Thiel PowerPoint 1.2 Product Support Bulletin

test reports
Daniel Kumin
Thiel
PowerPoint 1.2 Ceiling Speaker System
A
lthough "audiophile ceiling-
speaker" might seem an oxy-
moron of the same magnitude
as "English cuisine" or "Amer-
ican diplomacy," that didn't stop a num-
ber of speaker companies from releasing
new models at the recent CEDIA show,
a ll cla i m i ng h ig h per for ma nce. The
interest is perfectly understa ndable:
Ceiling speakers are beloved of buyers of
whole-house media systems (and airport
PA designers) because they require zero
f loor space and disappear into rooms.
However, for several reasons, they usu-
ally sound mediocre — frequently down-
right bad. I'd never heard a good one,
until now. Thiel, a small, Lexington,
Kentucky high-end maker of long stand-
ing and high reputation, has attempted
t h is feat i n it s PowerPoi nt 1.2, w it h
results not far from astonishing.
SETUP
Like Alexander with the Gordian knot,
Thiel solved its problem with a single
sword-st roke, by ta k i ng t he ceili ng-
speaker out of the ceiling. The 1.2 ($1,450
each) is a high-performance, coincident-
source 2-way speaker in a contoured, cast-
aluminum "pod" that mounts to the ceil-
ing, with the tail near the juncture of a
wall. This third-of-a-watermelon enclo-
sure delivers highly rigid and non-reso-
nant behavior. Equally important, it pro-
vides fixed foreknowledge of the driver's
location relative to the two primary reflec-
tive surfaces, allowing the PowerPoint to
optimize sound in ways that traditional
ceiling speakers can't.
I 'l l s p a r e r e a d e r s t h e a c r o b a t i c s
whereby I affixed three PowerPoints to
my ceiling without boring yet more holes
into my long-suffering studio: It worked,
but somewhere, Rube Goldberg was smil-
ing. Fortunately, a permanent installa-
tion requires just two 1 ⁄ -inch holes in
16
solid wood, or a pair of fairly small ones
using molly bolts (all supplied). My sur-
round-channel 'Points went, as usual, on
high, sidewall shelves, but shimmed up
to be flush to the ceiling. The handsome,
compact SmartSub SS1 ($2,900) sat in my
established sub location, just left of the
front-left channel.
At Thiel's urging I eschewed the cross-
over circuit in my processor for their
own PX 05 passive crossover ($500). This
small, nicely finished component is sup-
plied custom-tuned to your particular
Thiel models, accepting speaker-level sig-
ELECTRONICALLY REPRINTED FROM DECEMBER 2006
nals from all five channels and summing
their bass content to a single subwoofer
output.
MUSIC PERFORMANCE
This was one of those sessions where
I turn things on for the first time and
inwardly go, "Whoa!" Running the Thiels
in full-range stereo (no subwoofer), the
sound I f irst hea rd was so unexpect-
edly full, and seemed to originate so far
below the physical ceiling, that I actually
checked to make sure my regular stand-
mounted 2-ways were not still somehow
connected. From my listening position
some 10 feet f rom t he f ront wall, t he
PowerPoints' stereo soundstage seemed
to hover a good 2 feet below ceili ng
height, perhaps a foot and a half above
the top edge of my 50-inch screen's top
edge. (This proved plenty close enough
for movie viewing/listening.)
Sou nd wa s open, c lea n, a nd wel l
+
The Short Form
Snapshot
A no-brainer if you demand serious
performance from a ceiling-mounted
speaker and have plenty of budget.
–
Plus
::
Unique sound quality for ceiling speaker.
::
Surprising bass extension.
::
Unexpectedly natural imaging.
Minus
::
Jetsonian look won't please all.
::
Slightly elevated sonic image.
::
Sub volume limit falls short of speakers'.
Price $10,750 (AS TESTED)