Anyone audition the new Thiel 3.7s yet?

Can't believe there are actually people out there that like the look. (No punt intended) I personally think they are ugly, and I remember last year there were tons of posts bashing the new look left and right.

I spent several sessions with the prototype at HE2006 in LA and was not impressed. And off they went from my upgrade short list. I had a pair of 3.6 and was looking to upgrade. I ended up with a pair of Verity Parsifal Encore.

FrankC

I think they look pretty cool -albeit a bit phallic! Certainly more attractive than Wilson Maxx, my Vandersteens, or the new fugliest kid on the block: the new Leviathan (or whatever it's called) that is advertised in the Oct Stereophile.

More importantly, I understand that they sound fantastic.

Once you are considering speakers at this level a showroom demo isn't very reliable. Guessing how a ^$10,000 speaker will sound in your room with your electronics is a crap shoot. While there are some basic issues to consider when matching components, after that there are endless unpredictable variable.

I will never buy an expensive speaker again until I hear it with my stuff.

The cap and tweeter are horrendous. It reminds me of the first time I saw the N801's. I was so thrown off by the looks that I could only listen for a few minutes. Merlin, Verity and the lower-end Kharma's are another story completely.

Because of the black cap, I think they look best in very dark woods -- I especially like the new Ebony composite (shown in the Ayre suite at the past CES). However, in that price range, I much prefer the elegance of the Vandersteen Quatro Wood, which I believe to be one of the best looking speakers out there, YMMV.