RMAF 2011

Retailer Denver Audio Designs was featuring Thiel's elegant-looking SCS4T tower speakers ($3690/pair) in its RMAF room. But the Dire Straits album playing when I entered the room had more low bass than I remembered the Thiels giving when we reviewed them. The system was familiar—Simaudio Moon 360D player, 350P preamplifier, and 330A amplifier, all wired with StraightWire—but then I saw in the corners a pair of Thiel's new USS subwoofers. The towers were bring run full-range, with the subs reinforcing the sound below 40Hz.

The USS uses a 10" drive-unit powered by a 550W amplifier, and the amplifier uses a patented circuit to compensate for the thermal-induced changes in the voice-coil impedance. The subwoofer also incorporates Thiel's patented approach to room acoustic correction. The USS's price has yet to be decided, but a spokesperson told me that Thiel was aiming for a unit price of $3000.