Thiel SCS4 Listening Tests

I find that when doing critical listening I like to use the same recordings over and over again. In this way I can make quick judgments as my music has a lot of memory to be compared against. I tend to place all of my impressions in the light of what I am measuring in the laboratory. My listening impressions of the Thiels were supported by what I saw from objective measurements. The only real surprises were the amount of bass that these relatively small boxes were capable of making. What I kept coming back to in my impressions was the accuracy of voices. This is where the 6.5 inch woofer and a 1 inch tweeter really shine. The other item I had to note was the ability of the Thiel to reveal subtle musical details. Some of these very old recordings sounded new for the first time in 25 years.

DVD – Batman Dark Knight - My first listening in my home was with the Batman DVD, “The Dark Knight.” My impression was that the speaker was considerably larger than its physical size. It had output sufficient to fill my living room, and just enough to completely annoy my neighbors as well. The only time I sensed the system was a bit strained was during VERY low frequency passages of high output. Those dramatic scenes in the movie, where vehicles and buildings that just blow up and now are falling back to Earth.

For those of you less than 30, I suppose my music selections are mostly proof of my age. In addition to the Video, I played several music CD's on the SCS4s.

CD - Jeff Beck with the Jan Hammer Group Live – I was privileged to be in the audience the night this recording of “Freeway Jam” was made. I remember the way it sounded, and most of the audience was standing on our chairs during this song. The way Jan Hammer plays the organ is nothing shy of amazing and Jeff Beck is no slouch on guitar. An older recording, but for its day is quite good. Excellent reproduction of guitar and organ by the SCS4. Drums and bass were a little shy relative to the 115db I can remember inside the Philadelphia Spectrum.

CD - Queen – A kind of Magic. I saw Queen live only 9 times. They are rock royalty, and this album was recorded near the height of their popularity. I like to listen to “Who wants to live forever” as it has both delicate orchestral passages as well as thunderous low end to test a loudspeakers output capabilities. Use of a subwoofer with this recording would really take the strain off the small SCS4 speakers. Again, the Thiel was quite good with mid-range, especially voices, but the low end was not able to keep up at the loudest levels. The chorus of voices was very clear on the SCS4, especially on the track "friends will be friends".

CD - Jethro Tull – War Child. I saw Jethro Tull live in Philadelphia PA, when this album first came out. (Yes, I am that old..) I can remember him dancing across the stage for the song “Bungle in the Jungle”. When he finished, a HUGE flash went off behind Ian Anderson blinding myself and my friend, completely and blowing my mind. Still one of my favorite tunes, and a standby I use for critical listening. This recording does not have a lot of low end, and so I was able to play it without being able to hear any strain or perceptible distortion. All in all, a very good performance by the Thiel.

DVD - The Three Tenors Christmas - Plácido Domingo, José Carreras and Luciano Pavarotti get together to reprise their historic concerts of the early 1990's to sing some Christmas music. I am not a big fan of Christmas music, but this recording is an exception. I was most impressed with the SCS4s hearing this recording. That these artists are world class should go without saying. Listening to the DVD was an absolute pleasure. The vocal reproduction was extraordinary! Kudos to Jim Thiel. The SCS4 performs best with mixed vocal and orchestral material in my opinion. The voices of the “three tenors” sounded very natural on the SCS4. There were times during the performance when it felt like I had that much envied front row center seat.