Thiel ss2 Volantino

P r o d u c t   R e v i e w

setup or performance, however, the SmartSub and Integrator
are beyond reasonable criticism.

I have some good news, some bad news, and more good
news. The good news is that I  have heard and reviewed a
subwoofer that is a direct competitor to the larger SmartSub
models,  Wilson  Audio's  WATCH  Dog,  which  has  been
superseded by the WATCH Dog Series 2 ($10 , 9 50), a subwoofer
that's identical performance-wise to its predecessor. The bad
news is that I heard the WATCH Dog in a different room, with
different speakers, over two years ago. Back to the good
n e ws — I used the WATCH Dog for  almost a  full year, so I
remember it well, and I have an entire review of my impressions
to fall back on. You've been briefed.

Setting up the WATCH Dog is much easier than setting up the
Sm a rtSub. That's because your Wilson Audio dealer will deliver
and set up the WATCH Dog for you, and you'll have to do the
work with the SmartSub. However, it should be apparent that
the SmartSub is far easier for an end user to place and
configure. The WATCH Dog retains the standard adjustments
of most subwoofers and adds a built-in equalizer for taming
trouble regions. While  I had the WATCH Dog, I  was able  to
achieve good results with Wilson Audio's Sophia loudspeakers,
but the WATT/Puppy 7s gave me fits that John Giolas of Wi l s o n
Audio had  to  straighten  out  with his  greater  know-how and
handheld RTA. The WATCH Dog is also very large and weighs
283 pounds, which cuts down on placement options and
thereby makes set up trickier. With the SmartSub, you can
follow Ron Popeil's sage advice almost to the letter: "Set it,
connect it, configure it, and forget it."

Pe rformance  is  where  these  two  super-heavyweight  bass
systems start to converge— and deviate again. As I noted in my
review, the WATCH Dog can pressurize room to a degree that
very few subwoofers or speakers can. The SmartSub SS2, with
Integrator or passive crossover, didn't accomplish this to the
same degree  (in a much  larger room),  but it did  produce
gut-wrenching low frequencies (if a wrenching gut is your
thing) and never gave away its position. I don't recall that the
WATCH Dog exactly telegraphed where it was in my listening
room, but it didn't seem to achieve the utter invisibility of the
SmartSub SS2. The WATCH Dog had slightly greater transient
impact, a quicker thrust on big bass-drum whacks and the like,

but the SmartSub system was no slouch. I also think the WATCH
Dog was a little better at broadcasting ambient bass and
thereby expanding the soundstage.

Which of these super subwoofers would I choose? If I owned
any speakers except those from Wilson Audio, I would pick
the SmartSub system because of its user-friendly interface a n d
extraordinary performance. I also think I could re-create the
WATCH Dog's feat of pressurizing the room and spreading the
soundstage by adding a second SmartSub SS2 or moving up
to the SS3 or SS4. In either case, I could still use the Integr a t or
or passive crossover— extra SmartSubs daisy-chain to each
other. However, it makes sense to choose the WATCH Dog for
use with Wilson Audio speakers. It mates well with even the
big MAXX 2s and models above, and there's much to be said
for matching exactly the finish of the subwoofer to that of the
main speakers.

I know of no easier way to add great low bass than Thiel's
SmartSub lineup, whose user friendliness is matched by the
sheer performance of these forward-thinking products. The
brainpower and effort behind the SmartSub lineup would be
for naught if the products didn't deliver on the implied promise
of  e a s i e r and  b e t t e r.  They  do — subwoofer  and  controller/
crossover are easy and nearly foolproof to use, and the results
are deep, powerful, non-directional bass that gives the aural
illusion  that  your  speakers  have  sprouted  a new  woofer—
or three.

Of course, the SmartSub lineup is aimed at home theater as
well, and I have no doubt that the SS2 and its brethren will
be just as impressive with movies. I'm a snob— music is tougher
to get right than explosions, so it stands to reason that explosions
should be impressively portrayed as well.

I give a standing ovation to Jim Thiel and the gang at Thiel Audio
for not only conceiving of the SmartSub and its ancillaries,
but making them a reality. Thiel has taken a well-known
product, addressed its deficiencies, improved its performance
a n d

made it more intuitive to use. Vo i là — they've re-engi n e e r e d

the status quo.