Current Thiel and Aerial owners-- please comment..

First of all, I hope your relationship with your wife is solid, otherwise what's yours is hers. Mine is the Jazzmama on WMNF 88.5, she is picky about her music and how it sounds. She loves our Thiel 3.6 speakers aquired last year. The 3.6 offers greater frequency extention at both extremes, and greater transparency, detail and 3-dimentionality.

We replaced our Thiel 22's with the 3.6's and consider ourselves very fortunate to be in the top 3% of gear owners. We are using Levinson ML 2 monoblocks ( With a Threshold T-50 backup) with 390S cd player/processor. Also use Linn Axis w/ Grado Reference Master and a Levine phono preamp. Both sources directly drive amps. We have availiable Purist Audio Design Cables, latest generation if you need any.

No one complains about our system when they come to audition and our audio friends are very skeptical folks. We are now listening to the performance not the gear.

At this level good source results in great sound, conversely, mediocre source is not a fun time.

Mac I just heard the Thiel C6 with the oddyssey extreme
monos amps, Ive heard so many musical and expensive system
but this is the most natural sound and real, I have ever
heard, I I tell you I prefer it over andra 15k I own and
x250 pass amp combo, and andra krell 300 pre amp and amp
cast edition.Thats how good are the thiel and oddyssey combo
Even on home theater they came on top.DO YOURSELF A FAVOR
TRY THOSE COMBO.

We replaced Thiel CS2s (1985) with Thiel CS3.6s (2002). Wife strongly prefers the 3.6s. Sons also agree. Nice to have some bass. No problems driving them with Bryston 3B-ST or C-J MV-75a amps. Pondering the CS6s however. The main improvement is impossible to suggest as there were no areas the 3.6 was inferior to the 2s. The 3.6 is just a better speaker all around (especially in the lower ranges). If you like bargains the original Dunlavy SC-IVs might be worth a listen. The Thiels are not hard to drive so much as some electronics are unable to bring them up to the level other electronics can. Classe, Bryston, Levinson, Krell, Gryphon and Pass are some of the solid state designs that work well. There are others. Some "mid-fi" solid state is less than great. The bigger conrad-johnson tube amps do fine too if that is your cup of tea. I've heard satisfying results with older Audio Research hybrid designs as well as BAT solid state. Generally what drives one Thiel model will do okay with another. I am unfamiliar with Ariel other than reading reviews.

I owned and loved my Thiel 2.3's. I used a Sonic Frontiers Power tube amp to power them. They sang. I recetnly sold them because I don't have room for them in my new home. I am considering the Thiel PCS or Powerpoints (and a sub) now. Just to give you some perspective, the only other speaker I ever owned prior to the Thie's were several differnt pairs of Magnepan's. Now, I just can't seem to get away from Thiel. I third the opinion that you need to drive them with a quallity front end and quality amplification.

You need a lot of very clean, warm sounding power to make Thiels sing. It can be worth it. For some reason, Cardas Golden Cross speaker cables (that one model in particular) are a match made in heaven for Thiels.).
Art