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I have owned the 3.6s for years and love them sometimes and hate them other times. My main complaints are a somewhat too ripe mid bass (probably more of a room issue) and a slightly rolled off upper high end at moderate volumes (probably my aged ears, but annoying nonetheless.)
I heard a pair of ADS 1230s at an audio get together a few months ago and really liked them. They were in an entirely different acoustic space and were being driven by way different gear than mine, but I was intrigued nonetheless by how clear they sounded. The bottom end was not huge, but it sounded nice. (Note: I use a Parasound A21 amp, ARC SP -16 preamp, and a Mac Mini computer hooked up to a Parasound ZDAC. Room is around 25 x 15.)
A pair of 1230s has come up locally, albeit priced higher than I would prefer. I am curious for feedback from any inmates who may be familiar with both speakers. My gut is telling me that I should keep the Thiels, but another part of me is kind of ready to try something new. Thoughts?...
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I've owned a pair of 1230s since 1983 and have seen no need to replace them. They rock with all kinds of music - Rock, classical, voice, jazz. They are durable too: The rubber surrounds on mine and the grille cloth are still good as are the silk dome mids, tweeters and paper ("stiff lite") 8" woofers. I've heard the Thiel 3.6 speakers and like them, though I've never heard an A-B comparison between the two.
No need for me to describe the sound quality of the 1230s. You already know.
My 1230s cost $1500 when new (bought them for less tan $1200 at a discount house in Pa.). To eclipse the sound of my 1230s, I'd need to spend thousands for new speakers.
I really loved my tri-amped LV-1020's! Wish I could find another pair! I replaced them with Magnaplanar Timpani III's with Janus subs. That was a match made in heaven!
Jonathan
ADS speakers are a speaker line that is well liked by most tube audiophiles universally.They remind me a lot of AR speakers with their east coast signature sound and dome midrange and tweeter.
The Thiel 3.6s are nice as well but the ADS1230 gets my vote with its openness and stable impedance and I love those Braun drivers.
Honest amplification is better than excessive 2nd order distortion anytime.
Hi Michael,
You are right about the impedance. The graphs look like rulers. You can drive them with almost anything, but they liked power. A pair or quad of KT88/6550 per side in UL or pentode would be nice! Or maybe stack the amps to bi-amp. We bi-amped a pair of 1290's with 300 watt Perreaux amps and it was scary loud & clean!
Dave
I owned the 1230 for years and sold the 3.6 the last year I worked in audio. So, I never compared them, but spent time with both, albeit driven by very different electronics and obviously in different settings.
If I was to buy one of them for myself, it would be the 1230, but that may be more for reasons of nostalgia than sonics. I really liked them a lot. I listen to mostly 60s and 70s rock and some jazz ...and I listen loud. The 1230s do loud very well.
When changing the gear associated with our 3.6 demo they were more often not to my liking than to my liking. But we sold lots of them, so this is certainly personal preference.
If you can get the 1230s for $500 or so, you can play with them and recoup your money if you don't like them. That's the route I'd go. Otherwise, go with your gut and stick with the 3.6.
Sorry I can't be of more help.
Dean.
reelsmith's axiom: Its going to be used equipment when I sell it, so it may as well be used equipment when I buy it.
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