I just bought Thiel CS 3.7s last week. I auditioned them at my local dealer with a 100 watt Macintosh tube amp and a Mac pre, which reproduced wonderful sound and were at least somewhat comparable to the performance of my VAC gear at home.
I also auditioned the CS2.7s, which sounded great in so many ways... but when we hooked up the 3.7s and played the same reference track... well, after the first three seconds of listening, I knew I was done for. I had to spend the money, as I've never heard anything like what these speakers pulled out of my records. I believe this speaker is a true breakthrough in high end loudspeaker design and will come to be known as the best value because to get this quality of sound, you could spend three or four times the $15k these cost. Which of course, means that matching amps is critical. 100 watts of high current tube power is the starting point.
I thought i had an idea what they would sound like at home, but i wasnt prepared...what I'm hearing with the 3.7s being driven by my VAC gear (Signature 2a pre and Phi 200 amp) is breathtaking. it's actually hard to describe the magic coming out of them. The sound is just gorgeous! And that's right out of the box. They will continue to improve for the next 400 hours of use.
Paired with my amps, these are the most natural sounding speakers I've ever heard. Powerful, articulate, revealing micro details without brightness or edge, a midrange to die for, excellent feel in your bones bass, incredible soundstage and holographic imaging... I know, you've heard all that before, but when you hear what they can do with strong tube amps like VAC, well, like I said, impossible to describe the experience fully...like mailing a haircut.
As for reports of being bright or lean -- well, everyone's ears and systems are different. In my home, right now, listening... I'm blown away by how alive and real my rig sounds. The bass is musical, effortless and taut, with absolutely no bloat.
Been doing this crazy hobby (read "obsession") for forty years and I've never been more excited about my sound system.
I think that aside from some tweaks here and there, my system has reached a level that is completely satisfying. I know, audiophile heresy, right? I am now going to rediscover hundreds of my albums. So my recommendation, the VAC Phi 200 or any other VAC component you can get your hands on... They will make your Thiels sing.
