I don't think you took my post the right way. Up to this point, all of your information has been coming from outside sources. At the very least, until you are able to listen to the 3.6's, you have absolutely no idea if you are going to love them or hate them. Its nothing more than a coin toss at this point, because you really don't know if you'll like them or not. To be clear, though, my comments are in the context of you getting the pair of 3.6's. They are a very polarizing speaker. More so than with most other speakers.
"I really don't know. that is why I came here in hopes to get some advice. you are right, I am not what I some would consider a "hard core audiophile", but it is a passion of mine, and I will be chipping away at building a dedicated ht room with good equipment."
I'm not trying to make you feel bad here. I'm just trying to give you my honest advice. When you talk about chipping away and upgrading your system, as you go, I understand exactly what you are saying. There's nothing wrong with doing it that way, in fact, that's how most of us do it. I'm just saying that the Thiel 3.6 is not the speaker to do that with for a couple of reasons. First, its not a forgiving speaker. It will expose the flaws in every piece of equipment you have, including your room and recordings. That's what I mean when I say its not the speaker you buy and then chip away at the rest of your system. Most likely, you'll get discouraged and quit building a system around them, long before you finish it.
Someone that is going to build a system around a pair of 3.6's and have success is going to approach things a little different. Its usually not someone's first high end speaker (for the reasons I list above). Its going to be someone who has a fair amount of experience with audio, and has spent enough time, not only with Thiel, but many other competing brands of speakers, as well. Their likes and dislikes are usually well established. They know what the Thiel sound is, and they are going to have a pretty good idea as to what type of components they will need to match the speakers. And that's just my honest opinion. From the looks of your post it just seems like you're not ready to deal with all the baggage that goes along with getting a pair of 3.6's to sound right. (Assuming you don't hate them.). You'll find no shortage of people who are more than willing to pat you on the back and encourage you. I won't do that to you. The mistakes are far too costly with a situation like this.
"I really don't know. that is why I came here in hopes to get some advice. you are right, I am not what I some would consider a "hard core audiophile", but it is a passion of mine, and I will be chipping away at building a dedicated ht room with good equipment."
I'm not trying to make you feel bad here. I'm just trying to give you my honest advice. When you talk about chipping away and upgrading your system, as you go, I understand exactly what you are saying. There's nothing wrong with doing it that way, in fact, that's how most of us do it. I'm just saying that the Thiel 3.6 is not the speaker to do that with for a couple of reasons. First, its not a forgiving speaker. It will expose the flaws in every piece of equipment you have, including your room and recordings. That's what I mean when I say its not the speaker you buy and then chip away at the rest of your system. Most likely, you'll get discouraged and quit building a system around them, long before you finish it.
Someone that is going to build a system around a pair of 3.6's and have success is going to approach things a little different. Its usually not someone's first high end speaker (for the reasons I list above). Its going to be someone who has a fair amount of experience with audio, and has spent enough time, not only with Thiel, but many other competing brands of speakers, as well. Their likes and dislikes are usually well established. They know what the Thiel sound is, and they are going to have a pretty good idea as to what type of components they will need to match the speakers. And that's just my honest opinion. From the looks of your post it just seems like you're not ready to deal with all the baggage that goes along with getting a pair of 3.6's to sound right. (Assuming you don't hate them.). You'll find no shortage of people who are more than willing to pat you on the back and encourage you. I won't do that to you. The mistakes are far too costly with a situation like this.