Thiel 1.5 vs. 2.3

I used 1.5s for three years and just acquired 2.3s a few months ago. I'm very happy with the 2.3s; they offer a "taller" and somewhat deeper soundstage than the 1.5s, although not any broader. I currently drive my Thiels with a Bryston 9B-THX (rated 120w/ch, but delivers more like 170w), and have not felt shorted on power...but then again, i haven't tried a larger amp. I use Transparent Super, and have heard that Thiels perform best with a good networked cable (such as Transparent or the MIT Glen mentioned).

Thanks very much to everybody who replied. I have some space limitations, which make me lean more to the 2.3 rather than 3.6, but I will think about this again in light of what's been said. I do _not_ like bright/harsh sounding gear (but neutral is good, i.e., not syrupy, which Thiels certainly are not). I have a Modulus 3A preamp, a VPI HW-19 Mk IV turntable, and at the moment a set of Golden Tube SE-40 monoblocks (80 wpc). I am aware that I would probably need to upgrade the amps. I also appreciate the cable recommendations, particularly if this helps tame excessive brightness, as I have not used MIT or Transparent cables before (I have an older pair of Tara Labs at the moment).

I have auditioned both side by side, w/same system setup. The 1.5's lack any low freq resp. The 2.3's(I now own) are better balance and synergy all the way down to 32hz or so. Make sure you get the updated drivers, if you purchase an older pair of 2.3's.

I even like the 2.3's better than 3.5 or 3.6's. Remember Thiel speakers require great componets.

Good Luck
David

If you want to keep the amps for a while, and given your taste, I suggest that you listen to mellower speakers like Meadowlark, Vandersteeen or Spendor.
I have auditioned the 2.3 at lentgh, they were the brightest, most upfront speaker in the store. Looks like Thiel designed them with the home theater market in sight.

BTW, I am not anti-Thiel, I own and enjoy Thiel 3.5s.
Good luck

I have owned many Thiels, including 1.5, 2.2, 2.3, 3.6 and also Spendors and Proacs. 1.5 and 2.3 are both wonderful speakers, within the Thiel "style" of being very linear and bright sounding, and requiring a lot of current to sound their best. The 2.3 had more bass, more height and more detail than the 1.5. It is much more a full range speaker. It is also the most coherent of any of the above. The 3.6 is substantially older design than the 2.3, much more current hungry, and less linear and coherent. It does offer more thundering bass than the 2.3, but you have to have power to drive it.

It is hard to make Thiels sound seriously musical - everything in the line must be high quality and it helps to have at least one warm sounding component. Warm sounding cables will help. I used Cardas.

Owning Thiels is a commitment to endless tweaking, and hearing the flaws in your averge recordings. Your best recordings though will sound fantastic.

Thiels need long breakin. I suggest doing several overnight sessions where you wire one speaker out of phase and place them face to face. You can then crank up the volume loud but the midrange and bass energy cancel out. Caution that you don't crank them too loud and damage a driver though.

This kind of rapid breakin process can make a huge difference in sound of a speaker.

Art