I moved up from Thiel CS2s to a used pair of 3.6s recently.
I enjoy them without any regrets. I had listened to the speaker on and off over the past 10 years before making the purchase. My brief personal experience is that they are more challenging than the CS2s with regard to placement, music source quality and source equipment (Especially including the fine tuning type stuff like making sure connections are tight and clean.) But, with the greater challenge comes a more revealing speaker at all levels of performance. I am still working on placement. I'm still in the setup stage actually since I'm still experiementing with placement. What I have been able to minimize in my room is the extra mid and upper bass warmth. Some call this a certain pluminess, and object to it. I do not sense any overblown response in this region. A few inches of movement eliminated the hump. The speakers are not "bright" in my room, which is rather large and has no glass surfaces. Bright must apply to very early Thiel speakers (pre-1985) or it is a function of room (big sliding glass doors do seem to be a problem for another audiophile friend with the older Thiel CS3.5s) and electronics IMHO. I'm currently using a c-j PF-1 preamp and a Bryston 3B-ST amp. I've heard superb results with BAT, Krell, Pass and others also. I'd like to try a Classe amp on for size one day too. Some of my older CDs do not sound very good now however. The CS2s were more forgiving of bad digital sound. That does not mean they sounded good on the CS2s, but instead they sounded "less bad". The speakers seem to want a bigger amp at times too. The 3B-ST is 120 watts into 8 ohms. The Thiels are probably mostly a 4 ohm or less speaker. No one I know is using a tube amp with them so I am anxious to get mine back from the shop and give the two a whirl! A few friends suggest that I might want a preamp with a better bass capability also. Nevertheless, if you can afford them I think they will make good music for you. The CS6s are slightly better still and rumoured to require less amp to sound their best. The CS3.6 is also more or less a 10 year old design and supposedly due to be replaced by Thiel, though this has yet to happen despite the rumour being rather old. What you want is here, clear highs and bass punch, but you can find these elsewhere too. I'm fond of the bigger Dunlavy speakers too for example. I like what Revel and Vandersteen offer too. Genesis is supposed to be back in business too. You might listen to the Thiel CS7.2 s also. Good luck my friend. Bottom line: these are still very good and cost effective speakers...not the best or most expensive however. You need a decent sized room though. Used prices are often augmented by a warranty!!!
I enjoy them without any regrets. I had listened to the speaker on and off over the past 10 years before making the purchase. My brief personal experience is that they are more challenging than the CS2s with regard to placement, music source quality and source equipment (Especially including the fine tuning type stuff like making sure connections are tight and clean.) But, with the greater challenge comes a more revealing speaker at all levels of performance. I am still working on placement. I'm still in the setup stage actually since I'm still experiementing with placement. What I have been able to minimize in my room is the extra mid and upper bass warmth. Some call this a certain pluminess, and object to it. I do not sense any overblown response in this region. A few inches of movement eliminated the hump. The speakers are not "bright" in my room, which is rather large and has no glass surfaces. Bright must apply to very early Thiel speakers (pre-1985) or it is a function of room (big sliding glass doors do seem to be a problem for another audiophile friend with the older Thiel CS3.5s) and electronics IMHO. I'm currently using a c-j PF-1 preamp and a Bryston 3B-ST amp. I've heard superb results with BAT, Krell, Pass and others also. I'd like to try a Classe amp on for size one day too. Some of my older CDs do not sound very good now however. The CS2s were more forgiving of bad digital sound. That does not mean they sounded good on the CS2s, but instead they sounded "less bad". The speakers seem to want a bigger amp at times too. The 3B-ST is 120 watts into 8 ohms. The Thiels are probably mostly a 4 ohm or less speaker. No one I know is using a tube amp with them so I am anxious to get mine back from the shop and give the two a whirl! A few friends suggest that I might want a preamp with a better bass capability also. Nevertheless, if you can afford them I think they will make good music for you. The CS6s are slightly better still and rumoured to require less amp to sound their best. The CS3.6 is also more or less a 10 year old design and supposedly due to be replaced by Thiel, though this has yet to happen despite the rumour being rather old. What you want is here, clear highs and bass punch, but you can find these elsewhere too. I'm fond of the bigger Dunlavy speakers too for example. I like what Revel and Vandersteen offer too. Genesis is supposed to be back in business too. You might listen to the Thiel CS7.2 s also. Good luck my friend. Bottom line: these are still very good and cost effective speakers...not the best or most expensive however. You need a decent sized room though. Used prices are often augmented by a warranty!!!
