Kef vs Thiel

OK, have mixed responses. You are right, apples and oranges. Both are good at what they do. I'm looking for something with an accurate image. This system will comprise of a Prima Luna pre-amp, modified Proceed Amp2 (normally they sound very bright, but I've gotten rid of that and the highs are very smooth), and still banging around what CD player to use. I'm leaning toward the Thiels though. I listened to them on a Hovland preamp and they came alive!

If you stay with KEF, you will most likely have a similar sound to what you currently enjoy. What I mean is that since they are in the same family, they will have some Going to Thiels will most likely cause you to start changing other components in your system. ;-) Thiels are very revealing of the rest of the system. I've had my 3.6 for over 8 years. I've had major changes in my system during that time, and the Thiels never failed to deliver.

Not that the 3.6 does not have its shortcomings. One of the things that I've noticed is some congestions in the upper bass, lower midrange area. There's an article in the Hong Kong Audio magazine on how to "tweak" your speakers to counter this effect which require some surgery on the speakers. Another option is to get a pair of Sound Anchor's base for these speakers. I have the older style which wrapps around the base of each speaker. They are very effective alleviating the "congestion" problem and also tightens up the bass. A friend of mine just borrowed them to try in his system and he said that they made more improvement than any of the over $1k speaker cables he had been auditioning.

FrankC

I've had the KEF Reference One's for a few years now. Other speakers with more speed, resolution and detail have come and gone. With the KEF's I find I can put on any CD in my collection, at any volume and relax into the music. It's a vey personal choice and no one can tell you which you'll like better.

historically speaking, and today,i think the bbc and studios all over the world get it too

I've owned high end KEFs in the past - and Thiel 3.6s for nearly a decade. Despite having spent 3 years auditioning amplifiers to find "the one" that properly drives the 3.6s in an oversized listening space, I've never found an acceptable replacement.
WARNING: In my experience - the Proceed isn't going to provide the horsepower you need to drive this loudspeaker in a large listening space. It isn't a matter of volume - even accoustic music at moderate levels can strain all but the most robust amplifiers.
To make matters worse, a number of highly regarded musclular amplifiers (i.e. Bryston) don't mate well with Mr. Thiel's design.
Go with the Thiel - upgrade your amp & never look back. You willl NOT regret it.