Your experience with Thiel 3.6

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.

I'm looking to get a pair of pre-owned 3.6's but after reading all these responses i either need a bigger house or think about getting a smaller pair of thiels. My listening room is probably 15X20 at best(more like 12X18), what are your thoughts? I love the bass slam from the 3.6 but it looks like or sounds like speaker placement is critical with them.

Jcatral14, actually I think that the Thiels are unforgiving with regard to associated equipment. As for placement, I think they are unique in that they will reward you if you give them room and attention but can be forgiving of less than ideal placement. I know that sounds contradictory, but, it's true. Some other speakers fall apart(sonicaly not literaly) when not place just so. Thiels recommends a minimum of 1 foot behind, 3 feet from side walls, 8 feet beteen each other and 8 feet from the listener. You will be greatly rewarded if you can get them 3 feet from the rear wall, 5 feet from side walls, 10 feet apart and 10 feet from the listener. After that the big consideration is how much bass your room can handle. You can probably fit the 3.6's but the 2.3's or 2.4's are worthy of consideration.