Thiel Owners

My approach is to identify and model exactly what each coil is doing and optimize toward the ideal behavior. That is different than choosing which sound I might prefer. Coils are quite technical in how their electromagnetic fields and therefore transient behavior develops. A primary source of distortion comes from wire squirm which smears the signal. Thiel used a dipped and baked coil round wire. Foil further reduces mechanical squirm as well as develops tighter field effects. They are better inductors with fewer side-effects. They also cost more. They also remove an (artificial) roundness and excitement caused by the euphonic effects noted above.

Due to practical conciderations, I am investigating replacing series feed inductors at 18 gauge and larger with foil. Smaller gauge foil equivalents are not readily available and Jim used 22 gauge coils in shunts specifically for the fine-tunable inductive resistance they provided. (Bigger is not always better.) Those resonance circuits do not carry current and are explicitly tuned to driver and overall circuit parameters. Besides, they are world-class high purity copper in custom dimensions and oven-baked. Hard to improve.

tomthiel

Thank You for more wire talk.  Your posts on Thiel Audio reveals Jim's genius in design and execution. We all are grateful for such fine details within the final product that went into the marketplace.

Happy Listening!

J.A. - such considerations were an integral part of our development projects and accumulated knowledge. Wire effects are subtle and complex, but far from trivial. Yes, I agree that part of Jim's genius was to pay close attention to everything and pay no attention to conventional wisdom such as "bigger coils are better".

Of probable interest here is the possibly little-known fact that we never performed competitive evaluation; there was never another-brand speaker in our lab or listening room. Jim considered such an idea as at best a use of time which we couldn't afford, and at worst a distraction from the work at hand, which was understanding and solving as much as possible from a first-principle approach. The same went for materials and cabinet concepts and construction schemes and production methods. We did original work.

Considerable feedback came from the press, dealers and customers. But such feedback was on the conversational level. The real work included Finite Element Analysis, fine-tuning the lab and its equipment, building a world-class listening room, implementing an anechoic environment on the roof-top, experimenting with leading-edge materials and the excruciating iterative process of developing complex electromagnetic / acoustic / electronic systems to get the job done. And, of course, pruning each model to fit our market niche of affordable high-performance musical tools.

harrylavo

Thank You for sharing your story circa early 1980's about taking part in a listening group.  Very cool history there.  Happy Listening!

tomthiel

Good to see you today. Agreed, I would be the first to state that wire does make a difference, the finest details must be addressed and covered properly, which you guys accelerated in those early days at Thiel Audio.
No doubt that the term "pioneer" cannot be underestimated here. Add a genius designer and philosophy on first order, time-phase coherence, and the result is one hell of a loudspeaker.  Fascinating.

Happy Listening!