Help: Thiel CS6 vs CS 2.3

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned the 3.6's. Perhaps the best value tin the current line.

....(but other than a brief listen to them in a showroom during a business trip, I don't have access to them to put them through their paces.)...

Akaddict, may I make an assumption in that you are going to dealers and listening to speakers(systems), and making judgement on the speakers from THEIR SET UP'S!?! Since there are a lot of varriables, It's too difficult without auditioning the speakers in other systems/rooms, including your own, to tell what's what! You're going to need to try em in your room, with your gear, after proper set up! That's the only way you'll ever know ANYTHING ABOUT THESE SPEAKERS PROPERLY AND FAIRLY!
I would suggest giving the pair you find a good deal on a try. And if you don't like em, then sell em and move on to the next pair! If you think you'll just buy a pair of speakers once as the "be-all" speaker to "end all" for your system, you may be fooling yourself! Because in the end, it's going to come down to trial and error, and experiementation.
I think when people try desparately to find gear that's "the best" for their purposes/situation, they'll find it's not a "done-in-one" kind of an endevor! You could get lucky...but if you really want to nail things down better, you gotta experiement..simple as that.
Why not try a pair of "something" you have a desire to try, and see what you can do with It? That's part of the fun, for me any way. I guess everyone's different.
As for my experience with the Thiels, I've always found MOST of the Thiel designs to be a little laid back and less involving for movie soundtracks than others. I do think the CS2.3's are the best of the older series Thiels for this application, but you need a strong strong amp to handle the HT! I've no experience with the newer Thiels for HT, so I can't commment. Although the higher sensitivity of the Thiel 1.6's makes for a good advantage for dyanamics. They might be a good chioce in a smaller/medium sized room/set up, or in places where you have "higher ceilings"....or you have extensive ceiling treatment.

To be brief. I found the CS6 to be overly warm with emphasis given to the 2nd octave, to the point that the bass can be obnoxious and distracting. IMO the bass detracts from speakers clarity. The midrange still has the same Thiel sound but there is less of it with these speakers. Highs are rolled off slightly so the speaker lacks air and extension of the CS2.3.

The CS2.3 (I have the pre-upgrade midrange/tweeter) has excellent extension up top with wonderful midrange transparency and slightly lean bass. I'm told that the midrange/tweeter upgrade produces a laidback sound, but I have not heard it for myself, so I will defer to those with first-hand experience. IMO the only thing the CS6 has that the CS2.3 lacks is about 10hz of bass extension.

foreverhifi2000:

Yes, I suppose you are correct. Unfortunately, the "AK" in Akaddict is Alaska, and we just don't have many listening choices up here. I've been trying to triangulate by comparing elements that I do know. Also, it'll cost as much as $500 to get a big speaker up here - I'd rather buy music instead of minor performance changes. So I gather as many data points as I can from nice thoughtful people like the Inmates, then leap blindly into a new solution.

Jazzdude, I don't have any personal experience with the 6, but what you report sounds an awful lot like a set-up/room interaction effect. Just based on common knowledge, I would hazard a guess that the biggest deciding factor between these two models could well be room size, not necessarily amp power per se. I would also think that in a room which could accomodate either model, the bigger speaker would not only yield some more bass, but also higher volume capability, all other things being equal. Akaddict, maybe you should specify the room dimensions, what types of music are listened to most, and how loud you like to listen. But I will say this from experience: The 2.2's cannot go really loud, which is more evident the bigger the room, so if you've been alright with their dynamic range in your room up 'til now, you may not need (or be able to get the most out of) the 6.