Rocky Mountain Audio Fest 2011 • Hot Product

Jim Thiel's SmartSubs were arguably his most ingenious creation during a career that was dominated by ingenuity. Banished were the standard adjustments for phase, crossover point, and output, these replaced by a few adjustments or an external passive crossover for use with various Thiel loudspeakers.

The new SmartSubs build on the initial design and most notably include a thermal-compensation circuit that corrects for distortion that occurs when the driver's voice coil heats up. The SmartSub USS (shown) uses a single 10" driver, while the larger SS2.2 uses a pair of the drivers. The prices for both are yet to be determined.