Has anyone spent time with the Thiel 3.7?

Yes, Audio Alternative in Atlanta.Heard them with Ayre gear and AudioQuest cables.The owner states a special synergy between the two brands,Ayre and Thiel.Very ,very coherent and suprisingly dynamic as well.Bright no.Bright to me sounds painful.Fast and agile would be a more apt with some punch.I compared the 3.7 against the Vandersteen Quattro Wood using similar Ayre gear in another listen room.

Stixman,
Could you elaborate on what you heard between the Vandersteen Quattro and the Thiel 3.7?
I would be very interested to hear your comments.
Bill

I auditioned B&w 802D, Wilson Sophia, KEF 205/2 Ref, and Thiel 3.7 side by side before I ended up purchasing 3.7. Thiel just simply outshined the rest. B&W 802D proved just how uninteresting and boring it's sound is but with ridiculous price tag. KEF was pretty good but could not match Thiel's immense soundstage and accurate imaging. Thiel is everything James above says. Very accurate but musical(can you believe that ?)..very different from previous thiels. This is Thiel's last greatest gift to music lovers before leaving us. nothing in the price range will come near it's performance level. entirely on it's own league..go trust your ears and hear them out...

I want to echo pkoh's impressions of the Thiel CS3.7. I purchased a pair around 5 months ago. I compared them to Dynaudio Anniversary Saphires (which were too clinical and restrained for my taste) and CS7.2's (fantastic speakers, but not quite as smooth in the top end and somewhat less musical).

The CS3.7's are truly unlike any other Thiel in that they are extraordinarily articulate without being harsh or etched. However, two things are important to note: many people don't allow them their 500 hour break in and sell them prematurely. Out of the box, they are absolutely wretched...shrill and painful. Second, you'll need high quality equipment throughout your system because they are stone cold truth tellers. I auditioned numerous preamps before I found one of sufficient quality. Got a crappy cdp? They'll shine a light on it. The good news is that they will throw a sound stage and produce imaging you cannot touch in the $13K price range. For those who say they skimp on bass, I suspect that's due to deficient front end components. Several friends who listened to my set up recently couldn't stop commenting on how deep the bass was and how much "slam" these speakers have.

You've gotta be willing to handle the truth about your gear if wanna own these speakers....which is not to say that they don't sound good with reasonably priced equipment...your equipment just has to be well made and musical. Thiel CS3.7's are incredibly emotional, complex and rewarding speakers that reflect world-class design and engineering, but they are not for everyone.

I have to add my thoughts here also. These speakers will show you how limited some of the upstream components really are. I had to replace my CDP, cartridge, and eventually my amps to get back to where I wanted to be. If a piece of equipment can make you do that...WATCH OUT I SAY! BTW, they replaced Vandersteen 5a's, which I thought were going o be keepers.