golferboy...
I'm awaiting delivery on a pair of 3.6's after having two pairs, at different junctures, of 3.5's which as some folks here already know, became my reference point for loudspeakers in general. (I gifted my first pair to my nephew.) I've just sold my 3.5's to make room for the 3.6's. I'm literally watching the calendar daily waiting for the truck to arrive. Hell, I've even purchased a hand truck/dolly to get them into the house.
And to think I have said that moving my 3.5's around once in a while is a pain in the ass...
SInce many of us suffer the same fate of having so few bricks and mortar high fidelity retailers around now, I have purchased all of my Thiels used, without audition. The first time I hooked up my 2.3's I was so impressed that I literally stopped in my tracks. Then the first pair of 3.5's became available - involving a 400 mile round trip to fetch them - and I was doubly impressed. I sold those to get a pair of Maggies - which I also happen to hold in very high regard - eventually deciding that Thiels, in general, are Maggies with bass. And not just any old bass, PROPER bass. Musical bass, with all the mids and high definition that Thiel and Magnepan excel in. I am a zealot, a Thielist, I've drunk the kool-aid and can't help myself.
Recently I came to the conclusion that all of my purchasing/selling of associated equipment was detracting from my enjoyment of music, or at least the simple act of tossing something on and enjoying it without nitpicking my system. (Until a week or so ago it was a Pass Labs X150.5 SS amplifier, a Balanced Audio Technology VK3i tubed preamplifier, a Primare phono stage...and a few things I had lying about, a CJ amp, a Threshold amp...) IMHO Pass Labs is a sweet match for Thiels. Even though I doubt I ever came even remotely close to flexing the amp's 300 watt into 4 ohm capability, the sound was incredible. Clean, articulate, just like the Thiels.
I am expecting much of the same from the 3.6's. I'll be driving them with a Simaudio Neo 340i integrated, capable of 200 watts per channel into 4 ohms which, methinks, will be sufficient for appreciating the 3.6's. I listen at VERY conservative levels. The meter on the Pass rarely, if ever, even budged a smidgen. Thus far the Neo has proven to be a pretty damn good amp with the 3.5's, perhaps not as "analytical" as the Pass but still within the parameters that I've come to gauge my equipment by.
For the record, and thanks to Jafant and unsound for their input on everything Thiel, I went to all Transparent cabling a while back and have found that to be a great match. ("Synergy", as jafant likes to term it.) Hopefully I will settle down for a while and let the 3.6's earn their keep with the Neo - although, as the past has taught me, THAT's pretty unlikely. The one thing I AM certain of is that the 3.6's will become my new reference for loudspeakers. Whether or not I embark on an integrated amplfier shoot-out in the coming months is perhaps another post's story.
Besides, that could be fun in this thread.
Any comments to care to share with your 3.6's is very welcome.
Happy listening - Thiels Reveal!
