Teufel System 9 THX Ultra Speakers Review Comments

Reviewed by Russell Williams
THX Ultra 2 guarantees a minimum level of performance that hasn't previously been available on these shores for much less than a grand. In this case, the speakers in particular and the sub on balance mean that in performance terms, you aren't suffering the minimum of anything.
Read the full review...

Brilliant review Russ, as always

Would you have any actual photos of the system in place, whilst you can read the sizes, and your own references to them, a picture, as they say, is worth a thousand words ....?

Cheers

Simon

Great review Russ, and just one question.

Forget about the cost comparison, or living room practicalities, for performance would you change your XTZs and M&K surrounds for a set of these? (excluding sub of course as you're an MDF freak )

So are you buying some Russell, are they good enough to make you want to own them? and any chance you can now review the smaller thx select package so you can give a nice balance between the two? and most of all are they m&k beaters?

I can see people wanting to buy individual speakers and getting their own sub based on this review.

edit. I see I wasnt the only one thinking haha

Been looking forward to e review of these for sometime though I have no intention of replacing my Jamo D6's with them in the short term...however, Ultra2? I thought Ultra2 reffered to a 7.1 algorithm (if that's the right term and indeed spelling...). If so, how can they be Ultra2 when there's only 5.1 of them...?
Confused I am...

Ultra2 refers to a specification for a particular sized room. A bit like THX Select of old used to be for "smaller rooms".

OK...I get that bit Matt thanks...but every Ultra2 (and the Select2) amp or processor that I've ever owned will only ever decode THX Cinema (or words to that effect) in 5.1 and only allow Ultra2 if I add surround back channels...con or clever...?

you can buy two extra speakers to complete your 7.1 so they do offer it.

Thanks Simon,

I do like to take the photos if I can, but anything I can do is a bit reliant on available light, using flash to fill in shadows and add a highlight or two. The problem I found is that speakers blacker than a coal bunker during the miserable weather we had over Xmas just didn't lend themsleves to photos that I would have been happy putting my name to.

There's only one that survived and even then, you have to ignore the charity 'tache grown during Mouvember:



That's not going to fit under the screen, is it?

Russell

There isn't a cat in hells chance I'd be daft enough to start creating a brand pecking order.

Nor can I ignore the limitations of cost, lifestyle and space, because if they were different, I would probably have bought different speakers than the ones I did. No point in hypothesizing about such circumstances. What I probably can say is that having had a set of original M&K S-150s in my room some while back, there is still room for personal preference in the type of sound, despite the limits and requirements of THX U2. They do not sound the same.

Incidentally, I expect (and definitely hope) that in the course of reviewing I will hear many speakers I would like to own. It would be a depressing past time if it was a string of duds! Regardless, I cannot own them all.

Russell

Russell

That answer is as gay as the tache

So you wouldn't swap them for the XTZs then?

Oi! That 'tache is as 'ard as Mercury.

I'm not going to say that one speaker or another is better. I love the XTZs and what they offer for my listening space. The Teufels clearly offered a lot for larger listening spaces than my own and sounded comfortably within themselves during the review. They also offered a fundamentally neutral balance that I appreciate. There was no artificial emphasis of mid to upper mid frequencies in order to 'force' detail. That sort of ploy works for short demos, but is wearing in the long term.

If one had one size of room or the other, then neither the Teufels or the XTZs would be on the alternate list. A comparison is unfair as it is irrelevant.

For instance, my room is restricted in width by a door that opens into the width of the wall against which the speakers are located. I bought the XTZs to occupy the space available that allowed the door to open. The Teufels, being basically a foot wider in either direction, required me shifting the screen a foot toward the door and then keeping the door shut during critical listening, mainly because I couldn't open it because the speaker nearest the door was now two feet closer to that wall.

They needed that extra width to breath and if you only had the width that my XTZs work happily in, then the Teufels would be a no go. I want the tweeters to be in-line with the edges of the screen to maximize image width and the Teufels are two feet wide, thus requiring the extra space to keep the tweeters at the edge of the screen.

This is hard to picture unless you're looking at the wall I am, but suffice it to say I did everything I could within the limits of my room to to give the Teufels their best performance, even if it's not what my room normally allows.

Russell

Good to read the review Russell, and well wrote it is again. Looks like a system that really needs a larger room to be at its best and worth the cost though.

Which Sub would be a good match for the system 9? no way would i want a sub that tall.

Within a similar price range, then the ubiquitous SVS PB13U would get my vote although I would also give strong vote to the MK MX-250 & 350 too for slightly different reasons.

The form factor, as you note, is the Teufels biggest limitation. Subs that trade floor real estate for a bit of extra height are a great idea, but the big Teufel takes this idea too far to be practical IMHO.

Russell