Thiel Audio Products SCS4 manual Break-In, Associated Equipment, Power Requirements

BREAK-IN

The SCS4’s, like most speakers, require a period of playing before they perform optimally. The time depends on how loudly the speakers are played; more time is required if played softly, less if played loudly. At least 50 hours at moderately loud levels are required before the speaker is performing near optimum. You should notice even more improvement after 100 hours of playing.

ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT

The SCS4 is a very high quality sound reproducer and will benefit from use with the best associated equipment. Since it is extremely accurate, it will reveal sources of distortion generated elsewhere in the system. For example, distortion resulting from poor recordings or inferior electronics will be reproduced accurately. Also, the quality of the interconnect cables and speaker cables will significantly effect the performance of the system.

POWER REQUIREMENTS

It is important to have enough power to play at the level you desire without distortion. If you play the speakers more loudly than the volume the amplifier can cleanly produce, the amplifier will produce overload (clipping) distortion. The sound will become compressed, strained, and in extreme cases, obviously distorted. This distortion is actually non- musical additional energy and since it is concentrated in the high frequency region where the speaker is least able to handle it, tweeters can be damaged in extreme cases. If high sound levels are desired, the SCS4’s are designed to be used with amplifiers rated up to 200 watts per channel.

Keep in mind that sound quality is usually more important than sound quantity. There can be large differences in the sonic performance of two amplifiers of equal power, and this is more important than large differences in power. Most everyone will be happier with a 100 watt amplifier of high sonic quality than a 200 watt amplifier of mediocre sonic quality. For this reason, we feel there is no substitute for listening in making your amplifier decision.

The question “how much power do I need?” does not have the simple answer most people expect because it is not determined only by the loudspeaker’s efficiency, but also by the volume desired and the size of the room. If all three factors are average, about 100 watts per channel is required. Each factor can raise or lower this amount by about three times.

1)Usually, people who “don’t like music loud” can decrease their power to about one-half. Also, people who like music loud should increase their power by 2 times or more. Most people fall within a normal range.

2)A speaker with a low efficiency of 84dB/2.8 V-1-m will require twice the power of an average 87dB/2.8 V-1-m speaker and one with a high rating of 90dB/2.8 V-1-m will require only half the power of an average speaker. The SCS4 is of average efficiency (88dB) and therefore can achieve average output levels with an average amount of power.

3)A small room will need less power for a given loudness level than a large room. A very small room of 1000 cu ft (11' x 11' with an 8' ceiling) will require about half the power of an average size room. A large room of 6000 cu ft (20' x 30' with a 10' ceiling) will require twice the average power. If the listening room is connected to another room by a large open area, the required power will increase, but not by the amount of the combined room volume. If the room has a “dropped” ceiling with light panels, the ceiling will be almost transparent acoustically and the space above the ceiling should be added. If the panels are heavy they will act as a more normal ceiling.

With all this in mind, a person who doesn’t like to play music very loudly and has a small room can get quality sound with the SCS4 with 30 watts or even less whereas a person who sometimes likes to play loudly and has a large room may need 200 watts or more.