Thanks All for the ideas,
I have been a transparency and detail guy since 1992 when I got my Apogee Slant 6 speakers. In '95 I bought some Vandy 2CEs for a secondary system and liked them a lot, but in comparison with the Apogees felt they were somewhat veiled and a bit less detailed.
In 2011 I ran into a very good deal locally on some Thiel 3.5s and decided to take a chance on them based on their reputation, even though they sounded mediocre in the seller's mid-fi system. I was somewhat surprized and pleased that they sounded more transparent, detailed and had tighter bass than my Apogees. The only problem was that they seemed a little bright at first and required upgrading my electronics to sound really good. With a Threshold pre and C-J 2300A amp feeding them they were a big step up from my previous system. Out of curiosity, I did try out the Slant 6s and 2CEs with the new electronics and did feel that while both responded very nicely, I still preferred the 3.5s by a good margin. At this point decided that I liked the Thiel "house sound".
Shortly after this I converted a little used TV room to a "man cave" and moved the audio system there. Looking for even better sound there, after getting much help form Agoners, I bought some new Thiel 2.4 demos at a great price and moved the 3.5s into the bigger room which has now become my secondary system.
Hence the original post looking to improve the sound in that room. What I was wondering about, since I haven't located any 3.6 Thiels, is whether I had other good options given my listening tastes. I am a big believer in buying used and don't want to audition something at a dealer if I know I am not going to buy there so I lack info as to what other possibilities there might be.
There have been advances in speaker design since the 3.5s came out and who knows that the Vandy 3A Sig does not have more of what I am looking for than the 3.5s do. I don't feel that my 2CEs do, but that too is an older design. Stereophile rates the PSB Synchrony 1s class A, but do they have more transparency and detail than the 3.5s? I don't know. So, given the helpful insights I have been given here in the past, I posted looking for suggestions from folks who were familiar with the Thiel sound and were aware of other affordable options that I should consider. Perhaps I should have listed the subject as "Affordable options to Thiel 3.5s which would be a step up in detail, transparency and bass taughtness". Anyway, given this clarification of what I am looking for help with, does anyone have any thoughts to share? My secondary system electronics are ARC 14 pre and Hafler 9500 power and I recognize that I will probably need to upgrade the Hafler to get the best out of anything that is a step up from the 3.5s. And yes, I realize that the 3.5s would improve with better amplification, but they can't catch the 2.4s since I have compared them in the same room with the really good electronics.
Thanks in advance,
I have been a transparency and detail guy since 1992 when I got my Apogee Slant 6 speakers. In '95 I bought some Vandy 2CEs for a secondary system and liked them a lot, but in comparison with the Apogees felt they were somewhat veiled and a bit less detailed.
In 2011 I ran into a very good deal locally on some Thiel 3.5s and decided to take a chance on them based on their reputation, even though they sounded mediocre in the seller's mid-fi system. I was somewhat surprized and pleased that they sounded more transparent, detailed and had tighter bass than my Apogees. The only problem was that they seemed a little bright at first and required upgrading my electronics to sound really good. With a Threshold pre and C-J 2300A amp feeding them they were a big step up from my previous system. Out of curiosity, I did try out the Slant 6s and 2CEs with the new electronics and did feel that while both responded very nicely, I still preferred the 3.5s by a good margin. At this point decided that I liked the Thiel "house sound".
Shortly after this I converted a little used TV room to a "man cave" and moved the audio system there. Looking for even better sound there, after getting much help form Agoners, I bought some new Thiel 2.4 demos at a great price and moved the 3.5s into the bigger room which has now become my secondary system.
Hence the original post looking to improve the sound in that room. What I was wondering about, since I haven't located any 3.6 Thiels, is whether I had other good options given my listening tastes. I am a big believer in buying used and don't want to audition something at a dealer if I know I am not going to buy there so I lack info as to what other possibilities there might be.
There have been advances in speaker design since the 3.5s came out and who knows that the Vandy 3A Sig does not have more of what I am looking for than the 3.5s do. I don't feel that my 2CEs do, but that too is an older design. Stereophile rates the PSB Synchrony 1s class A, but do they have more transparency and detail than the 3.5s? I don't know. So, given the helpful insights I have been given here in the past, I posted looking for suggestions from folks who were familiar with the Thiel sound and were aware of other affordable options that I should consider. Perhaps I should have listed the subject as "Affordable options to Thiel 3.5s which would be a step up in detail, transparency and bass taughtness". Anyway, given this clarification of what I am looking for help with, does anyone have any thoughts to share? My secondary system electronics are ARC 14 pre and Hafler 9500 power and I recognize that I will probably need to upgrade the Hafler to get the best out of anything that is a step up from the 3.5s. And yes, I realize that the 3.5s would improve with better amplification, but they can't catch the 2.4s since I have compared them in the same room with the really good electronics.
Thanks in advance,