likely dip down to the 2 ohm range) and 87db efficient.

I would say a $100 pair of Thiels is always worth a listen.

 

[soundmotor]

The L880 is 8 ohm nominal (although they no doubt dip down into the 4s at times)

They really aren't, 4-ohm nominal would have been more accurate. They do hit 8-ohm somewhere in the upper octaves which let that 8-ohm "nominal" language stay in the specs...which was written by marketing not engineering. Many mid-level receivers of the era listed 8-16-ohm only when running both Speaker A & B together. Those would shut down if (2) sets of ADS were used. This was infrequent but it happened.

The sales floor solution when the customer returned (if nothing was torched) was to try and upgrade them into a receiver that could do it or sell them a speaker switch box w/ load protection to run the second set. This was an issue with post ~'82 on ADS speakers (L470-L1590). Earlier ones had a higher nominal Z but still more 6-ohm than 8-ohm.

I would say a $100 pair of Thiels is always worth a listen.

Ya think? Good grief yes.