Piego P-10 or big Thiels?

I have the 7.2s, and am very pleased with them. I have not heard the Piego's. The Thiel speakers are an exceptional value for their price point, right down the line. They demand excellent electronics. I do not think it would be unreasonable to spend an equal amount on the amplifier as on the speakers themselves. I had a Pass Labs x350, and the speakers just didn't bloom until I upgraded to the x600 monoblocks. Also, room size is important. I have a 17 x 13 ft room which is too small for these. However, I bought them because I will be moving within the year to a larger place. I am not familiar with the BAT equipment, so I couldn't say how they would sound. If they are 250 amps per channel, then that might be cutting things a little thin.

One of the great things about the Thiel's, as you know, is that their entire line is designed and built similarly. The 6s are a great value right now (I think I saw a pair under $3500). There are rumors of a 3.7 on the way, which might fill in a very key segment of their line.

For the Wadia, you might want to check with Steve Huntley about pricing on a modified 861se. I am awaiting a modified Wadia from him, and I suspect that the modification will be important if one would like to bypass the preamp and have concerns about brightness or glare. His modifications are a bit pricey, but not when one considers the price of a excellent preamp. We shall see...

Rob

If you have a medium sized room you can't go wrong with p-10's. They are fun to listen to and CZAPP is right in that at used prices it the best bargain. Very easy to drive

as a very happy p-10 owner and one who has heard the 7.2s' i don't think you can go wrong either way.they are both great speakers.i agree with snook that you should look very seriously at the used p-10 prices.they are unbelievably low for a superb speaker.if the p-10s have an advantage it is with their ribbon mids and tweeter that are superb.mids and highs are just amaxing and the bass extends down to 19hz +/- 1db if i remember right.i can almost guarantee that if you choose the p-10s' you will be very satisfied. i have heard the c-series piegas' and plan to upgrade to the c-10 ltd probably by the end of the year but the p-10 is not far behind the much more expensive c-10 ltd in its performance...which is one of the best 2 or 3 speakers i have ever heard. good luck with your choice.

Thanks to all of you for your comments. Due to location I can't listen to any of these speakers, so your advice is very helpful!

OK, any advice on how to choose among CS6, CS7.x, P-10, without listening to any of them? They seem to be equally loved by their owners.


RCPrince:
I will definitely try removing that cable. Thanks for a good insight.

Gullahisland:
I agree that disk is bright, but on some gear its tolerable, and others its not. Also, I love the BAT gear. The pre- and extra cables do add a bit of a veil (compared to CDP straight into the amp), but overall I prefer it over the trade-offs. The VK-500 is in an entirely different class from the rest of the gear. 250w and it weighs 100 lbs; it has outstanding control and authority. I have 0 complaints about the amp (well maybe it's weight). I was stunned by the improvement over my previous well-liked McCormack DNA-1. I preferred it over the Classe CA-400 on my friend's all Classe/MIT/Avalon Radian HC system. IMHO, the BAT has more control and isn't as dark.

Karls:
I felt the same way, but recently tried an 830 and found it to be only a small improvement over existing gear. I decided a better model was required to justify an upgrade. Compared to existing, the Wadia's bass was noticably less defined, while the highs were sweeter and it had better presence. I definitely liked a balanced I/C better than RCA. And going directly into the amp was a revelation in terms of taking a "dirty pane" out of the picture, but the bass was even worse without the pre. On the whole the difference wasn't enought to justify the cost.



BTW, although she hears equipment differences better then I, wife thinks I've gone over the edge with this next round of upgrades. I keep telling her its not how much I spend, but how much I wanted to spend by didn't: see how much I saved....

I wasn't going to respond as I'm a bit late in the post but was drawn in by your reference to Holly cole and I can see clearly now. It is one of my favorite discs and one I have long used in assessing a system. Being Canadian I have also heard her sing it on several occassions in good halls so I have a reasonable idea of what the real thing sounds like. With regards to the piegas I had the p8ltd not the p10 s which are quite similar, and the disc was stunning on them. In fact its one of the things that sold them to me. Her highs were perfect, natural airy and lifelike. Nothing of a glare in my system whatsoever. I bought them by the way sight unseen and never looked back. Unfortunately I have only heard somewhat older Thiels so I can't add a lot there, they are very well known and as I understand superb speakers. I should add that after I bought my speakers I developed an association with piegas North American distributor so please take anything I say with a grain fo salt. Good luck.