Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Stereo Thiel CS3.6, new toys

Got them for $1600 shipped off of audiogon.

http://thasp.removed.us/stereo for pictures.

I accidentily crushed my cables by not putting the spikes on and putting the cables on, since the plugs are on the bottom. I had to try raw cable but man this receiver is a royal pain in the ass to use that with, so I bought new cable this morning. The cable thing was horrible but these are awesome, when I get the cables cut for the axioms since this receiver has speaker 1/2 feature I will do side by side comparison.

When the HSU STF-2 was at a normal volume level along with the speakers it was inaudible. I forgot these are linear down to 30 hz which is awesome. Stereophile's measurements show an upper bass peak and a 10 dB null at 9 KHz. Well, as many here probably already think, stereophile is the last thing someone looking for a hifi should read anyway. If these had that null I'd have heard it immediately. It's probably due to placement and room size, but the upper bass doesn't sound extentuated at all compared to the axiom/hsu combo.

All in all these are awesome speakers. The midrange driver is about four and a half inches, if that, and there is only one. It's amazing to play them loud, the one midrange driver there is so small but the soundstage ir presents, how it fills the room, the volume it can play at makes you think it was much bigger and that there were more than one. I've never seen a driver smaller than 5.25" on a hifi speaker before, that blew me away that it could sound like that with such a small driver.

Thiels are great. I had demoed a few over the years. Some of the smaller drivers focus the range or "sweet spot" in the midrange. This is where you get lots of those "juicy" details. Thiels and other companies such as Proac, AE use small drivers and they sound fantastic.
My current speaker uses a 3.5 driver.
http://www.gemmeaudio.com

Contratulations thasp!! The Thiel CS3.6s are truly high end world class speakers.



What amps are you using to drive your power hungry Big-T's?

M-Audio Audiophile 2496 soundcard is the source. A Harman Kardon HK3480 receiver(soon to go to my dad's newly acquired M22s ), and 24 feet of cheap 16 guage radioshack wire.

I plan on getting 10-12 guage wire, much shorter runs this week, along with an Adcom GFA-555 MKII. I cheaped out on shipping for it since it was international, so it'll be a while before I get it.. the guy who sold me these delivered them a day after he got the money order. A true class act.

I'm still amazed at the bass. They weren't kidding, linear down to 30 hz sounds right.

Thiel CS3.6's - Best sounding Towers I've ever heard.

I guess you haven't heard this bad boy then.



CS7.2 - judging from that guy's pose I think he likes it.

It's just a bit more expensive than than the 3.6, though. (~$13,500)

Yeah $13000 was out of my $12/hr part time job budget, maybe when I'm not poor I'll think about em.

I did a side by side comparison with the axioms, switching back and forth with the receiver. I noticed two things.

a) Getting bare speaker wire into the bottom binding posts is close to impossible on the HK3480. Thumbs down to whoever designed them, it almost ruins an awesome receiver.

b) The Axioms + STF-2 combo vs CS3.6 +.. no sub combo showed me that the thiels had better integrated bass even with me adjusting my sub, and that the axioms are very tinny by comparison. Things sounded right with the Thiels where they sounded wrong with the Axioms, it was a more balanced and realistic speaker. The axioms sounded scrambled and messy by comparison. The axioms sound neutral, as do the thiels, but the thiels sound real, the axioms do not. I love my Axioms and would recommend them to anyone even if they were willing to spend $800 on a bookshelf speaker. It's really unfair to compare a $440 speaker to a $4900 speaker, but I don't think anyone would expect the axioms to win that anyway.

I was expecting them to sound like the Axioms with bass, and little more, since they're both touted and reviewed as a neutral speaker. And neutral is neutral, right? No, it's not. Either there are things other than neutrality and basic distortion ratings that determine how a speaker sounds, or the Axioms and the Thiels(one of the above, or both - I'm guessing the axioms due to the 11x price difference) deviate from neutrality.

I don't like using the term tinny since it implies the Axioms are bad.. which they are not, but that is the first and last impression I have when using them next to the thiels. The Thiels have very clear vocals, and a very clear guitar. Speakers that have a null in midrange output usually make those sounds appear subdued in the recording. The Axioms had louder mids in the wrong parts, it didn't put the vocalist/guitarist more forward in the recording, but sounded like

See Adam, my CS3.6s are speakers ... your 7.2's are teleport pods.

I'll bet those things sound just terrific! I love Thiel speakers. I'm thinking of getting one of their centers as well.

If anyone's interested in my horrible photography, http://thasp.no-ip.info:8960/stereo

These are awesome. My dad is loving the Axiom/HSU combo I gave him when I got this stereo, he says they sound better than his $16 computer speakers.

I get a 10061 error, connection refused, on your link.

Cool story on the Axioms being better than the computer speakers...

3 years later and I'm trying to trade my Thiels for m22s back!!

I need smaller speakers and no dealers will let me trade my 3.6 for used bookshelf thiels. I HAVE YET TO FIND A SMALL SPEAKER UNDER $1K AS ACCURATE AS THE M22TI!

I have found tons of "better", but I want to use these in a smaller studio space, and the thiels don't exactly fit on the desk. everything else either sounds terrible, or really better than the m22ti while lying through its teeth. I liked my m22s for the honesty. The axioms and the thiels tell the truth. the more stuff I listen to, the more this becomes apparent.

I am thinking the m2i would be better suited for nearfield application, so I might get that instead.

From everything you have written, I do not think you would be satisfied by the M2. The midrange on these speakers is excellent, but they do not present the same detail and are missing a lot in the bass.

T, been quite a while since we discussed things here, but nothing has changed with regard to my enthusiasm for my M22s after seven years. Your comments are right on in my view.

C'mon John, I know you are just dying inside to try the M80's

What would you recommend then for nearfield application sitting on a desk?

If I put the Thiels on the desk I'd have to cut holes in the ceiling.

I could use the m22ti, but being 2' away from them I don't see how they'd benefit me over the m2i.

If this is not the case, someone say so!

I really like the Audiobytes for near field listening combined with a nice sub they have outstanding clarity and warmth.

I agree. Well, I have the EP0 sub with mine, which does the trick for near field. I'm sure a separate sub would be better, but that might be a tad... extravagant for my work desk.

Do you play music when Mr. B and Y are there?

I have only heard mojo's Audiobytes, numerous times mind you, and with his slightly modded Sony sub in his office/spare bedroom they sound great.

Only when Mr. B is here. Mr. Y says it's ok, but I think it would drive him crazy.

Well, I have used both M2 and M22 (both v2s) as computer speakers paired with a Paradigm PDR10 sub. I had them on stands just past the edge of the desk, for a total of about 3' distance (I know that danmagicman7 uses M22s as computer speakers and has them right on the desk alongside the monitor). I found the M22s to be a significant improvement over the M2s. Didn't really take notes on the comparison, but as soon as I hooked up the 22s I had no interest in trying an A/B. The M2s are certainly clear and precise, but the fullness, even with a sub, just wasn't there.

I just got the part and rebuilt my own tweeter today.

It sounds the same as the right one, because I didn't get solder caked to the driver like the guy who rebuilt my last one.

Excellent. :]

Hey, right on, man!

Now the right tweeter stopped working. And I have a feeling the midrange driver on the right may not like me that much anymore. It takes higher level than it took for the old tweeter to distort for me to notice, but it does, on Andre Rieu's Greensleeves. Outside of that it's golden. That song around 1:45 in ruins every speaker I've tried it on.

Time for tweeter #2!

T? Greensleeves is a beautiful and rather quiet composition(around 1:45 and elsewhere). How is it that the version by Rieu has that effect?

It's probably during one of the quiet passages where someone in the audience coughs.

*pop goes the tweeter*

It's not the composition that does it, it's the recording of it.

A lot of classical that I listen to seems to be recorded to be an accurate representation of what was played. With pop and lots of rock music, it's more like you're creating an illusion, or a state of disbelief. Like technicolor, or a funny cartoon. The recordist makes his own reality for the track.


Andre Rieu's Greensleeves is very full in a kind of fake way that makes every speaker I've tried to make reproduce it at the volume it deserves to be reproduced at, cry. I've taken it to some other systems and there are so many speakers I THOUGHT were fine that had a F'd up driver somewhere when I played this, and the amp clip lights were never coming on. It's now my test for whether or not a system has a worn driver.

If anyone is interested in a clip of the recording, send me a PM here.

This recording doesn't sound like it's done to sound exactly as if you were in the room. It's really amazing.

My other tweeter is on its way out, but the midrange seems a bit conky as well. The tweeter's definitely gone but the midrange seems like it's just on its way out if something hits it at the right frequency and volume. It breaks up completely. Fun.