Speaker Upgrade, Vandy 3a, Thiel 3.6 ect

Mike, I have the Thiel CS3.6's and love them to death but only after finding the right front end to drive them. I'd heard these speakers in Delaware with a Spectral Amp/Pre-amp combo in a rather large listening room..WOW,,did they portray the essence of accurate reproduction for the price they sold for new,let alone used! After listening to roughly 20 different speakers in the tri-state area I could not get past the sound heard from the 3.6's for $4200.00....BUT, heres the BIG BUT!!! I had a mediocre system at the time of purchase,(mostly NAD & ADCOM)and was very dis-pleased with sound for a fairly long time until I stepped up a level or two and started buying Krell and Levinson gear. Then it all started to sound right again,like I had heard at the demo.......MY point being that the 3.6's are amazingly good speakers if fed with good clean sources and powered by some pretty potent power amps. Otherwise they will sound very bright and or harsh with most music even at medium volumes.....Not the most Forgiving speaker at all, BUT a very GOOD speaker!!! I did listen to the Vandersteens and liked them alot for their forgiveness with sources but being a musician I was after tonal accuracy of brass and percussion. It did cost me a fair amount to upgrade my system to get the best sound I could afford but "used" Krell and Levinson got them sounding great....Thats my input on Thiel CS3.6's / Best of Luck, Bruce

I'll second Bryhifi about the Thiels. I own 'em and love 'em, but they need high current amplification of the highest pedigree to really perform. They're also very unforgiving of upstream mismatches and lesser quality gear. If your ATI is bright, then you definitely don't want to mate it to Thiels. I wouldn't dismiss the 3.6s, but it may cause a very expensive upgrade chain reaction. For your intended amp, I'd go with the Vandys - a much warmer speaker and a much easier load.

I am a Vandersteen 3A Signature owner who mates them with a Pass Aleph 4 amplifier and a Convergent Audio Technology SL-1 Ultimate preamp, so I have top equipment. That said, in the months I have owned these speakers, I have had a great deal of trouble in getting them to really sing in my room. It is not that I don't think that it is possible, but it has been really hard work. As I was more familiar with the Vandersteen 3 prior to purchasing the 3A Signature, and since the 3 is one of the most dynamic speakers with an extremely powerful and deep, but slightly bloated low end, I was surprised that when I got the 3A Signature home, it was quite polite, had so-so dynamics and while spectrally neutral and more extended on the top end than the 3, it was lacking "snap", immediacy and transparency. Part of the problem is the amp which, unlike yours, is by no means bright and while it is one of the finest amps around, does not possess stunning dynamics, but my previous speakers didn't sound like this! I have been working to find interconnects and speaker cables which will bring the midrange forward and add the sparkle that is missing. You probably won't have this problem if your speakers are bright. I would encourage you to listen carefully before buying and to believe what your ears are telling you, and to not invest more trust in the reputation of these speakers than in what you hear. If possible, listen with your own amp before buying. You might consider a Vandersteen 3 which can be had used for under $1000 now, if you find the 3A Signature too "refined".