2. home-theater
  3. 1422727442

what do i power my thiel 3.6 with

Hi all,
Let me start by saying that I do not yet own the speakers. I have a chance to purchase a set of Thiel cs 3.6, in mint condition from a good friend of mine who inherited them. I was not familiar with this speaker until he messaged me. I have always been a paradigm guy. he is asking for 1000 bucks Canadian, so my first question is whether or not this is something I should jump on... based on reviews, I’m going to guess that it’s a good deal.... if I go ahead with the purchase, my big question would be what do I build around them... I have read a lot about these speakers needing a lot of power, and the amp I have now, will not do the trick... it does not even really power my studio series paradigms as is. I would likely get rid of everything I currently have (unless someone suggest otherwise) current setup is studio 80 fronts, studio cc590 center, adp rears and dual pdr 12's powered by a Yamaha rx-v2400 home theatre receiver. any advice would be appreciated, and when replying, you will have to dummy things down for me... I’m big into sound and love music, mostly live concerts is what I watch, but also appreciate a good surround sound for movies. That being said, I am by no means a sound expert, and have only ever dealt with home theatre and stereo receivers. I’m sure a lot of the suggestions are going to be about tube amps and pre amps and such, if you could explain that to me it would be very helpful! Thanks in advance
hordy240
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,509 posts
 
Agree the best strategy to find nirvana is buy carefully used and do not overpay. Then keep or sell as needed to help finance the next try.

There are fundamentals to apply in setting up a system, but alone cannot guarantee immediate success. Trial and error, live and learn is important. No reason to go broke in the process with just a little common sense tossed in for good measure.
zd542
5,339 posts
 
Avgoround,

OK. You've made your point. I understand why you're upset, and yes, its my fault. I know this is a little late, but happy Groundhog's Day. And to top it all off, Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow and declared 6 more weeks of winter. Your rage is understandable. After all, you were just hit on 2 fronts. Sorry, I'll try to do better in the future.
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,509 posts
 
That dumb gopher sees the same darn thing every year. They should make a movie about that.....
unsound
7,336 posts
 
Making a profit on a friends generous dealing is something to think about...
The 3.6's are a demanding load. You might get away with cheap amplification, and you might not.
If you have no plans to upgrade your amplification, I suggest you forget about the 3.6's. You'll never get to appreciate what they're capable of, and you'll probably get more satisfaction optimizing around other gear.
avgoround
287 posts
 
Yes, clearly, if I had a pair of the 3.6's (what, 3-4ohm average load???), i'd likely have to use a minimum of a good Parasound middle range dedicated power amp, and probably better, to get the sound quality an control I was after. On the used market, I'd probably be looking to try older used Classe, McCormack, Simm, Threshold,Levinson, Pass, Plinius, Coda, Nero, n maybe even Krell (prob not), for solid state options. Yes, either way, an high quality dedicated power amp is what those speakers are designed for. Just comes as with the territory.
If you want to run a receiver, use smaller monitors, and be prepared to use the crossover, and run a sub.
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