Thiel Owners

Anyone looking for replacement tweeter voice coils for the CS3.6 or CS2.2, I've got a new set of ScanSpeak 290059 D3004s I'm going to unload. PM me and I'll make you a good deal and thanks...

Another confirmation for Rob Gillium and Coherent Source Service's job well done!

Quick turn around and quality work on some blown up CS3.6 mids. Going to have a set of tweeters redone and will install all at once. Post redo of the caps and resisters in essence I'll have new speakers, well excepting the woofers.

silvanik

Send Rob a note from the contact page of his website, that should get you a response. I’ve never waited more than a day to have a question answered or any other service.

https://www.coherentsourceservice.com/contact/

Ciao, Brett

New Thiel CS3.6 owner per the recommendation of a friend who has owned Thiel speakers since the early 1980’s. I had not gone swimming in the audio deep end for a while and jumped in head first last month. Bought a brand new McIntosh C22 mark5 feeding into a MC462 as I wanted the warmth of the tube pre and the power to support most any listening need with a big SS amp. Picked up a Yamaha CD-S2100 from a local friend and still have a family passed down Garrard 301 for my vinyl.
I was looking around for some speakers to do the burn in before I started seeking a permanent fix for what to speaker to pair with the McIntosh set up. Low and behold a buddy says take a look at these Thiel cs3.6, they’ll work perfect for burn in and you might just like them so much you hang onto them. Using some older tara labs interconnects and speaker wires for now as well.
Same friend recommend staying with copper interconnects to maintain the warm sound of the tube pre. Also mentioned beware as the Thiel’s would expose any weak links in the set up. Not worrying about streaming yet but will after a bit.
Day three of the burn in and my does this system sound great, I’m looking forward to it getting weathered and improving. Huge difference from the upstairs Anthem system which has plenty of power but just doesn’t give the detail, richness, and depth of the music.

Jafant, et al,

I have Thiel CS3.6 serial numbers 0309 & 0310, they are a black laminate exterior.
Rob @CSS guessed they were built around 1992.

Barely into the ownership but they are being powered by a McIntosh C22 Mark 5 pre and MC462 amp which are both new and have a ways to go before reaching maximum performance. I’m guessing the speakers are going back into a warm up mode also since they had been sitting idle for few years.

My past equipment has been all over the place from high to low end, tube and SS, component to integrared, mostly depending upon how stationary I was at the time. Early 1960’s childhood was exposure to my parents Leak Varislope 3 tube pre and TL/12 tube amp with signals fed by Tandberg 64X or a Garrard 301 (I still have and use the 301). This emptied out into Wharfedale W4 Airedale speakers. The speakers are long gone and the Tandberg lost, I still have the Leak pre & amp.

Just getting into the vinyl & CD collection for burn in, musical taste range from classical to country. I can’t explain why but I like Hank Williams Sr, then I’ll follow up with Maria Callas, and finish the session with the Romones...

DAC parings with Thiel 3.6s...

Trials and tribulation about DACs in my system and searching for input from you all. To date I’ve tried DacMagic 200m, Ayer Codex, Benchmark DAC3-B, Chord Hugo TT2, and a Bryston BDA-2. All being fed by a Bluesound Node gen 3 or Rasberry Pi via Cardas Clear (USB & Coax). Comparing to vinyl, all the DACs come across as very bright on the highs for my listening tastes.

So far the best sounding DAC has been feeding through the unit built into the Yamaha CD-S2100 utilizing USB or coax. It doesn’t over drive the bass or create piercing highs like all the previously mentioned DACs.

I’m starting to look in the multibit or R2Rs from here out I think perhaps giving Schiit or Denafrips a try. Maybe even searching for an older ML No36 or the like. I do realizing clocking/jitter can be an issue with earlier DACs. I’m getting the idea that the Sigma/Delta dac isn’t the way to go with my set up.

Oh sorry, using Mc C22 tube pre and MC462 amp feeding into the 3.6s, as a repeat the set up sounds excellent with vinyl and regular CDs (Yamaha). And as a side note I'm keeping the Bryston for the upstairs system as it does work well with the Anthem pre, amp, and Polk LSiM 705s.

big_greg et al,

On the 3.6s I’ve replaced the mids with rebuilts by Rob at CSS and also changed out the ferrofluid on the tweeters. The updates resulted in a very extremely small softening on the highs, but only perceptible and barely so on a few tunes. This was all done prior to auditioning the previously mentioned DACs.

trickeydude

See the link below for Tom’s reference on the Stereophile review.

The 3.6 can perform well with a good lower powered amp but a big power amp will really open the speakers up. There are some good prices on used equipment but beware as anything substandard from the source onward toward the speakers. The 3.6 will expose any shortcomings in a system. I’ve also found poorly recorded or engineered music shows it’s lack of quality.

Cabling can be an issue for some including myself. For power, interconnects, and speaker wire, silver conductor based cables can be very bright on the highs. Copper cabling helps with this and in my case using digital copper interconnects (110 Ohm resistance) softened the hard edges.

I feel these are an excellent Jazz and Classical speaker that is good with rock to an extent. They will play loud yes but that isn’t this speakers forte.

I have both my systems listed on the virtual page, the Anthem amp powered the 3.6s fine, but the McIntosh MC462 brought them to life.

Good luck and enjoy your music!

 

Folks, there are a couple of sets of CS1.5s listed on FB in MD and NY. Also a set of white CS2.4s in VA priced at $1200...

I recently picked up a set of CS2.3s in Nashville for 1/3 of what they should have sold at for the shape they are in off FB. Numbers 3625 & 3626, I'd call them more of a younger brother to my CS3.6s.

jafant, I’m in Columbia MO and did a day trip down to Nashville and back.

Tom, I’ve already been in touch in Rob about the coax status and updating them. I wouldn’t mind upgrading to the 2.4 equivalent. I asked about the woofers but Rob mention they are really robust and typically not an issue.

Rob has already rebuilt the 3.6 mids and I’m ready to have the tweeters rebuilt in the near future. In the meantime I’ve picked up some extra XCs for the 3.6s and will replace and upgrade all the caps and resistors. I also plan to externalize the XCs in some older shelf speaker boxes and keep them separate from the goings on inside the CS3.6s, Winter project coming up.

Folks,

Pair of CS .5 for sale (facebook listing) in Valley Park MO near St Louis, priced at $600.

And yes for some reason I have become addicted to searching all the listings for Thiel products of worth...

Okay folks, I’m currently listening to cs3.6s with rebuilt mids and original tweeters and of course like the speakers very much. Picked up a set of cs2.3s this past summer and especially like the high and mid high sound, however they lack the low end support of the 3.6s go figure. Looking at the line up I’m eyeballing cs6 or cs7.2s.

Signal in and converted is all Bryston (BDP2 w/Bryston audio card & BDA2) managed via Roon. Next step in chain is McIntosh C22 M5 tube pre feeding an MC462 SS amp. More so I’m wondering about the cs6 as my next addition as I’d guess the bottom end is better than with the cs2.3 but equal if not better than the cs3.6. One would think that the cs6 would be better overall than the cs3.6 mostly due to advances in materials, design, experience. I’d also think the highs and mids would be similar between the 2.3 and cs6 since they were both released in 1998 and I'd think share similarities in coax design. Anyone who has owned the 3.6 and cs6s input would be most helpful. I have no question about the 7.2 fulfilling all my concerns.

@ pops & duramax747:

Gents thanks for your responses and the data is much appreciated!

Per unsound above and along with the cs3.6 and cs3.7s, Thiel cs5, cs5i, cs6, cs7, and cs7.2 impedance loads are down around 2-3 ohms and demand a powerful amp. Yes there are all makes and types of amps but make sure to power your big Thiels properly as you can’t just go buy a new pair anymore. Existing speakers aren’t as numerous and finding original replacement parts is more challenging.
 

Be careful with your cs2.3 and cs2.4s as well for the same reasons.