Thiel Owners

 I have no doubt that identical individual amps for each driver would be ideal, especially when one considers the potential of DSP when so configured.  I would  have preferred 4 Ohm minimum loads. The difference is not as insignificant as might first appear, particularly for those that might prefer tube amplification (which doesn’t include myself). That would also allow consumers to use standard ratings and measurements without prevailing doubts.

Unsound - I agree to wanting 4 ohms minimum which would roughly double the impedance of many Thiel models, making them far easier loads to drive with lower amplifier distortion and fewer cable interactions. Jim committed to underhung voicecoils as a way to reduce motor distortion by an order of magnitude. Walter Kling developed the methods and machines to make those drivers. He shared that industry driver manufacturers considered them nearly impossible to make and therefore expensive and ill-advised. Jim and Walter took that as a challenge and took it on and never looked back. One of the downsides includes the coils being only a few winds long (short?) x 4 layers thick, which is precarious geometry indeed. More turns would raise impedance, but also add mass and mechanical reactance in a system short on gap flux due to the thick coil. The feasible balance point seems to have been where he landed. He wasn't really out to make our lives difficult driving them, it just worked out that way.

@yyzsantabarbara1  I bought 3.7s in 2012 and had kids in 2013 and 2014.  Audio dropped way down on my priority list and I had them in several far from ideal spots.  I had them right next to each other for a while and they sounded great.  You don't get much in the way of imaging but otherwise great.  I had them nearfield for a while on each side of my desk with my head a couple of feet in front of them but way off axis.  Still great.  I worked from home for a few years and I was always amazed at how good they sounded in this far from ideal situation.  I couldn't believe how well the image held together.  From a placement standpoint the coax is magic.

From a placement standpoint the coax is magic.

I agree. I have had a few speakers with the tweeter and mid on the same driver unit and it has always made placement much easier. I am slightly off center in my seating. With my KEF LS50's (also a similar type of driver) I had to make an adjustment on my preamp's balance to give the far speaker a bit more juice. With the CS3.7 I set the balance to 0 and it sounds great. The sweet spot is bigger than most speakers. The KEF Blade is also like that with a big sweet spot.

Sounds like you are a music fan. When my kid was under 2 years my office/audio room was in a laundry room. I would work and listen while a washer and or dryer was going full blast next to me usually washing kids stuff. Still enjoyed music.

Unsound and Tom. As you know the 3.5 individual drivers are all above the 5 ohm across the whole range and combined stay above 4 ohms. Makes it very suitable for tri amping or bi amping. I would guess that bi amping the bass and mid-tweeter with one amp would be better then using the amp in serial configuration for all drivers. Is that consistent with your experience?