Thiel SCS4 Dimensions

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$$$—$$$$


Cordero Studios
Thiel SCS4 Speaker System
Sonic sorcery.
Thus, it’s technically a
two-way, coaxial design.
The unusual arrangement
ensures that every lis-
tener seated on your couch
hears the sound from each
speaker’s tweeter and
woofer at exactly the same
time. This coaxial design
performs equally well in a
vertical or horizontal ori-
entation, and you can place
it on a shelf or speaker
stand. My review system
included five SCS4s, and
the sonic advantages of
running identical speakers
in the front, center, and
surround channels were
evident in the system’s
seamless soundstaging and
razor-sharp imaging. That
said, if you prefer in-wall
or on-ceiling surround
speakers, Thiel’s Power-
Point 1.2 and HigherPlane
will be up to the job; they
employ driver technologies
very similar to the SCS4’s.
The Thiel sound runs
throughout the line.
Talk about magic. The
SCS4 is a good deal less expen-
sive than the model it replaces,
the SCS3, and the new one is
built to an even higher standard.
The tweeter is nearly identical
to the one used in Thiel’s flag-
ship speaker, the CS3.7, and the
SCS4’s cabinet now uses a cast-
aluminum baffle to provide much
greater structural rigidity, a more
secure platform for driver mount-
ing, and a reduction of cabinet

At least that’s what I thought when
I first heard his newest speaker,
the SCS4. I was listening to an a
cappella band, and the guys were
all there—not just the voices, but
I felt like the Persuasions were in
the room with me. The sound was
so utterly natural; it was as if the
speakers weren’t doing anything.

Instead of the usual assortment of
tweeter, midrange, and/or woof-
ers stacked up on the front baffle,
the SCS4 appears to have just one
driver. Look a little closer, and
you’ll see a 1-inch aluminum-dome
tweeter sitting in the apex of an
aluminum-coned 6.5-inch woofer.
Home Theater / www.hometheatermag.com

Electronically reprinted from April 2008

resonances. The 1-inch-thick,
medium-density fiberboard parts
of the cabinet are reinforced with
thick bracing. The satin-finished,
real-wood cherry veneers on my
HT Labs Measures: Thiel SCS4 Speaker System
 
Type: Two-way coaxial speaker
Tweeter (size in inches, type): 1, aluminum
Woofer (size in inches, type): 6.5, aluminum cone
Nominal Impedance (ohms): 4 (3 minimum)
Recommended Amp Power: 30 to 200 watts
Available Finishes: Natural Cherry, Dark Cherry, Black Ash
Dimensions (H x W x D, inches ): 17.6 x 8.4 x 10.8
Weight (pounds): 25
Price: $990/each
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
Connections: RCA LFE, input & output; XLR input
for use with Thiel PX05 crossover;
XLR output for use with additional
Thiel subwoofers
Enclosure Type: Sealed
Woofer
(size in inches, type): 10, aluminum cone
Power Rating (watts): 500
Crossover Bypass: Yes
Available Finishes: Natural Cherry, Dark Cherry, Black
Ash, and a wide variety of real-wood
nishes
Dimensions
(H x W x D, inches): 20 x 10.5 x 15
Weight (pounds): 55
Price: $2,900
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These listings are based on the manufacturer’s stated
specs; the HT Labs box below indicates the gear’s per-
formance on our test bench.
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samples were absolutely stun-
ning, and the heavily gold-plated
speaker binding posts would
qualify as audio jewelry. (Yes, I
know I’m a geek.)
The elegantly proportioned SS1
SmartSub is one of the prettier
subwoofers I’ve seen. Its 10-inch,
aluminum-coned woofer peeks
through a non-removable, perfo-
rated metal grille. Designed by
Jim Thiel, the driver features a
heavy cast-aluminum frame and a
special short-coil/long-gap motor
system that keeps distortion low
during high excursions of the
cone. The SS1 won’t smack you
with the sort of room-shaking
ka-boom you’d get with some
cube powerhouses, but the SS1’s
included amplifier is rated at 500
watts. While most subwoofers
are pretty dumb—they don’t
know or care where they are in
your room—Thiel’s SmartSub
sports controls that let you input
its distance from the side and rear
walls. Armed with that knowl-
edge, the SmartSub can tailor the
bass in an effort to generate flatter
and smoother in-room response.
That’s brilliant.
You can hook up the SS1
directly wit h its RCA/LF E
input, or via XLR to the Thiel
PX05 passive subwoofer cross-
over ($500). The PX05’s snazzy
brushed-aluminum chassis cer-
tainly looks high end, and its
backside is outfitted with five
sets of gold-plated speaker bind-
ing posts and an XLR connector
that feeds the SS1. Each PX05
is built to work with specific
Thiel speakers and sub models.
Therefore, you can mix floor-
standers, SCS4s, and in-ceiling
models and still get an integrated
speaker/subwoofer system. With
the PX05 hooked up, I ran the
SCS4s as large speakers over my
Sunfire Theater Grand III pre/
pro. While the PX05 passive
crossover didn’t remove any of
the bass demands from the main
speakers, it effectively turned
the SCS4/SS1 into a full-range
speaker system. They performed
so well that it was easy to forget

NuVisioN NVX32HDu LCD HD MoNitr
 tHieL sCs4 speaker systeM
Home Theater / www.hometheatermag.com

HIGHLIGHTS
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
NuVisioN NVX32HDu LCD HD MoNitr
 tHieL sCs4 speaker systeM
especially when John McClane
(Bruce Willis) uses his New
York City police car to knock
a bad guy’s helicopter out of
the sky. Asked why he trashed
the cop car, McClane mutters,
“I ran out of bullets.” He’s still
funny after all these years.
When the copter tumbles and
finally crashes and burns, you
can almost feel the heat. An
“aha” moment for sure.
The acoustic tunes on the
Led Zeppelin DVD two-disc set
sounded incredibly vivid. Jimmy
Page’s strumming on “That’s the
Way,” the immediacy of Robert
Plant’s vocals, and the hushed
presence of the crowd at this 1975
concert were all top notch. I’ve
played these DVDs through what
seems like a gazillion speakers,
and I wasn’t all that impressed
with their sound. But the Thiels
had me rethinking that opinion.
On “Bron Yr Aur Stomp,” the
audience clapping erupted, flaw-
lessly centered between the front
and surround speakers.
The multichannel SACD and
DVD-Audio discs were even
better. The sonic advantages of
having five full-range, point-
source speakers aren’t subtle.
After I carefully positioned all
of them exactly 9 feet from the
sweet spot, the continuousness
of the surround field was better
than I’ve ever before heard at
home. Roxy Music’s Avalon
SACD sounded huge, with imag-
ing behind the actual planes of
the speakers themselves. The
SCS4s effortlessly revealed subtle
details in Bryan Ferry’s vocals.
Great singers really shined
over these speakers, so I went
for the best—the Sinatra at the
Sands DVD-Audio. It projected
a sharply focused holographic
environment with Old Blue Eyes
holding court in the legendary
Las Vegas venue with the Count
Basie Orchestra. Wow!
Yeah, I know these two high-
resolution audio formats are fast
fading, so I’m hoping these titles
will reappear on Blu-ray and HD
DVD. And if they do, Thiel will be
ready with the SCS4. The speaker
is capable of producing spacious
soundstaging with superb depth,
width, and height independent of
the speakers themselves. The SS1
has been in the line now for a few
years, but it’s fully the equal of
the SCS4’s technological achieve-
ments. Jim Thiel takes his time
nurturing his designs, which can
take years to come to market. But
boy oh boy, they’re always worth
the wait.
that the SCS4s were running full
range and the SS1 was supplying
additional bass.
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A speaker’s ability to startle,
to deliver what I call the “aha”
moments that stop me in my
tracks, are what separate the
merely good from great speak-
ers for me. Those moments
came fast and furious when I
revved up the simulated earth-
quake scene on the Ocean’s Thirteen
DVD. The SS1’s room-shaking
rumbles perfectly matched the
onscreen casino’s shake, rattle,
and roll. Ocean’s Thirteen feels
like a tired retread of the heist
flick, but that one scene’s far-
fetched earthquake diversion
left no doubt about the SS1’s
deep penetration into the lowest
octaves. The five SCS4s con-
jured the casino’s immensity
and the panicked patrons’ gasps
of fear. The Thiel ensemble can
clearly muster the gravitas of a
larger system. Of course, if your
home theater is bigger than aver-
age, I’d recommend that you add
a second SS1 and run them in
stereo. Then again, moving up
to Thiel’s larger SS2 ($4,900)
might really be something to
consider. The SS3 ($6,900) and
SS4 ($8,900) subs are a little
pricey for a system built around
SCS4s, but hey, I can dream.
Live Free or Die Hard totally
knocked me out. The DV D
is definitely an aerobic work-
out for a home theater system,
 
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General information

www.thielaudio.com
Posted with permission from the April 2008 issue of Home Theater ® www.hometheatermag.com. Copyright 2008, Source Interlink Media, Inc. All rights reserved.
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