Wilson Sophia II vs. Thiel CS3.7

I heard these speakers this morning--5/17--and had my socks knocked off. The definition, the clarity is incredible at all volume levels. Deep, tight bass. Crisp treble. A natural, not overly pronounced midrange. It was truly amazing how well all the parts and pieces came together to produce an all together effortless sound. (Well, there was about a 1000 watts of BAT amplification upstream to help out.) Still, a fabulous bit of engineering.

On the other hand, 12k is a lot of money for anything. There used to be a larger selection of Thiels, so you could pick your price range and get really exceptional sound which made the upgrade path not so steep. Looking at price for performance for the new models, I'm going with the 2.4 at less than half the cost. That's only my opinion and not a slight on a fabulous 3.7.

Tom's thnking along the same lines as I am, though I was thinking about the less beautiful non-wood Quatro's at almost half the price of the 3.7's and greater bass extension to boot.
Calbrs03's thinking even more along the same lines as I am. Used Thiel CS5i's can be had for less than $3K. Even with the very high shipping costs, one could send them to Thiel for a refurbish and sent back home and still have lots of money left over for some killer amps.
Still all of this is just conjecture, untill I actually get to hear the 3.7's. Perhaps they really are that good, and they really are worth the asking price? I think Thiel streamling thier line mightg be a good thing. I thought the previous extended line didn't really offer that much improvement from one level to the next. Case in point, the CS 6's didn't seem (to me at least) to be worth the cost increase over the 3.6's.

The bass is a little stronger with the Quatros, but does not blend as good into the rest of the freq. range. Also the wood model Quatro is more than just better looking. it is a much better speaker. I have had the chance to compare them and the wood model has a midrange that the sock cant touch. Not sure why, but the wood model is a much nicer speaker. And IMO worth the extra cost. I (in the end) would probably still be happier with the Thiels. Even though the cost to amplify and the initial cost would add up with the Thiels.

Even though the cost to amplify and the initial cost would add up with the Thiels.

That, unfortunately, was the thought I had leaving the store. Still, those speakers (either 2.4 or 3.6) made it seem like a good idea to change everything, again.

Probably a better idea to buy used, and dig up a ss amp with the savings. Dealer said he could give me a "killer" deal--whatever that means-- on the 2.4 demos along with the 10 yr warrantee, when he takes delivery of the new demo pair. I obediently gave him my phone number.

Hce4, I can say I have had the Vandersteen 5A for
some time now, and have tried several amps. I will not say
the 5A is my last speaker, as we all know how our audio fevers can
rise and fall. However, earlier this month I bought the Vac
Phi 300.1 and the 5A has already reached new heights in my system. This may sound overused, but the 5A just sounds so
much like the components in front of it. With the Vac Ren
70, very lush, very detailed, not quite enough power for my
taste although a healthy 70 watts. With the Gamut D200,
great dimensionality for a non-tube amp and plenty of power.
I guess my point here is, do not give up on Vandersteens
just from hearing the 5A once. It is very dependent on
the amp. I know the VTL 750 is a great amp, but it was
not on the 5A IMO. I have seen 5A's for around 11K used,
and you can always seek out the Quattro which has been
mentioned. I have not heard the latest Wilson or Thiel
designs, and have not owned either for several years.
I also have nothing negative to say about the ASL amps
which you heard on the 5A's, as I have never heard them.