Thiel ss1 Folleto
Thiel PowerPoint 1.2 ceiling speaker system
test
reports
defined, with none of the hyped 80-Hz
octave by which many small speakers
hope to fool the ear into perceiving more
bass than is really there. Bass was smooth
and controlled, but clearly beginning to
roll off fairly quickly below that point.
However, in my setup, the Thiels also ini-
tially produced a modest surfeit of output
in the next, upper-bass/lowest midrange
octave, lending deeper male vocals a touch
of an over-full, extra-warm tonality. (This
seemed to diminish slightly after some
hours of playback; perhaps a breaking-in
of some sort.) Either way, I suspect much
of this arose from ceiling-to-wall, bound-
ary-effect reinforcement. Had I spaced my
PowerPoints’ “tails” a couple feet from the
wall instead of about 6 inches (I couldn’t,
due to my temporary setup’s mechan-
ics), I suspect this might have been much
mitigated. When I later tried the system
“upside-down” on the floor some 18 inches
farther from the wall, it was.
octave by which many small speakers
hope to fool the ear into perceiving more
bass than is really there. Bass was smooth
and controlled, but clearly beginning to
roll off fairly quickly below that point.
However, in my setup, the Thiels also ini-
tially produced a modest surfeit of output
in the next, upper-bass/lowest midrange
octave, lending deeper male vocals a touch
of an over-full, extra-warm tonality. (This
seemed to diminish slightly after some
hours of playback; perhaps a breaking-in
of some sort.) Either way, I suspect much
of this arose from ceiling-to-wall, bound-
ary-effect reinforcement. Had I spaced my
PowerPoints’ “tails” a couple feet from the
wall instead of about 6 inches (I couldn’t,
due to my temporary setup’s mechan-
ics), I suspect this might have been much
mitigated. When I later tried the system
“upside-down” on the floor some 18 inches
farther from the wall, it was.
Treble seemed a bit warm at first as
well — a factor that also improved slightly
with a dozen or so hours, so I left the sys-
tem playing overnight a couple of nights
at moderate volume, which did in fact
appear to continue the process somewhat.
A little unexpectedly, I found that on-axis
listening really made a difference here: If
I moved more than about 20 degrees off
center, front-to-back, by line of sight to the
tweeters, treble definitely “darkened” and
the Thiels lost a bit of sparkle and air.
with a dozen or so hours, so I left the sys-
tem playing overnight a couple of nights
at moderate volume, which did in fact
appear to continue the process somewhat.
A little unexpectedly, I found that on-axis
listening really made a difference here: If
I moved more than about 20 degrees off
center, front-to-back, by line of sight to the
tweeters, treble definitely “darkened” and
the Thiels lost a bit of sparkle and air.
But I don’t mean to pick nits, because
really, the PowerPoint 1.2’s musical abili-
ties were quite remarkable. The Thiels’
tonal balance through the critical mid-
range was essentially perfect, yielding
consistently uncolored, natural-sound-
ing voices and instruments, while their
smooth extension into the treble regions
delivered obvious detail and depth. In my
setup, the PowerPoints projected a very
cohesive soundstage that seemed dis-
tinctly to wrap around toward the sides
of the listening area: shallower in the cen-
ter, but quite deep and out-from-the-wall
toward either side.
ties were quite remarkable. The Thiels’
tonal balance through the critical mid-
range was essentially perfect, yielding
consistently uncolored, natural-sound-
ing voices and instruments, while their
smooth extension into the treble regions
delivered obvious detail and depth. In my
setup, the PowerPoints projected a very
cohesive soundstage that seemed dis-
tinctly to wrap around toward the sides
of the listening area: shallower in the cen-
ter, but quite deep and out-from-the-wall
toward either side.
Adding the sub immediately produced
near-perfect bass integration and impres-
sive extension. A PBS-HD Great Perfor-
mances concert of the Vienna Philhar-
monic celebrating Mozart’s 250th birthday
(in quite fine Dolby Digital 5.1) provided
very believable extended sound from the
small-section basses and cellos, with no
hint of “hand-off,” bloat, or response-gaps
between sub and sats. Bigger bass music
proved the SS1 goes plenty deep, and
holds its own up to moderately kickin’
levels: Pressed hard, the woofer didn’t
clack or snort, but distinctly stopped get-
ting louder, which I take to be well-imple-
mented limiting circuitry at work.
sive extension. A PBS-HD Great Perfor-
mances concert of the Vienna Philhar-
monic celebrating Mozart’s 250th birthday
(in quite fine Dolby Digital 5.1) provided
very believable extended sound from the
small-section basses and cellos, with no
hint of “hand-off,” bloat, or response-gaps
between sub and sats. Bigger bass music
proved the SS1 goes plenty deep, and
holds its own up to moderately kickin’
levels: Pressed hard, the woofer didn’t
clack or snort, but distinctly stopped get-
ting louder, which I take to be well-imple-
mented limiting circuitry at work.
MOVIE PERFORMANCE
Performance on film sound was also unex-
pectedly high-end, “for a ceiling speaker.”
pectedly high-end, “for a ceiling speaker.”
With the psychoacoustic aid of a video
image to “anchor” the sound, I had a hard
time noticing that the sonic image was
slightly above the screen; only when I
turned off the TV did the sonic image seem
to mysteriously shift upward a couple of
feet. Front-stage cohesion was extremely
good — not surprising, given the Thiels’
coincident-driver design. When troop
trucks and tanks moved across the screen
in
image to “anchor” the sound, I had a hard
time noticing that the sonic image was
slightly above the screen; only when I
turned off the TV did the sonic image seem
to mysteriously shift upward a couple of
feet. Front-stage cohesion was extremely
good — not surprising, given the Thiels’
coincident-driver design. When troop
trucks and tanks moved across the screen
in
The Great Raid, the smoothness and sta-
bility of their accompanying roars, rattles,
and whooshes were impressive. (Sounds
panning extreme left or right do seem to
move up a bit as well, but again, you sim-
ply don’t notice this unless forced.)
and whooshes were impressive. (Sounds
panning extreme left or right do seem to
move up a bit as well, but again, you sim-
ply don’t notice this unless forced.)
As with music, the SS1 proved a stel-
lar small woofer, with surprising low-end
potential well below 30 Hz. Favorite deep-
bass effects such as the sliding stone door
early in
potential well below 30 Hz. Favorite deep-
bass effects such as the sliding stone door
early in
Stargate reproduced with all their
foundations intact, though as I increased
the system volume, the Thiel sub fell well
shy of first-run-cinema reference-level per-
formance. This should be an excellent sub
for smaller rooms and/or systems where
higher-volume playback isn’t necessary.
the system volume, the Thiel sub fell well
shy of first-run-cinema reference-level per-
formance. This should be an excellent sub
for smaller rooms and/or systems where
higher-volume playback isn’t necessary.
BOTTOM LINE
Thiel’s PowerPoint 1.2 delivers truly ele-
vated performance (ouch!). At $1,450 per
speaker, it’s obvious overkill for casual
multiroom applications. But where serious
audio reproduction is desired and ceiling
speakers are the only acceptable option,
demanding (and well-funded) listeners
will find these an impressive and highly
livable solution. Under those conditions,
I recommend them enthusiastically.
vated performance (ouch!). At $1,450 per
speaker, it’s obvious overkill for casual
multiroom applications. But where serious
audio reproduction is desired and ceiling
speakers are the only acceptable option,
demanding (and well-funded) listeners
will find these an impressive and highly
livable solution. Under those conditions,
I recommend them enthusiastically.
S&V
THIELAUDIO.COM :: 859-254-9427
Key Features
PowerPoint 1.2
::
::
($1,450 each): 6
1
⁄
2
-in woofer with
coaxially mounted 1-in dome tweeter,
6
6
1
⁄
2
in high, 21 in deep; 10 lb
SmartSub SS1
::
::
($2,900; $3,000 as shown with
amberwood finish): 10-in driver; 500-
watt RMS amp; 20 x 10
amberwood finish): 10-in driver; 500-
watt RMS amp; 20 x 10
1
⁄
2
x 15 in; 65 lb
::
Finish: PowerPoint 1.2: paintable matte-
white aluminum; Subwoofer: satin-black
or optional wood veneers
white aluminum; Subwoofer: satin-black
or optional wood veneers
decibels (dB)
hertz (Hz)
20
100
1k
10k 20k
15
10
5
0
5
10
15
—
—
—
Test Bench
L/R
■■
83 Hz to 20 kHz ±4.4 dB
Center
■■
83 Hz to 20 kHz ±4.3 dB
Surround
■■
83 Hz to 20 kHz ±4.3 dB
Subwoofer ■■17 Hz to 56 Hz ±1.8 dB
The PowerPoint 1.2 has
uniform directivity and near
identical response for all
channel positions. The trace
shows a moderate depression
between 1 kHz and 3.5 kHz
and roughness above 1 kHz.
Nominal impedance was
just 3 ohms, so use an
appropriate amp. The SS1
sub was measured with its
PX05 passive crossover. It
showed limited upper
bandwidth, though the side
and rear wall compensation
settings extend its range
somewhat. — Tom Nousaine
Full lab results at soundandvisionmag.com/thiel
Copyright © 2006 Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S., Inc. All Rights Reserved.