Anyone audition the new Thiel 3.7s yet?


Their website says they are shipping and I'm assuming they are in dealer showrooms by now. Just wondering what impressions people have of these mythical wonders? Do they live up to the hype?
jc4659
A friend has had a pair for about 6 weeks now and I spent around 4 hours listening to them a while back. I thought they sound terrific.
I've spent several hours with them. Very nice. If you do a search there is a thread comparing them with the CS7.2s.
They showed the 3.7 in Taipei hi-fi show. From the show goers, most were impressed by the sound and found them to be very coherent, fast, and transparent. Though not too many cared for the styling. I did not bother to spend time on 3.7, I will never buy a pair because of the styling.

To give you some references what were shown at Taipei hi-fi show, almost all of the big names were there. Wilson X-2 + Goldmund, JM Labs Grand Utopia Be, Avalon Isis + Hovland, Dynaudio Master Evidence + ARC Ref 610, MBL 101E, Burnmester, Rockport, Gryphon, and on and on.
By the way, I love the look of the 3.7, which is more impressive in the flesh than in photos. It's a real knockout IMO.
I heard them at my local dealer and was quite confused with the sound. Overall it was very uneven with great clarity in some areas but at the expense of any sense of warmth or continuity. The dealer was rather laid back about my comments and said to check back after 3 weeks of break-in, but that they agreed at least this pair wasn't cutting it 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.
they sound very good ,but needs a good powerful neutral sounding amp,,any amp tilted toward the upper mids and treble is ng makes them sound edgy and overly bright,,,but for 10 grand the fit of that aluminum dome on top of the speaker was the pits ,,looks cheap and feels a liitle uneven,,,
The ad says "Prepare to be amazed" and I was, but after listening, I wasn't.
I had a lengthy litening session with the 3.7s at RMAF. I loved them. A possible gotcha is the type of electronics with which they are driven, which is usually the case,of course. I first heard them being driven by Brytan electronics. They sounded good, but with some hints of top end glare or courseness. After that, the rep switched them over to a stack of Simaudio electronics, including the W7 stereo amp. They sounded really good! The top end was not what you'd call warm, but was not sterile. It was brilliantly clear with loads of subtle detail. I'm currently shopping for speakers and if I can afford just a bit more, I will give them very serious consideration.
Peter
I finally listened to a pair and as a longtime 3.6 owner right away I noticed the family characteristic was immediately apparant. There is a touch more mid-bass warmth but the transparancy, coherency, and pristine clarity is there. Interesting, they are quite a bit shorter than the 3.6 but deeper, don't know where this puts the tweeter in regards to ear level, the cover was on. I must say they are not bad looking! At least with the grill on!