what do i power my thiel 3.6 with

Its only a good deal if you like the way the speakers sound. Also, the 3.6's are very revealing speakers, so if you don't put some careful consideration into the rest of the system, the results will most likely fall short of expectations.

Avgoround,

OK. You've made your point. I understand why you're upset, and yes, its my fault. I know this is a little late, but happy Groundhog's Day. And to top it all off, Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow and declared 6 more weeks of winter. Your rage is understandable. After all, you were just hit on 2 fronts. Sorry, I'll try to do better in the future.

"all I have done my last 2-12 hour days at work is read up on these speakers and what other people have to run them. "

You really can't trust info like that. If you don't listen to the speakers yourself, as well as the different gear you may want to try with them, you'll pay for it in the form of costly mistakes.

This type of thing happens all the time. Sometimes people get good deals on a component, or a family member gives them a gift, or whatever, and it ends up being far more trouble than its worth. They keep spending money in an effort to get their good deal up and running. You're already starting to do the same thing.

"I think my plan would be to run the thiels as a 2.0 stereo, and then have another set of fronts to have as a ht set up."

Just based on the fact that you haven't even listened to any equipment yet, you're already planning for your 2nd set of speakers to hopefully fill the gap that your first set of speakers leaves open, says you shouldn't be buying anything at this point. It doesn't sound like you are a hard core audiophile. I don't see any reason why you can't just use 1 pair of speakers for music and movies. If you find that you develop a taste for more high end gear, there's better ways of going about it.

I don't think you took my post the right way. Up to this point, all of your information has been coming from outside sources. At the very least, until you are able to listen to the 3.6's, you have absolutely no idea if you are going to love them or hate them. Its nothing more than a coin toss at this point, because you really don't know if you'll like them or not. To be clear, though, my comments are in the context of you getting the pair of 3.6's. They are a very polarizing speaker. More so than with most other speakers.

"I really don't know. that is why I came here in hopes to get some advice. you are right, I am not what I some would consider a "hard core audiophile", but it is a passion of mine, and I will be chipping away at building a dedicated ht room with good equipment."

I'm not trying to make you feel bad here. I'm just trying to give you my honest advice. When you talk about chipping away and upgrading your system, as you go, I understand exactly what you are saying. There's nothing wrong with doing it that way, in fact, that's how most of us do it. I'm just saying that the Thiel 3.6 is not the speaker to do that with for a couple of reasons. First, its not a forgiving speaker. It will expose the flaws in every piece of equipment you have, including your room and recordings. That's what I mean when I say its not the speaker you buy and then chip away at the rest of your system. Most likely, you'll get discouraged and quit building a system around them, long before you finish it.

Someone that is going to build a system around a pair of 3.6's and have success is going to approach things a little different. Its usually not someone's first high end speaker (for the reasons I list above). Its going to be someone who has a fair amount of experience with audio, and has spent enough time, not only with Thiel, but many other competing brands of speakers, as well. Their likes and dislikes are usually well established. They know what the Thiel sound is, and they are going to have a pretty good idea as to what type of components they will need to match the speakers. And that's just my honest opinion. From the looks of your post it just seems like you're not ready to deal with all the baggage that goes along with getting a pair of 3.6's to sound right. (Assuming you don't hate them.). You'll find no shortage of people who are more than willing to pat you on the back and encourage you. I won't do that to you. The mistakes are far too costly with a situation like this.

"with all plans aside for building around these speakers... just on a value basis, is this a good enough price to buy them anyway, and if i decide I don't want to invest later on, I could just re-sell later for same price or possibly make a profit?
Hordy240 (Threads | Answers | This Thread)"

That's certainly one option, and there's really nothing wrong with it if that's what you decide to do. The only caution that some of the others, including myself raised, is to not get sucked into an expensive trap with a speaker like that, because its very easy to do. Like I said before, Thiel's are very polarizing. Its usually a speaker that someone either loves or hates.

There is something else you can do that I feel would be well worth your time. And that is to bring your electronics to the speakers and try them first. You said your friend owns them, so he should have no problem with that. Even if your equipment isn't optimal, you still really need to do this. In all likelihood, the speakers are over 20 years old. Depending on how they were kept, its a very real possibility (better than 50%), that they will need some type of maintenance. Speaker drivers get old and eventually wear out, crossovers sometimes need to be replaced, etc.., stuff like that is maintenance on an old speaker.

I know how some of the others have commented on how good a deal the Thiels are. If they're in good shape and you like the way they sound, then yes, I think they're a good deal. Assuming the speakers don't need any of the maintenance that I listed above, selling them without losing money will still not be easy. If you're in Canada, its not likely sell them to a US buyer. Its a nightmare. I haven't done it in a while so I don't remember every last detail, but things get held up in customs, they may hit you with heavy fees, sometimes the packages get held up for weeks and I've seen where they've opened the box for inspection and damaged goods just from being rough handling them. Add that to the fact that the 3.6's are above the weight limit for UPS and FedEx, so you'll be looking at local pickup, or an expensive freight company if they need to be shipped. If you don't keep the speakers, you'll most likely lose a good portion of your investment. Sorry if I seem a little negative here, but its better that you get all the info up front before you lose anything. I'm not trying to talk you out of buying the 3.6's, just giving as much info, as I can, based on my experience from doing this over the years.