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Thiel SCS3

After auditioning a pair of Thiel CS 1.6's at home in my system, I've decided to sell my B&W Nautilus 804's and the HTM2 center. I love the B&Ws, but I have a relatively small listening area and I found that the Thiel's opened up at a much lower volume, making them a better match for my space. I haven't heard the SCS3, but I am a little shocked at its price. A pair of Thiel CS 1.6s will cost me what I consider a reasonable $2100, but a single coax design SCS3 is $1400. Thiel also promotes the SCS3 as a surround. Their pricing would make your surrounds more expensive than your fronts. It just doesn't make sense to me. My local dealer said alot of his Thiel sales go south because of this. Maybe the SCS3 is a wonderful center and worth the price, but I'm still a little confused. I'd love to hear from Thiel owners that use the SCS3 as a center, or better yet, possibly use a non Thiel that matches up well with the CS 1.6s. As another alternative, I'm also in the market for a used SCS3 if anyones selling one. Regards Herb
hmayh3
mds's avatar
mds
119 posts
 
Hi, I use the thiel CS1.5 for the fronts SCS3 center and CS.5 for the rears. While the SCS3 is expensive it does make for an excellent center channel. I agree with the others that for the surrounds you can do with a less expensive speaker. That is why I went with the CS.5's. I have been using this set up for 4 years along with a rel strata III.
michaeljbrown
146 posts
 
I have an all thiel system except for the sub (duh! given the expense of the ss1/22)which is a velodyne uld 15. I use 2.3 mains with scs's as surrounds; scs3 as center. For the 1.6, I think the scs is fine as a center. You may have picked up the scs3, however, I saw go for 650 on a'gon. If not, you can pick up the scs for 3-400 and I think it will go fine with your 1.6's.. I used an scs for a center with 2.2's for 7 years, and sold the scs for what I paid for it...mb
unsound
7,329 posts
 
The yet to be released SCS4 is expected to sell for around $1K each, less than the previous SCS3, and the SCS4 is touted as sounding better to boot.
cawgijoe
4 posts
 
I know this is an old thread, but I'd like to update my part of it. I still own the Thiel CS1.6 mains and am now using an SCS3 as center channel. It blends beautifully and sounds fantastic. I am curious though about whether the SCS4 would make things even better. Any thoughts?
dtc's avatar
dtc
1,047 posts
 
I have both a SCS3 and a SCS4 as centers. The 3 is quite good, but I find the 4 to be cleaner for dialog. I am running them both off Yamaha receivers with a 180 watt ATI and a 200 watt B&K amp respectively. I think the 4 is a better center, but not sure I would pay a lot for the upgrade. The 4 is being used with 1.6s in a theater. I have never swapped them around in any scientific way to do real comparisons, so I cannot be definitive about the differences.
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