what do i power my thiel 3.6 with


Hi all,
Let me start by saying that I do not yet own the speakers. I have a chance to purchase a set of Thiel cs 3.6, in mint condition from a good friend of mine who inherited them. I was not familiar with this speaker until he messaged me. I have always been a paradigm guy. he is asking for 1000 bucks Canadian, so my first question is whether or not this is something I should jump on... based on reviews, I’m going to guess that it’s a good deal.... if I go ahead with the purchase, my big question would be what do I build around them... I have read a lot about these speakers needing a lot of power, and the amp I have now, will not do the trick... it does not even really power my studio series paradigms as is. I would likely get rid of everything I currently have (unless someone suggest otherwise) current setup is studio 80 fronts, studio cc590 center, adp rears and dual pdr 12's powered by a Yamaha rx-v2400 home theatre receiver. any advice would be appreciated, and when replying, you will have to dummy things down for me... I’m big into sound and love music, mostly live concerts is what I watch, but also appreciate a good surround sound for movies. That being said, I am by no means a sound expert, and have only ever dealt with home theatre and stereo receivers. I’m sure a lot of the suggestions are going to be about tube amps and pre amps and such, if you could explain that to me it would be very helpful! Thanks in advance
hordy240

Showing 4 responses by hordy240

yes I agree for sure. all I have done my last 2-12 hour days at work is read up on these speakers and what other people have to run them. it sounds like a very expensive project if I want to get full potential, but it also seems possible to get started at a reasonable price, and slowly upgrade over time. I think my plan would be to run the thiels as a 2.0 stereo, and then have another set of fronts to have as a ht set up. would I be on the right track in thinking that I could run a 7.1 pre amp/processer with xlr outputs as my main HTR, and then run xlr from the pre amp to a power amp to run my thiels?
thank you all for the advice! seems like everyone is on the same page, and this is mostly what I expected to hear. sounds like I might be a little out of my league for now..

Zd542: I did not take any offence to your post, I was just giving you my reasoning for thinking of running two sets of fronts and not using the thiels as my mains for a HT.. I appreciate everything you said and it makes sense!

the problem I have is that there are not hi end audio shops anywhere near where I live, so its very hard for me to audition them with the right equipment. If I purchased, I could eventually bring them somewhere but it would take time..
with all plans aside for building around these speakers... just on a value basis, is this a good enough price to buy them anyway, and if i decide I don't want to invest later on, I could just re-sell later for same price or possibly make a profit?
Unsound: I am not trying to simply make a profit off of my friend. first of all, my friend is not just giving me a generous deal. he inherited these speakers, and has no interest in them, and plans to sell them online, but checked with me first as he knows I have a passion for speakers and music. his asking price would be the same online as he is offering me.
also, I was just asking that if all else fails (meaning I never end up getting the proper equipment) is it a good enough price to go ahead and buy these, and then decide later how I want to approach, and worst case, resell if I choose to not invest in the equipment.... im not trying to take advantage of my buddy, just wondering if I should jump on it or not
but I think I have a good bank of suggestions here! thanks for everyone's replies!
the reason for having two different sets was based on some information I was given by an advisor from a thiel dealer...

-"There are a couple of issues you are going to encounter when it comes to the Thiel CS 3.6 speakers. The first is that they are truly designed for a pure stereo application and don’t really lend themselves well to a home theater setup. They are really meant for the audiophile stereo enthusiast and, because of the way they are built, it makes them a challenge to use for surround sound."

-"The price you were offered on the speakers does seem like a great deal. But given the true purpose the CS 3.6 speakers were designed for, as well as their impedance and power demands, I honestly wouldn’t recommend them for a home theater setup"

maybe this isn't accurate, and I could run the thiels in my HT setup, I really don't know. that is why I came here in hopes to get some advice. you are right, I am not what I some would consider a "hard core audiophile", but it is a passion of mine, and I will be chipping away at building a dedicated ht room with good equipment. my original plan was to just get a strong 7.1 htr and run paradigm studio or signature series, but thought I would inquire about the thiels since the opportunity presented itself...