Upgrade Thiel CS3.6 to CS6??


I am thinking about bidding on a pair of Thiel CS6 speakers in bird's-eye maple, and would like some input from those of you familiar with these speakers. I have owned a pair of CS3.6's for seven and a-half years and I've been generally very pleased with their sound. Can anyone out there tell me what I can expect to gain in terms of sound and performance by upgrading? Do the CS6's have bi-amping/wiring capabilities? My current amp is a Mark Levinson No. 23.5 which is what I plan on using should I get the CS6. I'd imagine that should be adequate as it is capable of delivering 400 WPC continuous into a 4 ohm load. I also have a Mark Levinson No. 27.5 that could be used in a bi-amp setup if the speaker is capable. My listening preferences are extremely diverse and include rock, folk, classical, jazz, "adult alternative".

My other concern would be room size and the restriction to a fairly near-field listening position. My room is somewhat odd in its layout. The dimensions are: 13 feet wide and 22 feet long. The caveat is that the room opens into a foyer and is interrupted by a staircase that cuts off about half of the back wall. In other words, half of the back wall is 14 feet from the front wall and ends at the stairs, while the other half of the back wall is 22 feet from the front wall and extends into the foyer. I hope that made sense. Because of the staircase and foyer, I must sit about 8 feet from the front plane of the speakers. I keep the back edge of my CS3.6's about 30 inches away from the front wall and the center axis of each speaker lies 40 inches from each side wall. The speakers are 75 inches apart when measeured from the center axis of each. Is my room too small to accomodate the CS6's? Please keep in mind that I will likely be moving into a different home in the next 1-2 years (with definite plans for a dedicated larger listening room), so I could live with the current suboptimally sized room temporarily.

Thanks to all and happy listening!!

Mark
mstram
D edwards, You are so right about that and I have to confess to all here that as a result of that extensive listening, I have owned the CS6 for a little over a year now powered by Krell KCT CAST connected to a Krell 400cx and coupled to the 6s via Harmonic Tech Prosilway 9 cables. Now I'm considering one of Thiels subs to obtain extension flatness all the way to 20Hz. Question is whether their single 10" deiver sub will do the trick in my room.
I just spent a few hours auditioning the CS2.4 and CS6 powered by the Musical Fidelity kW500 integrated amp with Valhalla cables. I did not do a head to head comparison of the 6 vs 3.6. Unfortunately, the dealer's setup did not allow for proper placement of the CS6 speaker. In other words, the listening position constraint would not allow the listener to sit the requisite 10 feet from the tweeter/midrange driver. The bass was also booming and over-exaggerated with the CS6 due to room placement/listener issues and likely standing waves. As you could imagine, this was very frustrating. The room was simply too small for the CS6 to be properly auditioned. The CS2.4 fared better in the same listening room. I really was impressed with the 2.4s imaging, clarity and low frequency tightness and extension. I'm sure the boomy bass issue with the CS6 could be dealt with by proper placement of the listener and speaker in my home listening room (plus some room treatment if need be). It would have been helpful to hear the speaker in the showroom seated the proper distance from the speaker to allow for the drivers to integrate.

Mark,

Where were you, at D edwards showroom?

The Music Fidelity was also the wrong amplifier for the CS6's anyhow so you were wasting your time.

Good Luck,
Well, I thought I'd update you all on where things stand. I decided to let another bidder steal the CS6. He got a fantastic deal ($3050) on these 6 month old gorgeous BEM speakers that cost $10,000 new. The lady of the house thought the 6s were too big, so I had to acquiesce.
The good news is: THE CS2.4S ARE ON THE WAY!! I've decided to add a second system and keep the 3.6s. Hopefully, the 3.7 will be worth the wait (another 12-18 months, I'm told).

Now, I would like to ask of you all another favor. Please provide your input on speaker cables. The budget will be under $600 on the used market.

Thanks to all of you for your valuable input.

Regards,

Mark
That was a steal on those CS6's! Wow!

As for cables, I use Cardas Neutral Reference, which I like very well with my 3.6's. I drive them with Theta Enterprises, with Reich connectors, so I have the Reich paddles on the amp end of the Cardas cables.