Provides the closest approximation of a real musical performance in my experience. Powerful bass, smooth rendition of the human voice.

None worth mentioning

My system includes an Audio Research LS-7 preamp, Aragon 8008BB Amp, Teac VRDS 20 CD Player, Audioquest Ruby interconnects and Audioquest Clear speaker cable. The Aragon/ARC combo is a cost effective front end and provides the power and signal quality demanded by these revealing speakers. I have enjoyed these speakers for five years in my system and will replace them with either the CS6 or CS7.2 only because the upgrade bug has bitten me. I am totally sold on the Thiel sound.

Similar Products Used:

Von Scheikert VR 4.5

Imaging,Deep and wide soundstage,Tight deep bass,Details all around

none that i am aware of

Just discovered this site and as these speakers are one of the best deals in audio,decided to do a reveiw.These speakers do require some current but reward the listener with a wide and deep soundstage filled with detailed and realistic placement of instruments,like no others i have owned or heard.There is also deep and tight bass and beautiful sounding mids.All i can say is in order to not give this speaker 5 stars you would either have an incompetent amp or front end or both.

Similar Products Used:

Proac3.8,B&w 801,Legacy classics

Highly Revealing of Recording & System Flaws

I'll admit upfront, I've spent many a Saturday afternoon at a local shop (many thanks to Dons Hi-Fidelity in Amarillo) listening to the CS3.6s with Krell & Wadia electronics over the years. However, I've also spent time with numerous others in my quest for speaker nirvana including: B&W Nautilus Series (everything but the 801s); JM Lab Electra & Cobalt Series; Wilson Watt Puppies; Thiel 2.3; and KEF Reference Model 4s. Still, I kept coming back to the CS3.6 which is reviewed here.

Fit and Finish

Finished on all sides, the matched teak grains and satin lacquer coat make for a well-finished product - nothing less than fine furniture quality. Speaking of furniture, these are fairly large speakers - just ask my wife who is constantly asking me to stuff them in the back corner of the room. Although they do look large in our living room (20'X17' with 11' vaulted ceilings), they don't totally dominate it.

Ergonomically, the posts at the bottom of the speaker are difficult to access, especially with banana terminations - spades would be recommended here. The hidden posts do make for a nice, clean look though. The three spikes are refreshingly easy to place and remove which is important considering each speaker weighs in at well over 100 lbs.

Home Theater Performance

The inclusion of the CS3.6 into my home theater system required some tweaking which was eventually accomplished over the course of several weeks. One significant issue was the center channel speaker selection. I had purchased a matching Thiel SCS2 which was beautiful to behold and seriously enhanced the aesthetics of my home theater. Although an excellent sounding speaker by itself, in the end I just didn't feel the SCS2 was an ideal tonal match for the CS3.6s - a little smooth and laid back in comparison. Fortunately my Polk CS350LS was a near perfect match, so I sacrificed aesthetics for sound quality and sold the beautiful SCS2. Once dialed in I settled in for some serious movie soundtrack listening.

At the request of my 7 year old, "Independence Day" was first on tap which I played just a couple of dBs below reference (my usual volume level). Power and dynamics were outstanding as was bass quantity and quality. These speakers do indeed have clean, flat output to 30Hz in my listening room and fully justify a "large" speaker setting. I heard no distortion or compression, even with this very dynamic and loud soundtrack. Next, at my wife's request, was Clint Eastwoods "Unforgiven". Although not an aggressive mix, this soundtrack contains well-recorded and realistic subtle scene-to-scene ambience that really demonstrates a systems ability to present a realistic soundstage. The soundscape portrayed with the 3.6 in the system was such that my wife asked if there was real thunder outside and once she thought our sleeping infant was crying as a well crafted howling wolf moved around our property. I could go on with other specific examples from my favorite discs (Saving Private Ryan DTS, James Taylor Live at the Beacon Theater, T2…), but lets just say the 3.6s are capable of outstanding theater performance.

Two Channel Performance

As you may know, I was somewhat concerned that my Carver TFM-35 would not drive the 3.6s given their low impedance and sensitivity. After extensive listening all I can say it I have a new appreciation for this amp - I never experienced poorly controlled bass, constrained dynamics, or harshness associated with an underpowered amp even at high volumes. Properly driven, this speaker has wonderful dynamics as demonstrated by the drum solo track from Stereophile Test CD #2. Still, let's face it, we're talking about first order crossovers here and these drivers have to cover a lot of bandwidth. Yes, they play plenty loud but I didn't feel comfortable pushing them past "deafness inducing" levels.

I have heard better imaging performance from a few speakers, but the 3.6s are certainly more than competent in this area. The soundstage does not extend quite as high or wide some of the very best mini-monitors but it is well focused, extending just outside the speaker boundaries with most recordings. Not to say the 3.6s can't throw a convincing soundstage, with a good recording the sound envelopes you forming a totally realistic "you are there" experience. The image resolving power of these speakers is excellent and each performer is precisely placed within the acoustic environment. Additionally, tonal balance does not seem to be dramatically altered as you move around (or outside for that matter) the listening room. You do need to be front and centered to get the best from these speakers, but if you want to enjoy a good vocal performance while dining in adjacent room you retain 80-90% of the performance characteristics. Nice.

I've never been much of a bass-fiend, preferring to put my hard-earned bucks towards midrange accuracy. However, I was totally unprepared for the benefits of true, well- controlled bass down to the lowest octave. I never knew there was so much information down there on so many recordings. The large internal cabinet volume and 10" aluminum woofer contribute palpable, realistic bass even at low listening levels. One reviewer found that if there was any weakness in the CS3.6 it was a slight tendency towards a rich mid-bass on some recordings. While I do agree that the mid-bass is full, I experienced no overhang or bloat even with one speaker placed near the back wall. Yes, there is quite a bit of bass information but I never found it intruding on the lower midrange and it is always well controlled.

The midrange is quite magical in its ability to realistically portray the human voice. Recording after recording demonstrated the 3.6s accuracy in this regard. Celine Dions and Andrea Bocelli's voices in both renditions of "The Prayer" from the Quest for Camelot CD were stunning in both clarity and power. Quite simply, the CS3.6 has one of the most accurate midranges I have heard.

As with many metal domes, the aluminum tweeter is detailed and has extended frequency response. What's incredible is it lacks harshness or any other describable tonal quality. The CS3.6s upper frequencies are indeed detailed but I truly believe the descriptions of this speakers tendency towards brightness are functions of the accompanying amplification and the recording. The 3.6 simply paints the many shades in this frequency region as presented by the recording. Cymbals are clearly defined and tonal differences are readily presented from the slightest scrape to the loudest splash. Every bowstring pull across the string of a violin can be heard - I was surprised at the number of recordings in which the musician made slight errors. All is revealed and yet there is no harshness, no added "etch", and no resonances that I could detect. Outstanding!

Perhaps the best thing about this speaker is that the drivers combine to form an absolutely realistic picture of the performance without emphasis on any region of the frequency spectrum. Track 1 on RCA Red Seal's live recording of Beethoven Symphony No.6 directed by Gunter Wand is a fine example. I've not experienced such superb and powerful dynamics, delicate detail retrieval, believable concert hall ambience, and total octave-to- octave balance from this track.

The bottom line is that I've never heard a speaker that performs so well in all aspects of sound reproduction. Goosebumps. That's what it's all about and the CS3.6 delivers - in spades.

Summary

Strengths:
- neutrality and balance throughout entire audible range
- extended, powerful, & well-delineated bass
- excellent detail retrieval and transient attack
- top-notch customer service
- highly revealing of recording and system limitations

Weaknesses:
- although very good, not the ultimate soundstaging capabilities
- highly revealing of recording and system limitations

Associated System

As most with limited space and budget, my two-channel and home theater system are integrated. Since two-channel music listening is a priority, each component was chosen with that in mind.

Two-Channel Equipment:
Sherwood Newcastle AVP-9080R Preamp - analog bypass/tone direct
Carver TFM-35 Power Amplifier - 250 watts/channel into 8 ohms
Pioneer Elite PD-54 CD Player - analog output
Monster M1.2S Speaker Cable - 10 ft pair, banana terminated
Monster M550i Interconnects

Hometheater Equipment Additions:
MSB Digital Director
Polk Audio CS350LS Center Channel Speaker
Polk Audio Monitor 4 Series 2 Surround Channel Speakers
Boston Acoustics SW-10 Subwoofer
Carver TFM-6cb Amplifier - center amp
Carver TFM-6cb Amplifier - surround channel amp
Proscan PS8680Z DVD Player
Dish Model 4720 Digital Satellite Receiver - PCM/Dolby Digital Output
Monster M1.2S Speaker Cable - 10 ft to center, banana/spade terminated
Monster XPHP Speaker Cable - 25 ft pair to surrounds
Monster ILDL100 Digital Coaxial Interconnects
Monster Lightspeed Digital Optical Interconnects

Similar Products Used:

B&W Nautilus 800 Series, JM Lab Electra & Cobalt Series, Wilson Watt Puppy, Thiel 2.3, KEF Ref 4

can sound rich and lovely, stunning

take tremendous power to drive, can sound weak otherwise

These speakers can sound terrific if your amp weighs more than a large dog. Mine weighs only about dachshund, and so I will be upgrading my amp as soon as the lottery settles on the right numbers. In the meantime I am listening to mediocre sound, but at least I have something to look forward to besides future lottery winnings.

Equipment: McCormack DNA 0. & McCormack LPD-1. CD player not worth mentioning, nor are wires.

Tonal Accuracy

Current, current, current....

I purchased my Thiel CS3.6 at the recommendation of the retailor. Later when we became familiar, he joked to me, "I sold this to you because I know you will pay more money to buy better audio gears."

He was right in some way. I purchased ARC LS15 and ML331 to replace my Pass Aleph3 and Copland 401 (a Swedish intergrated amp). And I am now looking for better CD players. It NEVER happened to me when I was using B&W 803 because no matter what I use, 803 gave me similar sound.

With the nagging above, I am happy with the sound CS3.6 brought to me. But it is interesting that most of Asian families live in concrete house that audio equipments tend to have strong hi frequency. Therefore it is important to reduced the interaction between speakers and the wall (also ceiling and floor).

From my point of view, you can have some special sound quality from other speakers, but to me, Thiel CS3.6 scored high in every field.

Similar Products Used:

B&W 803, Magnepan MG2.6R

exceptional sound quality including wide dispersion, sound stage, and extremely low bass; remote is complex but easy to use

need to play pretty loud to enjoy exceptional performance; room setup critical; need high-quality components including a power amp that can drive a 2 ohm load

I purchased a pair of 3.6's with a beautiful piano-black finish from Audiogon.net for $2250. I cursed the day I bought the speakers for over a year as the performance was so poor. I was ready to take an axe to the damn things as I had moved them all over my 16 x 27 listening room and could not get ANY bass at all at the listening position. Bass was everywhere in the room except where the chair was. The performance was so bad that I couldn't stand to even turn my system on. THEN I followed the setup instructions and put them along the 27' wall instead of the 16' wall. What a difference! All of a sudden I had the best speakers I had ever heard with tremendous bass response, imaging, etc. Since these speakers can be found used for around $2K, I can't image anything sounding even close. I replaced my Cary tube preamp with a Denon AVR4800 receiver and use the preamp outs to drive an Adcom 5800 and a Velodyne 15" sub. Paradigm Studio Reference 80's are the rear speakers, and small Sony monitors serve for the "rear center." Since the dispersion is so excellent from the 3.6's, no center channel is necessary. I use the "matrix" DSP processing for all stereo inputs, including the stupid TV which sounds fabulous with a cable feed. Stereo souces include a VPI turntable and a Denon 1680 CD player. I use a Technics A10 DVD-audio player and a Pioneer DVD player. DVD's sound fabulous as does everything else. I finally (after 34e years of buying and trading) have the best sounding system and most FUN TO LISTEN TO system I have ever owned that is perfect for my room.

Similar Products Used:

24 Dynaco A-25's (4 six-speaker towers), stacked advents, Dalquist DQ-10's, various Klipsch, KEF 10-4's

It has been more than 4 month since I left my previous review. I have upgraded my CD players and I have more understanding on the capability of these speakers.

My upgrade is from SONY XA50ES to Philips CD850 (old CD player, purchased in 1990) and then later a PS Audio Ultra Link.

One thing I found immediately is that the sound is much richer and warmer. This was observed when using Philips CD player only. After adding Ultralink, it enhence the sound in the same direction but much more than Philips only.

This sounds like I am reviewing the CD player and DA. But my point is, Thiel reveal whatever was changed in the front. I feel the sound stage is well defined, every instrument and singer is just there. You don't need to guess. Even more strange is that I started to feel the sound is warmer. Can that be real?

I would recommend Thiel CS3.6 to anyone like neutral sound speakers. By the way, I do not like the new CS6 and CS2.3. They are not as good as the old Thiel models like 2.2 and 3.6. But that was only my own bias.

It has been more than 4 month since I left my previous review. I have upgraded my CD players and I have more understanding on the capability of these speakers.

My upgrade is from SONY XA50ES to Philips CD850 (old CD player, purchased in 1990) and then later a PS Audio Ultra Link.

One thing I found immediately is that the sound is much richer and warmer. This was observed when using Philips CD player only. After adding Ultralink, it enhence the sound in the same direction but much more than Philips only.

This sounds like I am reviewing the CD player and DA. But my point is, Thiel reveal whatever was changed in the front. I feel the sound stage is well defined, every instrument and singer is just there. You don't need to guess. Even more strange is that I started to feel the sound is warmer. Can that be real?

I would recommend Thiel CS3.6 to anyone like neutral sound speakers. By the way, I do not like the new CS6 and CS2.3. They are not as good as the old Thiel models like 2.2 and 3.6. But that was only my own bias.

Coherence, accuracy, tonal integrity, dynamics, palpability

Will reveal weakness in the rest of your system!

I bought these speakers when I moved last, and finally got a larger, dedicated listening room. When I first listened to them in the new room I was impressed! These are accurate speakers. Feed them properly, and they will reward you. But, garbage in = garbage out. I'm talking about both recordings and the rest of your system.

To all the naysayers: This speaker is what high-end is all about! I see complaints on this site that are ridiculous.
THIS IS A HIGH-END COMPONENT!!! You must treat it that way.

This speaker is not forgiving. You must spend time getting the synergy of your system right! And after all, isn't that what this hobby is all about?

Since acquiring these speakers I have upgraded my amplifier, preamp, CD, speaker cables, and interconnects. I have invested in room treatments and power conditioners and accessories. Each time the 3.6 has rewarded me with sound I didn't know would be possible in my room! Why? Because it's acuurate!! AND very emotionally involving.

If you want a forgiving speaker that sounds "good" with all components and wires DON"T use this speaker.

If you want true high-end sound, and are willing to learn how to get the best of a high-value thoroughbred, check this speaker out! It can bring out the best in all types of music!

Similar Products Used:

Martin Logan, B+W, Paradigm

I was stunned the first time I heard these speakers. Set wide apart and driven solely by Mark Levinson electronics, the 3.6s produced a holographic sonic image of Bobby Short (live at the Cafe Carlyle) that floated just above the floor and extended out into the listening room. I bought them a week later, and have been smiling widely since. These speakers excel in the reproduction of jazz and guitar-heavy (especially acoustic) music, but have also done very well with hip hop and classical. The 3.6s are HIGHLY resolving of details, and will make you dispise badly recorded cds, even your favorites (believe me, this is an expensive side effect). On some material, the bass becomes almost excessive - unless you have plenty of space in your listening room (or room treatments), seriously consider the smaller Thiel models. But as I mentioned eariler, the strength of these Thiels is the holographic images they project. Amplifier selection is important. I purchased the Classe CA-200 (400W into the 3.6s 4 ohm load) but you should obviously consider the Aaragon 8008. My other equiment includes the Krell KAV 300cd, Sonic Frontiers Line-2, Rotel BX-990 tuner and Nakamichi DR-1. Oh yeah, these speakers are BIG and HEAVY! Again, the smaller Thiels may suit your space better than these. Finally, if your purchase is several months away, watch out for a repacement model by Thiel - the 3.6s have been around a while, and the company seems to be updating a lot of their older models (like the CS 2 2).