opinions on Thiel CS3

[SP00N]

Someone is selling a pair of Thiel CS3.0's locally and I'm tempted as I heard some of the more recent models briefly in a showroom and was impressed with their detail. However I remember reading some unfavorable reviews of the sound of earlier Thiel models. I plan to arrange a listen in the next few days but would appreciate any opinions on these speakers, or things to check when I go see them. I haven't purchased speakers this old before and would hate to buy them and fine they need major work. Thanks for the help.

 

[SixCats!]

Hi Spoon,

I have a pair of Thiel 03A's that I have had for over 20 years.
I am currently using them in my bedroom system. Thiel is
WITHOUT A DOUBT, THE best company in terms of customer support. Due to my own fault, I have fried the tweeters on my Thiels several times over the 20 or so years that I have owned them and Thiel has ALWAYS replaced them FREE OF COST!
Now...it should be stated...I bought these Thiels USED from Gene Rubin in Los Angeles and Thiel has fixed any problem I have had free of cost. NOW THAT'S SERVICE! I moved my Thiels from L.A. to Nashville,TN when I left L.A. in 1994. I then loaded up my car and took the Thiels to the factory in KY and Thiel replaced the tweeters and Bass drivers and test them for me FREE OF CHARGE!
Now...the question begs...why did I FRY my tweeteres?
Well...because the 03A's ARE NOT designed to be a ROCK SPEAKER and I just keep getting carried away with the VOLUME(in my youth) and fried a tweeter here and there. I am not sure about the newer Thiels but...they are a BEAUTIFUL sounding speakers. I guess it really depends on the type of music you mostly listen to. The Thiels (at least in my mind) have always been more suited towards JAZZ,CLASSICAL,CHAMBER,CLASSICAL
and were not really meant to be a ROCK OUT SPEAKER!
I currently use my vintage PIONEER HPM 100'S and my PIONEER CS 911's for LOUD music. I would say the Thiels are more refined!
Depending on how loud you listen and what you listen to...if you can get a good deal on the Thiels...I would go for them.
I hope this helps. SixCats!

 

[SP00N]

Well I missed the boat on that deal. Thanks for the response though, sixcats. I think I'm going to end up with an older pair of Thiels or Magnepans, so the information was still quite helpful. Any other suggestions for speakers in the sub 1k used range (cheaper is always preferred though), The majority of my listening is acoustic and jazz, although I try to maintain a diverse music collection and have been turned on too quite a bit of new music (triphop and avant-hiphop among other things) by a friend who is the music director for SCAD radio. Detail and coherence are the sonic elements I'm looking for most in a loudspeaker. Thanks.

 

[SixCats!]

Spoon,

If you mostly listen to just Jazz and Acoustic and are looking for detail and overall BEAUTIFUL sound (and don't care about really LOUD and heavy Bass)...if it were me...I'd buy a pair of Magnepan MMG's new factory direct for $550.00 the pair. I have been told that even a NAD C 350 (60 watts per channel Intergrated amp) does well with these speakers. Of course with Maggies...more is better. Just my 2 cents. Good luck.

SixCats!

 

[SP00N]

A good friend of mine has had a pair of MMGs since before the price drop and still loves them. He is the real reason I'm considering Maggies although he is always complaining about the lack of top end detail on them. Would I do better with a used pair of higher end Maggies for the same price (i.e. A fully restored pair of IIb's that are for sale a few hours away?) The asthetics and sheer resolving power of the Thiel CS 2.3 impressed me a great deal in the showroom when I heard them and is the reason I was looking at the CS 1.2, CS 2 and CS 3 on the used market. Thanks for your input.

 

[SixCats!]

Spoon,

To answer your question...I PERSONALLY would only buy used Maggies if the pair was being sold by the ORIGINAL owner and PRESENTLY set up in their home (shipped/moved one time only in the ORIGINAL Magnepan box) and were in PRISTINE condition. That is to say...avoid a backroom/garage selling situation (as sometimes pictured on Ebay) with ALL sorts of stuff for sale. So...would I buy a pair of MGIII's if the price was right and they were in excellent condition...I think so! Good luck and let us know what happens. Also keep the Thiels in mind as well.

SixCats!

 

[michael w]

Spoon,

Too bad you missed the Thiel CS3's , a nice speaker even with that @#$! equalizer .

If your friend complains about lack of top end detail on his MMG's, the older I's and II's were worse; none of them had any response beyond 18kHz and all suffered from roll-offs at both ends.

If you are buying used Maggies, the simplest advice is to get the latest models that you can afford. In most cases later models really did improve on earlier ones.

I like run hot and cold over Thiels. Sometimes they do it for me other times they have me running from the room.
They are very fussy about setup and what they are partnered with.

Recently I heard the 1.6 and 3.6 with similar ancillaries.
The 1.6 sounded awful , the 3.6 nice but hifi-y. The only difference was the preamp; Plinius with 1.6, ARC with 3.6.


cheerio

 

[kory]

Hello,
I consider myself about as "blue collar" as audio enthusiasts could be. A few years ago I stumbled into a hi-fi shop in Salt Lake City, where I first heard the Theils. I listened to all of them in systems ranging from $3500. to $80,000. The thing I remember most was when listening to Cat Steven's "The First Cut Is The Deepest", I actually was able to recognize the use of a bass drum being struck by a mallet - as opposed to a kick peddle on a typical drum kit. The only thing I can think of that would have sparked such a reaction from me was the fact that I was a "percussionist" in the sixth-grade band, and I guess I never forgot the way that bass drum sounded!
The real truth is that since that audition, I've gone to great lengths to tune my system to reproduce the multitude of deep, lower, middle, and upper bass detail in the music I listen to.
I would have to admit that the theils are probably too refined for my tastes, but what a sound! Good luck.

 

[SP00N]

Thanks for all the replies sorry I haven't had a chance to respond. I was late on the draw again and missed a pair of ISIS for $600. Oh well one day I'll be the first. I don't know anything about NEAT audio and am interested in any potential speakers as I'm itching for some nice sound and won't know which direction to go amp wise until I find a pair. Thanks for the help.

 

[SP00N]

Well I went with a pair of JM Lab's Cobalt 810. Kind of a jump from what I was looking at but it seems like a sound buy. My apartment is on the small side anyway and I guess I can always resell them if I find them not to my taste in the long run. Thanks for all the help. (Although for $600, impulse or not, those ISIS would have been nice) I would like some input on these speakers though, I plan to pair them up with my hybrid preamp and a modest ss power amp (The old NAD will have to do for now).

 

[ProAc_Fan]

Spoon you could look for a used pair of ProAc tablettes. Depending on age and condition you can usually find a pair in the 1K range at audiogon. If your forte is jazz/acoustical then these bookshelfs would be right up your alley. They look beautiful, are fabulously built, image like crazy, and have the brand recognition which guarantees easy resale with little or no loss of one's investment. You could also look at the Totem Arro. Physically it's almost a twin of the ProAc tablette but it's Canadian made and also has very good imaging, excellent build quality and resale value. I agree with most of the others, if I was looking at Maggies I'd only buy new.

Mike

 

[SP00N]

Thanks, yeah I ruled out used Maggie’s based on the input I received from the board. I have never had the opportunity to demo ProAc speakers but have only heard good things about them. Hopefully the JM Labs Cobalt 810s will keep me in music until I have some serious cash to put toward my system. Has anyone found any synergistic amp pairings for them?