Thiel cs1.6 Folleto
using a first-order crossover (a gentle slope
of 6 dB per octave) so that when the
sounds of the tweeter and woofer arrive at
the listener’s ears, their phase will be close-
ly matched. The net result: more coherent
presentation of the sounds reproduced by
the Power Point.
of 6 dB per octave) so that when the
sounds of the tweeter and woofer arrive at
the listener’s ears, their phase will be close-
ly matched. The net result: more coherent
presentation of the sounds reproduced by
the Power Point.
The cabinet that houses the Thiel driv-
ers is the most noticeable feature of the
Power Point. There are no parallel sur-
faces in the molded plastic cabinet, thus
reducing smearing from internal reso-
nances. The drivers are mounted on a sur-
face that sits at a 45-degree angle relative
to the surface on which the speaker is
mounted. There are three significant ben-
efits that arise from this. First, since the
speaker’s sound is radiated at a 45-degree
angle from the surface on which the
Power Point is mounted, it provides excel-
lent coverage of a wider seating area. If
mounted on the ceiling, a set of Power
Points can provide optimum sound for a
larger number of listening locations.
Indeed, from a ceiling perch, the Power
Point is oblivious to furniture and other
sound-blocking obstructions. For a sur-
round speaker, this is a powerful advan-
tage. Second, when a driver is mounted
parallel to a boundary surface, wall reflec-
tions will cause a dip in frequency
response at about 350 Hz and a bump at
roughly 800 Hz. With its 45-degree
mounting, the Power Point’s woofer is
closer to the wall than one-half the wave-
length of the frequencies produced by the
woofer, virtually eliminating the frequen-
cy aberrations. Smoother frequency
response results in less colored sound and,
concomitantly, makes the Power Point
less noticeable as a sound source. Finally,
the angled mounting of the drivers
reduces the strength of the first reflections
that could smear the direct sound.
Power Point. There are no parallel sur-
faces in the molded plastic cabinet, thus
reducing smearing from internal reso-
nances. The drivers are mounted on a sur-
face that sits at a 45-degree angle relative
to the surface on which the speaker is
mounted. There are three significant ben-
efits that arise from this. First, since the
speaker’s sound is radiated at a 45-degree
angle from the surface on which the
Power Point is mounted, it provides excel-
lent coverage of a wider seating area. If
mounted on the ceiling, a set of Power
Points can provide optimum sound for a
larger number of listening locations.
Indeed, from a ceiling perch, the Power
Point is oblivious to furniture and other
sound-blocking obstructions. For a sur-
round speaker, this is a powerful advan-
tage. Second, when a driver is mounted
parallel to a boundary surface, wall reflec-
tions will cause a dip in frequency
response at about 350 Hz and a bump at
roughly 800 Hz. With its 45-degree
mounting, the Power Point’s woofer is
closer to the wall than one-half the wave-
length of the frequencies produced by the
woofer, virtually eliminating the frequen-
cy aberrations. Smoother frequency
response results in less colored sound and,
concomitantly, makes the Power Point
less noticeable as a sound source. Finally,
the angled mounting of the drivers
reduces the strength of the first reflections
that could smear the direct sound.
A speaker as small as the Power Point
(19 inches long with a maximum height
of 5
of 5
9/16
inches) is naturally going to
have limited bass extension, in this case a
lower limit of 75 Hz. Thus, a subwoofer
is mandatory (Thiel introduced its first
subwoofer at the 2000 CEDIA Expo
trade show). One question is whether the
Power Point will be similarly limited in
dynamic response. At only 10 pounds,
the Power Point can be mounted on any
drywall surface without alarming
Chicken Little. The 89 dB sensitivity and
lower limit of 75 Hz. Thus, a subwoofer
is mandatory (Thiel introduced its first
subwoofer at the 2000 CEDIA Expo
trade show). One question is whether the
Power Point will be similarly limited in
dynamic response. At only 10 pounds,
the Power Point can be mounted on any
drywall surface without alarming
Chicken Little. The 89 dB sensitivity and
nominal 4-ohm impedance (3-ohm mini-
mum) make it an easy load for amplifiers
from monaural brutes to power-supply
challenged AV receivers.
mum) make it an easy load for amplifiers
from monaural brutes to power-supply
challenged AV receivers.
A New Standard
Although the ceiling is the optimum loca-
tion for a set of Power Points, I couldn’t
mount the review samples up there. Seems
that just as I’ve finally gotten this home
theater finished, it’s time to pull up the
stakes and head back East. It’s time for
another year of temporary housing while
we build a new home theater (house) in
Mary-land. With our house headed for the
market, I couldn’t drill even more holes in
the walls. So, the next best surface avail-
able was the floor.
tion for a set of Power Points, I couldn’t
mount the review samples up there. Seems
that just as I’ve finally gotten this home
theater finished, it’s time to pull up the
stakes and head back East. It’s time for
another year of temporary housing while
we build a new home theater (house) in
Mary-land. With our house headed for the
market, I couldn’t drill even more holes in
the walls. So, the next best surface avail-
able was the floor.
After moving obstructing furniture out
of the way, I wired up four Power Points for
surround purposes—two at the 90-degree
locations and the rear pair at approximate-
ly 150 degrees. Without any speaker break-
in (they need at least 50 hours to become
full bodied in tone), I resumed a movie I
had paused the night before—Star Trek II:
The Wrath of Khan. In Chapter 9, Kirk,
McCoy, and Savik search a deserted space
station. As they move through the passages,
we can hear the subtle mechanical sounds
that help define the space. Instantaneously,
I was struck by the credibility of the envi-
ronment. I was within that station and it
surrounded me completely. But what was
most remarkable was the naturalness of
that environment; there was no sense what-
soever that I was listening to an artificially
generated soundfield. For the first time
since I entered the world of home theater, I
could not hear the machine in the ghost.
Turning my head from side to side, crank-
ing my neck all the way around, made no
difference. Not only could I not locate the
Power Points as the source of the sounds, I
could not hear fields of sound around the
speakers. It was, as is often reported but
rarely accurate, a continuous field of sound
that extended to all points. The coverage
was so uniform that it mattered not where
I sat. Only when I approached a single
Power Point and leaned directly over it
could I tell that it was producing sound.
surround purposes—two at the 90-degree
locations and the rear pair at approximate-
ly 150 degrees. Without any speaker break-
in (they need at least 50 hours to become
full bodied in tone), I resumed a movie I
had paused the night before—Star Trek II:
The Wrath of Khan. In Chapter 9, Kirk,
McCoy, and Savik search a deserted space
station. As they move through the passages,
we can hear the subtle mechanical sounds
that help define the space. Instantaneously,
I was struck by the credibility of the envi-
ronment. I was within that station and it
surrounded me completely. But what was
most remarkable was the naturalness of
that environment; there was no sense what-
soever that I was listening to an artificially
generated soundfield. For the first time
since I entered the world of home theater, I
could not hear the machine in the ghost.
Turning my head from side to side, crank-
ing my neck all the way around, made no
difference. Not only could I not locate the
Power Points as the source of the sounds, I
could not hear fields of sound around the
speakers. It was, as is often reported but
rarely accurate, a continuous field of sound
that extended to all points. The coverage
was so uniform that it mattered not where
I sat. Only when I approached a single
Power Point and leaned directly over it
could I tell that it was producing sound.
The Power Points’ vanishing act relates
directly to another distinctive performance
characteristic, their stunning subtlety. On
characteristic, their stunning subtlety. On
program material that boasts refined
acoustic envelopment such as James Taylor,
Live at the Beacon Theatre, the only way
you will ever notice the surround field gen-
erated by the Power Points is by turning it
off. But where the ambience is more pro-
nounced, such as within the stone halls of
Elizabeth or the large arena in the
Eurythmics’ Peacetour DVD, the envelop-
ing sound changes character; it grows in
volume and duration. With the Power
Points, much more than any other speaker
I have heard, I more distinctly heard the dif-
ferences between the surround information
from DVD to DVD. Or even within one
DVD, such as when I compared the two-
channel track (using the Lexicon MC-1’s
Logic 7 surround matrix) of James Taylor
to the 5.1 track. The ambient characteris-
tics of these two approaches are remark-
ably different, with the 5.1 track being
more explicit in the decay of vocals in the
surround channels.
acoustic envelopment such as James Taylor,
Live at the Beacon Theatre, the only way
you will ever notice the surround field gen-
erated by the Power Points is by turning it
off. But where the ambience is more pro-
nounced, such as within the stone halls of
Elizabeth or the large arena in the
Eurythmics’ Peacetour DVD, the envelop-
ing sound changes character; it grows in
volume and duration. With the Power
Points, much more than any other speaker
I have heard, I more distinctly heard the dif-
ferences between the surround information
from DVD to DVD. Or even within one
DVD, such as when I compared the two-
channel track (using the Lexicon MC-1’s
Logic 7 surround matrix) of James Taylor
to the 5.1 track. The ambient characteris-
tics of these two approaches are remark-
ably different, with the 5.1 track being
more explicit in the decay of vocals in the
surround channels.
But what of imaging in the surround
field? You might expect speakers sitting on
the floor to produce discrete images that
adhere closely to the floor. It was a consid-
erable surprise then to discover that not
only did the Power Points cast images
throughout the surround field, they were
capable of recreating more discrete height
information than even the Magnepan
QR1.6s. For example, in the opening scene
of A Bug’s Life, a chirping bird flies down
the left side of the surround field. The
Power Points created such a credible image
of this bird that I could track its sonic flight
down the side of my room with precision
until it vanished into the left rear of the
room. Did I mention that this image was,
throughout its flight, only a foot below my
8’9” ceiling? That, my friends, is what low
distortion, phase- and time-coherent point-
source speakers will buy you in the sur-
round world.
the floor to produce discrete images that
adhere closely to the floor. It was a consid-
erable surprise then to discover that not
only did the Power Points cast images
throughout the surround field, they were
capable of recreating more discrete height
information than even the Magnepan
QR1.6s. For example, in the opening scene
of A Bug’s Life, a chirping bird flies down
the left side of the surround field. The
Power Points created such a credible image
of this bird that I could track its sonic flight
down the side of my room with precision
until it vanished into the left rear of the
room. Did I mention that this image was,
throughout its flight, only a foot below my
8’9” ceiling? That, my friends, is what low
distortion, phase- and time-coherent point-
source speakers will buy you in the sur-
round world.
As impressive as the Bug’s Life trick
was, the Power Points had more pleasures in
store for me. Sitting between the rear Power
Points (at the back of the room), I encoun-
tered a most unusual surround field. I was
sitting at the back of a field that was layered
three-dimensionally in front of me. During
the forest rain scenes in What Dreams May
Come, it actually sounded as if I were in a
redwood forest with the rain falling in the
trees around me. That is, the sound of the
raindrops appear from an infinite number
store for me. Sitting between the rear Power
Points (at the back of the room), I encoun-
tered a most unusual surround field. I was
sitting at the back of a field that was layered
three-dimensionally in front of me. During
the forest rain scenes in What Dreams May
Come, it actually sounded as if I were in a
redwood forest with the rain falling in the
trees around me. That is, the sound of the
raindrops appear from an infinite number
AUDIO REVIEW
2
The Perfect Vision reprint ❘ November / December 2000
thiel33reprint aa 7/6/01 12:25 PM Page 2