Thiel CS3.6 with issues: take the chance?


I am considering purchasing some used CS3.6 from a dealer. I auditioned the speakers and it seemed to me that the drivers were all working fine. One of the passive radiators looked as if a cat had had a brief go at it with its claws -- maybe a dozen scratches, one or two amounting to a little gouge, but there were no obvious punctures. On audition, I noticed that one of the speakers -- the one with the scratched radiator -- seemed to have a lower gain than the other. Instruments seemed to be predominently coming from the other speaker (the amp being used had no balance control, so assume equal output to each speaker). This was especially noticeable with cymbals and voices, but overall balance was maybe 40/60 left/right. The salesperson confirmed my impression, and said they would look into seeing what was up. They report that they suspect a crossover issue, and that they do not want to chase it down and repair it themselves. Their tech is mostly in the field to do installations,and it is not worth it to them. They are offering me the speakers as-is for $900. I am pretty well lusting after them, but do not want to get them unless they can be put exactly right (in a way that I will confident of) for an amount of money I can live with. So I am asking advice,

Specifically,

1) Should I be concerned about the scratched passive radiator?
2) How many crossovers are there -- two in each speaker or one complex network in each? I imagine the former.
3) Would you trust a reputable speaker repair place to diagnose the problem and/or repair the complicated crossover?
4) Should I repair all crossovers if one of them needs repaired?
5) Should I have the service tech simply remove and send the crossover to Thiel for repair?
6) Is there anything else that might be the culprit here?

Please forgive my verbose questioning. I could tell from the audition that if these were made to work correctly, i would have found the speaker for me. I currently have CS 2 2's, and while I love them, the 3.6 has everything they do, but greater dynamic range and bass control, depth and most importantly authority.

Any help much appreciated.
rnm4
I would pass on this one if I were you. It looks like those speakers have more problems than a math test.
Agree with the others, obvious questions....could it have been other equipment?
Did it happen on every recording? What was the source? Some recordings pull to the right because they were engineered that way....
Thanks all.

Pops: It happened in every recording I listened to -- about 6 or 7 different ones. There were two sources (CDP and computer), one amp. But the salesman listened with me and then again later and was convinced that there is an audible problem. Believe me, if he had ben able to make it go away by switching amps or some such, he would have, because he knew I would have bought them.

Don't harsh on the dealer. They took them in on trade having been told they were not working -- as a favor to the client upgrading. When I called asking if they had any used speakers I might be interested in, they didn't even mention them. They had some others I wanted to check out. When I got there, I saw the 3.6s -- which I have wanted but haven't shown up locally -- and was told they didn't work, and were likely to be sold as cabinets alone. I asked what was wrong and whether they could be fixed. they said they'd check them out. When I called a couple days later they said that much to their surprise they were working. So I went for a listen, and discerned the balance issue, which was subtle, but pretty definite once you became aware of it.

Surely these speakers can be fixed! The question is whether I should undertake to get that done without knowing exactly what the problem is. And so far you 'gonners seem to think I should not.
If you really want to get to the bottom of it, swap all the drive units first. If problem follows, you can eliminate the crossovers. If it's the drivers, you'll have to then compare each one with its counterpart using an SPL meter and a test signal. On the other hand, if it's the crossover, good luck!
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Why don't you give Thiel a call? It might be worth it to have them fix it. If you like them that much you should make some calls .
They typically sell for $1200 or so. See some for $1000 on Audiomart right now. Seen them as cheap as $800 even.

Let me tell you about dealers. He very well knew about it, you think he didn't test it out and hear it? He did, it was just so small a difference he thought he could pass them on and hope you wouldn't notice. It's his job to test them and know what's going on. If it's an easy fix he'd have done it. It's not an easy fix.

And I don't care how much you love a dealer, I've seen plenty of them do some sleazy things, even though I used to think they were great people. Look at it this way, he knows what the bluebook is also, and it's obviously not worth it for him to fix. But he still needs to sell them. And he's barely giving you around bluebook anyway. Yeah what a swell guy and swell deal for you. REally not even a deal, just low bluebook. Most likely they really were not working and they did a cheap fix with cheap parts. Hence the sound difference. Know what's going to happen to them now? He's going to sell them to someone who didn't catch the difference. Really you bought that line about not having his tech fix them? That was a BS line you bought. He already knows what is wrong that is why his tech guy is not going to look at them. So still think he's a great guy? Yeah me neither.
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Another vote here for passing on that pair. The market on used 3.6s has dropped over the past few years (I overpaid for mine six years ago). For a few hundred more dollars, you can probably find a pair that is fully functioning. Good luck.
I would be more generous than Liz and offer $350.02
only after repairs are done and speakers are properly functioning.
Pass. For less than the cost of having them misrepaired (yes, I know), you could find a pair in much better condition.
Wow this is unprecedented neat unanimity, which makes me suspect my formulation of the issues.

Anyone wanna sell me some thiel 3.6 in perfect functional and unobjectionable cosmetic shape? If not, what else you got that can clearly compete as a definite step up successor to my cs2 2s?
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I've been building and repairing speakers all of my adult life. I would not suspect a crossover issue. I suspect a slight rub in the midrange driver on the lower output speaker... Enough to weaken its output, but not enough to hear a rub. I suspect that if you crankem up with some material with abundant upper bass, lower midrange, you will be able to hear a rub.
Couple of things to try: 1) get a price from Thiel for a replacement passive radiator and, 2) go back to the dealer and have them swap the speaker cables left for right and see if the problem follows amp or speakers, and that's assuming they were set up so that room acoustics wouldn't be the cause. At least you'll have more info.
Not to sound harsh... although this was summoned to illicit a response...cant but help u already knew the outcome...u didn't buy them...smart move...and dropping 1k on used, possible defective speakers without a warranty us foolish...even the dealer talked u out if it...but the1k towards something fully operational...kick back...enjoy the show!