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Trade my Infinity Quantum 4's for Thiel CS2?

Theother1

Theother1

Active Member
Hello All. I purchased a set of broken RS-5b's from a gentleman who lives close to me (we live in the sticks so finding others who really appreciate good sound). He has a set of Thiel CS2's and we are seriously considering trading. I will be putting up my Infinity Quantum 4's which are in great shape and sound wonderful. These are not my only Infinities in the stable, and not the best sounding. My concern is two fold. First, the Quantum 4's are somewhat rare as far as I can tell because they rarely come up for sale. Secondly, is this really an even swap?

Looking for some input. Neither of us wants to take advantage of the other, hence the question. Karmas is a bitch. Can't have her tracking me down!
 
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You're the one who can listen to both, not us. :)

But sharing the Infinity goodness with your friend seems a good thing to do to me, since you have other better infinities anyway. (And BTW, what are they?)
 
I just want to say hi to a fellow deadhead. My two cents though...if you have better infinities I'm sure you have sufficient power for the theils. Give them a shot.
 
QLS-1 and RS 2.5. Plus, just got the RS 5b's that need some serious work (great cabs though).

We have a side by side planned for tomorrow. At the very least, we will get a better appreciation of each others gear.
 
Jerryfan said:
I just want to say hi to a fellow deadhead. My two cents though...if you have better infinities I'm sure you have sufficient power for the theils. Give them a shot.
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And likewise to you! Thiels are on my bucket list (as are Maggies), so it is very tempting.
 
Let us know how that goes. Don't forget pics! With QLS-1 and RS 2.5 I woukd t think twice about trading.
 
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Keep the Infinity

The Theil is a bright, thin sounding speaker of, to my ears, very limited value. Arnie Nudell could hear better than Jim Theil (may he rest in peace).

keep the Infinity speakers - don't waste your time with Theil. A very colored speaker with a clear spectral imbalance. So the "audiofools" could brag about their "transparency". I.E. Transparency is Greek; it means soulless.
 
Even if the Thiels sound the same or better, there's still the market value. I bought my Thiel CS2's for $100, and I will never be able to find the Quantum 4's for less than $350. Those Watkins woofers alone are worth $300+ for the pair. If you like the Thiels, I would ask him to put in a little cash. The Quantum's are highly collectible and people will pay good money for those Watkins and that beautiful wood veneer all around which you don't see anywhere - even the front and back are veneered!!
 
slowpat said:
Even if the Thiels sound the same or better, there's still the market value. I bought my Thiel CS2's for $100, and I will never be able to find the Quantum 4's for less than $350. Those Watkins woofers alone are worth $300+ for the pair. If you like the Thiels, I would ask him to put in a little cash. The Quantum's are highly collectible and people will pay good money for those Watkins and that beautiful wood veneer all around which you don't see anywhere - even the front and back are veneered!!
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If you got CS2 for $100 you got damned lucky. On e-bay a really rough pair (with driver damage) went for $160 and a nice pair went for $415. If we're talking part-out prices the Dynaudio tweeters in the Thiels sell for $125 each all day long. I'd say market value is pretty close between the speakers.

I've heard Thiels and I've heard Infinities, the Thiels stayed. That being said, I'll be curious to hear your opinion after a back-to-back comparison.
 
I have always found Thiels to be bright and lacking deep bass also. Even the latest big ones need killer amplification to sound right. Example would be a friend who purchased the 3.7s without hearing them because of a good price. Amplification was NAD Master Series 5. They sounded awful to me. He later sold the NAD and got the Boulder Integrated which woke them up. I was still unimpressed and would prefer a Dynaudio in same price range any day.

The CS2s are from 1985.
 
Well, the side by side will need to wait. The mid domes are blown in the infinities, so I am in the middle of trying to repair that tiny little tinsel wire with the many helpful threads here. UGH! I am about 3/4th of the way with the first one. Let me tell you, it sucks! Not sure how they got destroyed in storage, but that is the case.

I just can't afford to run out and buy a Boulder amp. I suspect very few humans can afford one. So if the Aragon 4004 MKii can't push it properly, then they would not come home. I bet it can though.

With regard to the dollars. I have looked at it from several different angles, and I think the Q4's are slightly more valuable (by about $300). That being said, if the Thiels knock my socks off, I will not mind that part of it. It is the rarity and the looks of the Q4's that will be the hardest part. They really are beautiful speakers.

When we do side by side, I will try to write up my very first review. That is, if you all promise not to be to hard on me!
 
I can't speak about the CS2s, but I will say a bit about my Thiels...

Perhaps I'm deaf, but I really enjoy my Thiel 3.6s powered by a pair of Crown MT-1200s (with the quiet "studio" fans fitted) in parallel mono mode. Well-recorded and mastered high res digital (via a modified SFD-2 Mk.III) stuff is absolutely amazing... but I don't listen to much of that sort of thing. Most of the average studio-recorded pop/rock stuff I listen to is perfectly enjoyable. Only the really bad sounding stuff has me reaching for my PSB Stratus Bronzes.

That Aragon should work fine with CS2s.

Those Infinitys and Thiels are very different speakers with very different design goals. I don't think it's reasonable to say that either Arnie Nudell or Jim Thiel were deaf -- but they were definitely going for different stuff. Which one works better for you isn't something anyone can tell you...

The more obvious comparisons for Thiel are Vandersteen and Dunlavy -- Richard Vandersteen and John Dunlavy were also going for the time-domain-accuracy, low-diffraction stuff... despite their differences, I really like all three, and most other stuff sounds broken to me...
 
reddog48 said:
The Theil is a bright, thin sounding speaker of, to my ears, very limited value. Arnie Nudell could hear better than Jim Theil (may he rest in peace).

keep the Infinity speakers - don't waste your time with Theil. A very colored speaker with a clear spectral imbalance. So the "audiofools" could brag about their "transparency". I.E. Transparency is Greek; it means soulless.
Click to expand...

No way. I had a pair of Quantum III speakers over thirty years ago, a pair of Kappa 8.1i Series II, and a pair of Thiel CS2, at the same time as the Kappa's.

I think the Quantum III were best of them all, but it has been so long it's hard to really remember. What I can say for sure is that the Thiel were more listenable than the Kappa's, so the Kappa's had to go...

The CS2's are very revealing of poor quality equipment and will, possibly, sound thin if used with low current amplification.

I would give them both a listen on the same system, and be sure to use at least 200wpc of high current power if you are doing solid state and around 60wpc if going with tubes.

I drive my CS2's with a 250wpc Soundcraftsmen MA5002 and think they sound very full and neutral through the midrange, probably due to their first order crossover design. The cabinet on the Thiel is built way better and so are the drivers. This shows in outstanding coherence, ultra low distortion, they are utterly colorless on tonal portrayal, and unmatched musicality through the mids.
 
I'll take the Kappa 8.1s with its stellar build and sound quality over the CS2.
No contest although the CS2 sounds good, memory not an issue:)
 
Not me. The Kappa was really fatiguing to listen to. The Thiel was much easier to listen to and just sounded more organic.

The Kappa did have laser highs and was snappy sounding, but I could only listen for a few hours a day. With the Thiel the music is always playing...
 
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