Wilson Benesch Torus and Thiel SS2 subwoofers

i have been using the thiel sw1 for many years (which is the ss2 now). i am very pleased with it although it has been mostly used for movies. i do have a setting for music that i use now and again but my speakers do a very nice job on their own. as far as performance, i find it to be extremely fast, tight and detailed for a subwoofer. it does not provide as much boom and drama as allot of subs but will get as low as you need to go with great accuracy. i do not use the thiel crossover rather my theta for integration. it blends very very well with my watt puppy's. i have not heard the torus.

If you can afford the Torus Infrasonic Generator buy it, I think you will find it is the best piece of audio gear that you have ever had.

i have a pair of Torus's with magico Mini 2's...
Similar story to The first poster..EXTREMELY FAST AND WELL INTEGRATED!
Not the lowest but the most accurate and musical to date...
Comes with it's own outboard amp with full function capability for adjustment.

If booming airplane take offs and Thunderous passages are what you crave you can certainly buy cheaper but for sound, flexibility, build quality and the ability to work in ht and 2 channel this is the one!

Hello guys,
thank you for the inputs.

I asked those question, because I have both Thiel SS2 and WB Torus at audition at home. The Thiel is mine and Torus is at a loan. I was almost sure that I will replace Thiel with Trous after reading so much enthusiastic opinions.

I would like to replace my Thiel with sub at the same level of performance, but more room friendly and easier to hide.

Now after audition the Torus I am not sure about those replacement.

From technical stand point Torus is quite original approach to sub design – no doubt on that. But what I heard is a little disappointment. However Torus is a brand new and out of the box, so maybe requires some break-in period, but I am not sure if break-in may change the sonic signature.

Technical parameters comparison is better for Thiel:
Thiel has 1000W RMS amplifier, Torus only 200W,
Thiel is capable of 105 dB output at 20Hz and 112dB output at 30 Hz. Torus does not go over 100 dB.

Thiel sub in comparison with Torus can go audibly lower in bass, but the most important difference is that Thiel subwoofer is capable of output very resolved sound and definitely more punchy bass. Thiel bass is short, deep and punchy. Torus blends notes together. It is harder to follow music rhythm. There is also tonal differences between notes with Thiel. With Torus all notes seems to sound similar in their character.

I really can’t understand why Torus sounds this way, but if it does not improve after few days of working it will be disappointing.

However Thiel also has their own flaws. Their speakers are front firing and sub has four speakers instead of three and sometimes it starts to rattle.
At high volumes there is also rattling sound coming from inside, probably from the board with amp.

In my opinion if Thiel will designe subwoofer with outboard amplifier it would be great improvement.

Also the Thiel has room boundaries compensation circuit, which really works especially when sub is near to walls. With Torus there is no compensation for close to wall placement and it is really audible as the bass is not as clear and linear in room.

Any thoughts?

thanks for the comparison post milimetr.

i am wondering if you may not have a problem with your thiel. i can say i have never heard any ratttle from mine and have played often at concert (and beyond!) levels. my sub test song is from laurie anderson's life on a string, trach #6, "my compensation" which has tremendous electronic lows. this really displays the depth and power and it does not give any noise from the cabinet. i also use diana krall, girl in the other room for stand up bass demo...tightness and accuracy...no noise.