THIEL CS 2.2

Pre owned. In fair condition. Shows several signs of wear. Original packaging not included.

The Thiel CS2 2 is a three-way floor-standing loudspeaker that builds on the legacy of the renowned CS2 but represents a completely redesigned and modernized project, with construction and sound quality that exceed its price range. While retaining the signature sloped front baffle and the use of first-order 6 dB/octave crossovers, the CS2 2 incorporates radically different technical solutions: the tweeter is no longer a fabric dome but a custom-made 1" aluminum dome by Vifa in Denmark, also used in Thiel’s flagship CS5, featuring a short voice coil and wide surround to allow excursions up to ±1.5 mm and support a first-order crossover. The midrange is a 3" cone covering only two musical octaves, from 800 Hz to 3 kHz, while the 8" woofer features a unique double-diaphragm design that, despite increasing moving mass, provides stiffness and drastically reduces resonances up to 3 kHz. The woofer’s motor system is also optimized, with a long voice coil moving in a compact magnet, shaped pole pieces to maintain a symmetrical magnetic field, and copper rings to reduce distortion, while low-frequency response is handled by an elliptical 6" × 9" passive radiator that replaces the traditional reflex port, extending response without transmitting internal cabinet resonances.

The CS2 2’s crossover comprises 26 elements made from 35 components, including custom polystyrene capacitors and air-core inductors wound with low-oxygen copper, with electrical connections via 5-way binding posts on the speaker’s base. The cabinet is surprisingly sophisticated: the 2"-thick front baffle is sloped to align the drivers for proper acoustic summation, built from two 1"-thick layers of contoured fiberboard shaped with CNC machinery to avoid diffractive edges around the tweeter and midrange. The enclosure is finished in real wood veneer from sustainably sourced exotic woods, extensively braced internally, and the midrange has its own cylindrical sub-enclosure to control resonances.

The result is a speaker with excellent build and finish, delivering smooth, tonally balanced sound extended at both ends of the spectrum. The CS2 2 impresses with musicality and transparency, offering a wide soundstage and natural reproduction, though care is needed in amplifier selection to manage slight brightness and limited deep-bass dynamics.

Specifications:

• Type: Three-way floor-standing loudspeaker with passive bass radiator (reflex)
• Drivers: 1" metal-dome tweeter; 3" cone midrange; 8" double-surface plastic-cone woofer; 6" × 9" elliptical passive bass radiator
• Crossover frequencies: 800 Hz; 3 kHz
• Crossover slopes: First-order, 6 dB/octave acoustic
• Frequency response: 33 Hz–27 kHz ±3 dB; 35 Hz–20 kHz ±2 dB
• Phase response: ±5° minimum
• Time response: 150 µs, –20 dB
• Sensitivity: 86 dB/W/m (2.83 V)
• Nominal impedance: 4 ohms (minimum 3 ohms)
• Amplifier requirements: 50–250 W
• Dimensions (H × W × D): 1067 × 305 × 330 mm
• Weight: 32 kg each