Your experience with Thiel 3.6

post script....Thiel has been great with support for both speakers and I've basically had a 17 year relationship with the company. Warranty repairs on the CS2s went well. Questions over the years have all been answered within 48 hours. Excellent support AFTER the sale is the phrase that comes to mind. Hales, Avalon and Alon are three other brands you might check out too.

Not only a step up, IMO, it is one of the best speakers out there for the money. Search the threads, you will find many opinions, mostly positive. The only caveats is that (1) your source components will make or break the Thiels and (2) all the action happens between the speakers. They do not throw an image outside the speakers, so you will need about 9 feet between them and in front of them for proper imaging and soundstage. From my experience, they lose a lot when spaced closer than 8 feet together and within 3 feet of the side and back walls. They definitely need breathing room.

Other than that - their design hasn't changed in ten years, are built like a tank, and will last a good long time with Thiel's support. When I purchased mine, I was looking between them and the Avalon Radian HC (fifteen grand difference!). I still have mine and will never get rid of them; I let some good pieces go only to want them again but are now hard to find. These stay.

I love mine too, I'm using cj prem 14 with nos tubes, classe amp, meridian front end - all on the softer side of neutral. Over the past year I have upgraded cables to MIT 350 ref and evo ic's and most recently Oracle V3 speaker cables and they made a gigantic difference from top to bottom. Good advice above - they need spacing and room to breath on the sides to make them truely transparent and non-boxey sounding which I think is the best attribute of the 3.6's.

I wouldn't part with mine either. As noted above they do need some space and good amplification. With the above caveots I would without hesitation recommend them highly. I bought used and ended up dealing with Thiels service folks (Shari) quite a bit, they are awesome to work with.

Rich

I have to agree with everything written above. I have kept these for 9 years while I have upgraded all of my other equipment in phases. I went from a McCormack amp (a bit tubby, indistinct) to Classe CAM 200's (great improvement, better control and treble details/layers). I went from a passive line stage to an Audio Research LS7 to a BAT preamp (VK30)- the driving ability of the preamp made a huge difference in adding weight to the speakers. I have upgraded all of my MIT cables, and am now playing with room acoustics, feet, etc. The Thiels continue to pay me back with each improvement made, meaning that they have never been the weak link in the system. I also agree that the service/support has been outstanding, the few times I have needed it. If you are looking for a certain upfront 'bite' and aliveness to your vocals and horns, the Thiels are one of the few that have it. It is a double-edged sword, however, since you can have them sounding too harsh and sibilant with the wrong equipment. Best of luck on your search.