Price Paid:  $15400.00 from ovation

Summary:
The 7.2s are finished beautifully there are many choices of finish I like thier amberwood myself. I live near the factory so any service issues have been attended to quickly and at no cost. You must give them juice they aree very ineficient but if you uderstand that, you will be thrilled. In terms of price when you condider that they are not biwireable or bi-ampable you will realize the low cost in the long run, this is made possible thru the extensive cross-over network. The bass is exellent I have used there SW1 sub-woofer and a variety of veledynes I amn not sure they make much differnce in stereo but in a surround sound system it is another ball game all together, I am refering to stereo in my review. The tweeters are exceptionally accurate. Midrange in the upper portion fantastic there is some lack in the the low midrange. The soundstage can be a bit finicky due to placement concerns, but once you find that sweet spot you will be amazed. Comparing them to the Nautilus 800s, finish is equivelant they have a very different look, I believe the B&W appeal to women. The B&W also sound great but give a more mellow softer sound if you are looking for true accuracy Thiel is the way to go. Wilsons what I fell is a cheap painted finish which doesn't fit with all the wood in my home I hat the red ones, as far as speaker wires B&W work well with any good cable copper or silver I prefer silver with Thiel,Wilson I prefered copper. I am very happy with the top of the line Alpha-Cores. Ifound that Nordost Valhallas were just a waste of lots of money, but I am looking for true sound reproduction and accuracy as far as the Wilson Watt Puppy's go I don't like them period. If you don't use there extra sub-woofer system stick with a set of Thiel 3.6's though I must admit the Thie CS6 are hard to beat but these are 3-way speakers compared to the 4-way 7.2s you will save a small fortune. I will say the Wilsons have excellent mid-range but the B&W have a better tweeter. The bottom line is, if you properly place the 7.2 which like the others are very heavy KEEP they away from walls use silver cables and by all means give them power at least 300 watts class A,I like the Krell solid state amps but the Classe CAM 350's work well but the big Krells 650 monos or the stereo 700 really make the Thiels sing I found that by bi-amping the B&W's with only 60 watts to the drivers and 400 w

Strengths:
You just need one stereo amp or one set of mono blocks and one set of cables. what a savings! Great bass no subwoofer needed extemely accurate tweeter sweet midrange.

Weaknesses:
Extreme power is needed to drive them forget tube amps they just ain't got the balls minimun 300 watts or forget them

Similar Products Used:
B&W Nautilus 800 Thiel CS 6 Thiel CS 3.6 Wilsom Watt puppy 7 system

Price Paid:  $8900.00

Summary:
CS7s are one of the best sound loudspeaker systems. I have a terrible experience with the assistance service. My CS7 have a very fragile coaxial tweeters. I don't know why but they broken several times and I have to ask them to send the replacement part. Two or three times I received broken or bad assembled drivers. A lot of problems and now I have no more Thiels at home.

Strengths:
Very ggod sound

Weaknesses:
Assistance policy

Summary:
Francesco, why would someone spend $ 23k on a pair of speakers costing in their original country $ 13k when he/she can buy for much less the all singing, beautifully made all Italian Sonus Faber Amati Homage is beyond my understanding. I always liked Thiel, to be sure, but if I were you, I'd choose the Amatis over CS 7 or CS7.2 any day.
Sorry to hear about your problems, but they really seem related to your particular distributor, since otherwise I've heard or wittnessed only good things about their customer service. Curiously, I read somewhere complains about the Italian Krell distributor. Hmmm, are they the same, maybe ?!
My ratings are strictly based on US price and customer service.

Price Paid:  $14400.00

Summary:
THIEL Assistance? A nightmare!

Last 1996 when I bought a Thiel CS7 loudspeaker system in Italy, Thiel audio gave me a ten years warranty. Thiel Audio statement tells one simply thing: if during 10 years you have any problem with our drivers, send back your defective product at your expense and we will send the replacement part at our expense. False, absolutely NOT true for international customers. Thiel Audio asks to its international customers to pay all shipment charge in spite of their written words on Warranty statement. Absolutely not correct because nowhere on that statement is written about shipment charge for not US customers. Last December 2000, my CS7 had a problem with a defective coaxial driver. The incredible Thiel assistance organization had satisfied my right to have my product in perfect conditions again, only 3 (three) months after. I mean after a lot of fax, letters, registered letters, possibility to sue Thiel Audio and its totally inefficient italian distributor. All to have my right satisfied. Actually in Italy a CS7.2 costs about 23,800.00 US.Dollars. I don't know if it is moral to refuse complying written words on a warranty statement for a so costly product. The Thiel CS7 have a wonderful sound but that sound become disagreable when I remember the Thiel management behaviour. I know that the "style" is innate in each of us. It is possible you have it, but it is possible you don't have it. I think style in Thiel Audio is totally absent. It is not possible to exist only to make money. Sometimes you have to accept to lose something if you don’t want to lose the face. For that incredible nightmare I vote 0.

Strengths:
Sound

Weaknesses:
Assistance and not respect of warranty statement

Similar Products Used:
Avalon Ascent

Price Paid:  $8900.00

Summary:
My Thiel CS-7s are wonderful speakers. These speakers are wonderful in every sense an audiophile can appreciate. They is only one little problem. They are 110% accurate. I have never hear a speaker play dead on everysound recorded like them. Except for my 901's. The 901's aren't as accurate. I say this because on the Fanatsia 2000 audio disc, I can't hear the conductor breathering very distinctly at the start of the Blue Rhapsody track, where w/ the CS-7's I can clear as day make it out. That is why I listen to the 901's more often than my Thiels. The 901's add a spaciousness that the Thiels, and no other speaker can emulate. With the 901's there is no sound sweet spot. There is no center chair in my house where the system sounds best for the 901's With the Thiels there is. With the 901's every seat in the house is a good seat. To quote J. D. Salinger, "There is hope in honest err, none in the icy perfection of a mere stylist." THe err is not being 100% accurate like my Thiels. The Stylism in the Thiels is the fad of having 100% sound reproducing accurate sound set up. I'll take my 901's and show them off any day. Maybe, I'll just not mention how much I paid for my Thiels. If you ask me, the pricing for the 901's ($1500) is a steal compared to the ($9000) I paid for the Thiels. That and the value should be the other way around between the two.

I am reallyl annoyed at the fact I paid the price I did. Maybe I got a really good deal. But never had I had a set of speakers where so much power was necssary. The bass is wonderful. Amazing. With Bose 901's, I get better, more natural bass. Also, with a whole lot less power needed.

All in all, great speakers.

Strengths:
The most carefully constructed speakers on god's green earth.

Asthetics

Weaknesses:
Requirements for good sound not for the faint (Esp the power ...)

Similar Products Used:
CS 3.6, Bose 901's, Polk Audio RT3000p (borrowed from co-worker)