Dan S

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
1.00 of 5, 1.00 votes

Price Paid:  $2500.00 from Used

Summary:
I purchased the 3.6's after owning a pair of Thiel 2.0, Knowing how much I loved the smaller Thiel's I hoped I would like the upgrade. I was not dissapointed. I loved the speakers from the moment I first played them. I have owned them for atleast 10 years, and used them with many differant systems, from Haffler, Dynaco, Adcome, Denon, and now McIntosh. The speakers are power hogs. Running B&K 200 watt Mono amps was adaquate, but just barely. I presently am using a pair of McIntosh MC 1201 (1200w each), and they sound awsome. The soundstage and imaging is like nothing I have heard before. Thiel's tweeter and midrange speakers are great. The woofer is smooth and even. I use a subwoofer with the system, and it seems to help alot. I have used the speakers in "HOME THEATER' applications, and they were quite "IINADAQUATE" for this application. The speakers are a comfortable speaker listen too, and do not fatique you. I usually find myself closing my eyes to reduce visual distraction, and end up listening to music long than I had planned. When I first got my MC 1201's, I tried to use the speakers as rock and roll loud speakers, I immediatly smoked (litrally) both tweeters and midrange speakers. Thiels service was grreat, rebuilding the driviers, and returning them to me in less than a week

Strengths:
Great imaging, clearest, yet smoothest tweeter/highs, acurate and strong midrange, smooth bass. An excellent overall speaker, enjoyable to spend hours listening too. Quality construction, and great company service.

Weaknesses:
Power hungery, you should use atleast 200w per channel or more. They are not a "Loud speaker". When listening to them, you will not want to have conversations They play very loud, and sound great soft. But not the speaker to have a "Frat" party with.

Similar Products Used:
I also own the Thiel CS 2.0 and the 1.2

Price Paid:  $4300.00

Summary:
I've read all reviews of the 3.6 and have found many consistencies...Be sure to match your system well!

I have two systems in my home. I purchased my 3.6's in August 2004 when I had my first "high-end" system installed upon completion of the home. Among other components, the primary system was Krell Showcase processor and amplifier (125W/channel) with a Denon DVD-2910 transport, Krell 3.6 speakers and the recommended cables/speaker wire. The system was completely mismatched by the retailer, and grossly underpowered for the 3.6 speakers. The sound quality in 2 channel and theater application was terribly disappointing, flat, and would build excessive heat ultimately shutting-down the amp. My second system in my home is a Denon 4802 receiver, Denon DVD-2900 and Thiel 2.3 speakers. This system performed so much better than my new "high-end" system sold to me.

I endured this frustration for a year until I contacted Krell directly. Krell's customer support is better than anything I have ever experienced as is Thiel's support. I later upgraded to the Krell KAV-3250 for front/center, and B&K 200w for my rear channel. The improvement was significant! But, my new service provider let me borrrow a Meridian G98 CD/DVD transport and the sound quality was off the charts! I was previously so frustrated that I had wished I never invested the money, and wished I simply duplicated my "second" system. But, I now enjoy the performance of the Thiel 3.6 speaker so much I recently purchased the new Krell EVO-403 amplifier, and am anxiously awaiting the release of the EVO-707 processor and 525 transport.

Having now tried improved components, the 3.6 is a tremendous value. But, if you chose to try the 3.6, be willing to invest in a balanced system, and be prepared to provide adequate amplification to the speakers. Weak components make the 3.6 seam dissappointing. But, with good components, my experience is that these speakers incredible, and I highly recommend the Thiel 3.6


.

Strengths:
Incredible warmth and balance, when properly matched with an adequate amplifier and transport

With good components, a bargain, but be sure to match with appropriate components

Weaknesses:
Requires a strong amplifier

Similar Products Used:
Currently...

Krell Showcase processor
Krell EVO-403 amplifier
B&K 200w amplifier for rear channel
Dennon DVD-2910 transport

Awaiting...

Krell EVO-707 processor
Krell EVO-525 transport

Tommy121

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
1 to 3 months

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 1.00 votes

Price Paid:  $2400.00 from dealer through Ebay

Summary:
When these speakers arrived I was a little astounded at the size of the boxes; shipping from the US to the UK was $350 so I guess I should have expected something out of the ordinary... These speakers are simply massive (107 lb each) - I bought them having tried the (much smaller) Thiel 1.6 and from the reviews scattered across the net about the 3.6. Overall I am very happy with them; reproduction is excellent, soundstage is very good. They do need a huge amp though; my Musical Fidelity Nu Vista is 275 wpc and I'm getting over half power to make them sing properly. I also think this isn't quite the right amp (or else cables/cd player aren't quite batting quite right) because the bass slam of the speakers is relatively subdued, at least at lower levels. At higher levels with a bass heavy song they do light up though - I'm sure this is a product of the rest of the system rather than these speakers. I am very impressed with this product; I could have gone to sevenoaks and bought a much worse set of speakers for much more:) It is though going to take time and effort to sort the system to be 100%. All good fun. At least I can only see the system getting better rather than being at its limits....

Strengths:
1. Imagery - width and depth excellent 2. Reproduction - never fatigued listening 3. Midband superb

Weaknesses:
1. Need a huge amp, possibly even bigger than my 80 lb lump. 2. Need careful pairing (as I'm finding out) and care to sound their best in a certain system.

Similar Products Used:
Infinity SM112's (bass heavy perhaps) Thiel 1.6 ES

jonbee

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 1.00 votes

Price Paid:  $1700.00 from A-gon

Summary:
After 100+ pairs of quality speakers I've owned in 36 years (including many 'stats, ribbons, horns, maggies, etc.) these are the speakers that do the most for me. Wide range, detailed, dynamic, ultra-natural and smooth, they are a delight everytime I listen. Deep, powerful and superbly articulated bass is perfectly balanced with the mids and smooth highs in a totally coherent and convincing manner. Huge soundstage. Thiel speakers require an amp that can run easily with 2-3 ohm loads and these need a good deal of space; without it they will sound very bad with too much bass and shrill sound. They are a terrific bargain in the used market; if you have the amp and space for them there's no better high end bargain, IMO.

Strengths:
Coherent, detailed, natural and smooth; powerful, detailed bass. Image as well as the best standmount monitors, but play loudly w/ deep bass as well.

Weaknesses:
Need a good sized room and high current amp; not small. Finishes' color seems to fade.

Similar Products Used:
Apogee, VMPS ribbons. Merlin TSM and VSM speakers; Quad and Infinity 'stats, several Maggies, lots more.

Price Paid:  $1600.00 from used

Summary:
As I have been in this hobby just a little more then a year now I have wasted a lot of money on inferior products. This purchase was not one of them. These speakers reveal what is behind them and follow the rule of GIGO (garbage in, garbage out) to the max. Hook these babies up to consumer grade audio equipment and crappy cables and you now have two giant transistor radio speakers in your listening room. On the other hand, power them with a krell amp, classe pre-amp, kimber kables, and a decent cd player, you now have nirvana. The unfortunate side is the cost of this level of equipment. I would say if you are not prepared to spend $10,000 (all used equipment including speakers) for a system built around these speakers don't even bother with them. If you do have the cash then these speakers will be hard to beat. Previous reviews mentioned these speakers sounding extremely bright. That is a function of the amp not the speakers. These speakers can be bought for a great price but the investment of high end equipment makes them as a whole, quite expensive.

Strengths:
Bass response detail and clarity

Weaknesses:
requires high end components

Similar Products Used:
thiel 2.3