Definitive sub with Thiel speakers?

Not knowing how big your room is really hinders making suggestions on a sub. I've had good service form my Def Tech PF15...

Jon

Call Meniscus in Michigan they make a 10" subwoofer that is very good for theater and music and its compact. Also you have a wide variety of finish choices. Its not very expensive and will play nicely up to 100hz, something very important for your situation.

www.meniscusaudio.com ask for Chad or Mark

I was all set to buy a Thiel sub, but I had some very unusual room acoustics to deal with. My dealer (and Shari at Thiel!) recommended the Velodyne Digital Drive series, and I now have a DD-12 in my system working with my CS3.6's (which, IMHO, would need no help at all on the low end in a "normal" room). The DD-12 blends in remarkably well, and has thoroughly impressed me. The EQ and tweakability options are not only extensive, but are very, very useful. If you have been reading the mags (TAS, Stereophile, etc.), the DD series has been getting very good reviews. I certainly am thrilled with my DD-12.

Thanks for the advice. My room is 11.5 by 22.5. I've considered two subs as well, not because of room size but because of the dimensions. Tombowlus, that's very interesting that Shari recommended the Velodyne, that's something that impresses me about Thiel. What was unusual about your room acoustics?

My room has an open archway into our kitchen on the back wall, two large sliding glass doors on one side wall, high ceilings, and two more hallways leading off of it. With the Thiel sub and controller, I could adjust for optimal crossover point, but I could not account for the "bass suck" in certain frequencies from my room. Shari felt that I would benefit from the range of adjustable parameters and EQ-ing offered by the Digital Drive series, and I, too, was very impressed! I was even more impressed when I fired up the DD-12. It has been, by far, the most significant upgrade that I have made to my system, and I do not think that I could have achieved results this good without the diagnostic and tone-shaping abilities of the DD-12.

Shari at THIEL recommended another subwoofer?
There had to be extenuating circumstances beyond what is told here. Such as I would really like one, but can't really afford it, or some other really compelling reason.
How would I know this? I worked with her, as Director of Sales and Marketing. She's true blue THIEL. The other possibility could have been availability. Can we possibly get the whole story??

I was really looking to get an SW1. I liked it very much in the showroom. However, when I explained my room, and showed photos of it to my dealer, he recommended the DD-12. At first, I was somewhat put off by this, because I am a big fan of Thiel, and as stated, was quite taken with the SW1. I decided to contact Shari directly, and without telling her that my dealer had recommended the DD-12, I began asking her how to get the SW1 to work with my 3.6's and with my room. As we discussed all of the options, it became apparent that I would, in all likelihood, need to make signal adjustments above and beyond volume level and crossover settings, and that I would probably need control over more parameters than the SW1/SC1 would allow. We did discuss the possible use of outboard processors, but in the end, Shari did say for my room, the Velodyne DD-12 might be a better choice than the SW1 (with or without the controller).

Granted, Shari did say (and I wholeheartedly agree) that the SW1 would be a better match in a "normal" room. I haven't heard Thiel's newer subs, but at the time that I was looking, the SW1 was the best subwoofer that I had heard (and still is). If my room wasn't such a bear, I would have bought one for sure. But, given my situation, the DD-12 made more sense. My dealer told me this, and Shari told me this. I was the one who was hard to convince, really. As it stands, I am very pleased with the resulst that I am getting with my DD-12. I don't think that set flat it is a better sub than the Thiel (though it is commendably close, given the price differential), but as stated, my room needed the extensive diagnostic and signal shaping abilities of the Digital Drive series.

Shari has been a great resource for me, and I very much respect her opinion. The fact that she recommended a competitor's product for my particular application did nothing but increase my respect for her, and my high regard of Thiel in general. Through this, and other actions, Shari and Thiel have helped cultivate me into a life-long fan (although in truth, just listening to their products did that for me!).

That's about as much of the "whole story" as I can recall. If you have additional, specific questions, I would be happy to address them.

Tom.