Cat Scratch Fever!

I'm a big time animal lover, and I've got a cat who likes to keep warm on my Krell KRC-HR power supply. He doesn't cause any damage to my gear, and I generally get along with him except when he whines in the middle of the night and interrupts my already fragmented sleep. He's a troublemaker, but doesn't destroy stuff.

This guy must have done something really rotten to his cat to deserve this kind of punishment. We got these parts in after shutdown, and man they look rough. We see lots of cat scratch fever around here - I think audiophiles must be cat lovers. But man, this is bad. The customer said the woofers don't look bad at all which leads me to believe that his cat took running leaps at the speakers, landed on the low-mids, and clawed it's way to the top of the cabient shredding the grilles and everything beneath them on the way up. Despite our best efforts at protecting the delicate Scan-Speak tweeters with a tough screen, you can see that it was crushed by penetrating claws of destruction.

We've seen grilles that look worse than these before. Some have come in with actual tears in them. No such thing was found on these grilles probably because the cat got a great grip on the drivers. This poor guy is out more than $1100 bucks getting his speakers fixed. Bad kitty!

To all you cat owners wondering if you should upgrade to CS3.7s: A number of innovations have been developed to deter cat-scratch fever. 1) when the grille is in place, a screen covers the entire coax making it difficult for all but the most aggressive cats to shred the driver. 2) The tweeter is fortified by a rigid guard which provides a 2nd level of protection beyond the aforementioned screen. 3) The cast aluminum top is formed into a shape that makes it very unlikely that your cat will choose it as a perch.

Kiddie Audio Standard

As our darling daughter Natalia gets more and more into toys that flash and sing songs, I consider more and more what standard of audio fidelity she's coming to expect. Let me be perfectly clear - the toys she has that giggle, sing, and otherwise make noise sound abhorrently dreadful. I mean they sound horrible! At best, they are 8 bit polyphonic midi devices that reproduce their dedicated 3 octaves without buzzsaw distortion. At worst, they wouldn't pass QC at the store-brand (pick your big-box retailer) alarm clock assembly facility.

Believe me, I'm not so snobbish to think that every audible nuance that Natalia experiences in these formative years must be reproduced with the kind of clarity and detail that would make Jim proud, but surely, growing up with toys like these is bound to give her the impression that 128kbps MP3s are God's gift to recorded sound.

Darling Wife bought her a really cute little pudgy elephant the other day found on sale that I think is supposed to approximate some type of baby babble, tongue-hanging-out-of-mouth noise. When Jennifer and I make this noise for Natalia, she goes berserk - absolutely loves it. When this little toy makes the noise, she stares at it as if to say, "What the hell is this and what did it just call me??"

Maybe, just maybe, an older generation has come to appreciate higher fidelity more because they didn't grow up with toys that pretended to sing songs. Their noise maker toys were more akin to playing cards in bicycle spokes some type of castoffs from the parents.

Sure, I'd love for all of her toys to have CS3.7 coaxes and miniature Krells belting out "Itsy Bitsy Spider", but I suppose that's not a very cost effective proposition.

Your fingers-in-ears baby rearer,

Gary

THIEL Restoration Shipping Tips

There is a very active trade network for used THIEL speakers old and new. A search any day on Audiogon or ebay turns up several THIELs from all eras. Such robust enthusiasm for our older models prompted us to advertise the capabilities of our service department as savvy THIEL restoration experts. 

One of the great challenges (as clearly illustrated above) of getting a good restoration job is getting the speakers to THIEL in the same condition that they left your house.

It's no secret that THIEL speakers weigh a ton. Even our bookshelf speakers can be surprisingly heavy in their boxes. This mandates expensive and well padded shipping containers for all models, but even with very protective packages, damage happens sometimes. So, when returning your speakers to us for refurb, take some extra care in doing so.

1) When at all possible, use original packing material for your speaker. If you don't have it, buy it from us. Not only is the original packing the safest for your speaker, but if you need to file a claim, most shippers are more receptive to paying a claim if you are using original packing material.

2) If you're shipping CS2 series or larger, please contact me so we can arrange to get them back by truck. Surprisingly, it's not as expensive as you think to send these by truck compared to a common carrier. More? Yes, but not tons more.

3) Do your best to procure a pallet to which the speakers can be strapped. This creates a boundary around the speakers (albeit small) and also boosts the odds that the speakers will stay upright throughout their whole journey. Pallets are not too hard to find. Ask any big-box retailer or grocery store if they'll give you one, and they probably will. Or, you can find a place to buy one via the phone book or Google.

4) How do you strap the speakers to a pallet? Duct tape is pretty stout stuff and should do the trick. Or, you might even try a roll of kitchen grade cling-wrap. It's very strong - just ask my high-school friend Kevin how easy it was to get into his Toyota after my junior-year prank. Whichever you use, be generous!

5) If you live within a few hours of Lexington, KY consider bringing the speakers down yourself. I'm happy to show you around the place and spin a few tracks with you in our listening room. It'll be fun!

6) Don't worry if you're having trouble reconciling any of the above. If you have a special case, call me. I'm sure we can work something out. Long live your THIEL classics!

Your freight-claim filing friend,

Gary

Vinyl is Dead! Long live Hardwood Veneer

Vinyl has a very special place in our hearts for those of us who love music and high performance audio. It's such a wonderful medium for music, but you'll never find it on the cabinet walls of THIEL speakers.

Ever since Jim designed, built, and sold speakers from his garage outside of Lexington in the 70s, we've used real hardwood veneers. The only deviation from this practice was offering black laminate on some models back in the 80s and 90s.

Why real, natural, from-the-earth, hardwood veneers?
Quite simply, it's gorgeous. The look of a beautifully crafted cabinet, piece of furniture, or fine loudspeaker finished in fine hardwood veneer is stunning. Every speaker is unique. Even when we book-match veneers, each sheet is a little different, and each tree looks completely different from the last. Aesthetics are awe-inspring. Some hardwoods with wild grain patterns pick up light so magnificently that the grain seems to stand out in relief from the cabinet walls. There are massive features of heavy grain lines rising into cathedral shapes that draw you in for a closer look, then the minute details capture your eyes. If the speakers didn't sound so damn good, you might sit there and stare at them all day.

So why doesn't everyone use real hardwood?
Because in all things beautiful and natural, there are features and flaws that for some people completely wreck what would otherwise be a text-book example of beauty. I've got a pair of PCSs on my desk that have quite possibly the most remarkable bird's eye maple veneer ever seen. The reason I've got them and not some lucky customer is that we rejected them at final assembly because each speaker has a dark bird's eye that looks suspiciously like a sperm cell seen under an microscope. They're not flaws if you think that flaws are man-made. Rather, they're features...and they're book matched!

Everything in nature has something about it that we don't like. I LOVE backpacking in the mountains, and I've been doing it for as long as I can remember, and I'll do it till I die, but I still hate mosquitoes. Would I be happier if my PCSs didn't have little grey twin sperm on their tops? Probably, but I sure wouldn't return them or gripe about it especially if the only way to ensure that it would never happen again was to go for vinyl veneer that looks the same every time, and I don't fixate on this feature every time I see the speakers. My PCSs are still gorgeous speakers just like super-models with one well placed mole on their faces are still total babes. Hrm...don't they call these beauty spots? Maybe we're on to something!

I suspect the reason most loudspeaker manufacturers don't use a wide variety of hardwood veneers anymore because they were put out with the heartburn caused by having to deal with flaws, beauty spots, and general irregularity of natural hardwood. Let me assure you that our manufacturing process would be much simpler if we slapped a big vinyl "cherry-look" sticker on every cabinet wall in phase-1 of our manufacturing process.

But our speakers wouldn't be as beautiful. Even if they still sounded the same, I don't think our speakers would be as popular as they are. I, for one, wouldn't love my THIELs as much if they weren't finished in natural hardwood veneer.

--Gary

The life of tweeters as toys

As my wife and I prepare for our 2nd prenatal doctor visit, an e-mail from yet another THIEL owner with children has compelled me to ponder the joys of fatherhood and the delight I'll take in sharing my favorite music with our new, lovely child.

The author of the aforementioned message, is but one of many fathers who's bright, curious children take a keen interest in high performance audio by exercising their sense of touch. I'm sure this young prodigy learned a great deal about the construction (or destruction) of high frequency drivers when he, with his smiling face, wide eyes, and outstretched arms, reached high for the top of Dad's finely finished, classic CS2.2s, and pushed hard upon the thin, shiny tweeter dome. He most certainly learned that though lesser drivers may crumple just the same, none can produce the satisfying, easily audible 'crunch' that ours can. Surely the feel and crunch imparted in him a sense of quality that he'll carry forth throughout his life. Perhaps the memory will remain strong enough that he'll cry a single tear of pride when his child crushes his first THIEL tweeter.

I will resist the temptation to move my THIEL speakers into a far away, locked basement guarded by baby gates and child proof doorknob locks. Our baby will be encouraged to learn and be curious, and will learn the virtue of sharing by our own example! Our baby will also enjoy the gift of music reproduced through a fine quality system. My hope is that our newest family member doesn't inflict too much damage so I can minimize our expense. Somehow, I don't see THIEL accepting diaper coupons for driver rebuilds.

With spare tweeters in waiting,
-Gary

'cause Jim designed it, thats why.

This morning the sales department marveled over a slight modification to the PowerPoint 1.2 cabinet, the kind of thing that most folks will never notice, and makes no difference in terms of sound.

The modification included changing the binding posts and pocket they sit in. We're now using the same posts we use on PXO5 passive crossovers. "They're just cooler," I remarked.
"Yeah!" says Jim. "You know why? 'Cause I designed them, that's why!"

There's such joy in the little things around here. Perhaps we're just suckers for details.

-Gary

Distortion happens before the mic is even flipped on

The process of creating art induces distortion! How ridiculous does that sound! But how true it is!

If you've read my earlier musings (c'mon, it's not like I've got a vast repertoires), you know I am fascinated by Brooks Jensen and his writings. He's a very keen observer and thinker. Once again, it's proved here. "The process of being a photographer is to work diligently to minimize the degradation in each step from conception to the final result" italics are mine for emphasis. Read the book that it's in, Letting Go Of The Camera. I love it.

I just immediately thought that there is no reason I should find this to be so profound. Of course, we only find music and other arts to be so beautiful because we can see through it into the minds of their creators which is the object of real intrigue. It's very easy for me to call music beautiful when it's beautiful on its surface. The best music, the stuff that give me ERS, is the music that is so clear that I can KNOW without any hesitation what was in the creator's head.

Think of all the ways any artist can wreck what was initially a flash of life-altering creative vision. That'll take us forever, and I must sleep tonight, or I'll be cranky and unsympathetic when you call tomorrow with a blown tweeter and need it back by Saturday.

Let's start smaller. Think of 10 ways a singer/songwriter can adulterate what would otherwise be his career defining song. Specifically, 5 technical flaws and 5 creative flaws. When you're writing your list, consider that these flaws might not be immediately evident upon first listen, and the song might still be very good, even touching, but it just didn't move you because...

Technical Flaws-
1. It doesn't sound like it's in an intimate space that I feel like I'm sharing with the singer when I hear it played back.

2. Said singer/songwriter just didn't connect with his voice and guitar that day. It's just merely a bad performance. Or, the artist just isn't a master of his craft. That's not to say you have to be a virtuoso, you just don't want your impeccable vision blurred by your inability to control your voice, guitar, whatever else you play.

3. Other noises, goings on, punch ins, print through on the tape, etc. that you never intended to be there and don't add anything to the performance or presentation. Let's be professionals here y'all. You don't have to own Ocean Way to make a quality recording.

4. Unless your vision very deliberately includes liberties with the tuning of instruments, please play in tune. And, no, that doesn't mean auto-tuning it later. Take the time to tune EVERYTHING. It counts, it really really does. Oh, if your vision DOES include liberties, be prepared to defend yourself, number of cents you meant to be off included. Or, better yet, it should be so clear to me after being unbelievably moved by your song that I shouldn't have to ask why you only played your A string out of tune.

5. Make sure your voice sounds just like it did when the song came to you in your head. When you conceived your song, remember how excited you got when you heard the pre-chorus singing to yourself in your head? Voices have such nuance. Please let me hear every one you heard in your head.

Creative-
1. It's really easy to always think that every little thing that happens in the studio or in collaboration with your producer means something and should be part of the song. Not every accident is a happy one. Happy accidents do occur and can really ice the cake of an already good song, but we don't always get the little inside jokes or irony behind little accidents that happen. Choose the ones you include wisely.

2. As silly as it sounds to some, I'm sure, put the song in the right place relative to the rest of the album. This is probably more a matter of personal preference, but I think choosing and arranging the songs that go on an album together is an art unto itself. A great example is hearing Ryan Adam's harmonica wail into "Come Pick Me Up' right after "Damn Sam". There's just about nothing on this album that surprises me any more; I've played it gazillions of times. But I'll be damned if that part doesn't raise the hair on the back of my neck every time. I don't get it when I hear the song in a compilation like the Elizabethtown soundtrack.

3. If something bothers you as an artist a little bit in the studio or while writing it, you won't possibly be able to listen around it, and rest assured it'll drive you nuts. Maybe it'll drive you so crazy that the song doesn't mean anything to you anymore by the time you're done with it. I botched a snare track once pretty badly, but I was able to 'save' it in the mix. I even did such a great job fixing it that I got complimented on how right the snare sounded on the song by the very professor that critiqued my mix. But, a few others picked up on it, and every time I hear the song, I can't help but wish I got to re-track the snare.

4. Don't be afraid to let your vision evolve, grow, or be altered, but be sure it changes for the right reason. For example, don't change it for technical reasons like you can't quite lick that riff. Just learn how to lick that riff. How idealistic is that!

5. You'll know you really nailed it when it's done and you can still be excited about it, at least smile. If you just wipe your forehead and say geez, glad that's over with, something probably went wrong somewhere along the way.

I realize that this turned into more of a plea to the artists. I didn't mean for that to happen, nor am I really qualified to make such claims. But, that's my list and I'm stickin' to it. Send me yours as a comment. I'd really like to hear your thoughts.

--Gary

PS - ERS is "Endless Repeat Syndrome". It's the kind if thing that used to break your cassette tapes in the car at the same song every time you'd buy a new copy of the tape.