Thiel Audio
Encyclopedia
Thiel Audio is a privately held
high performance loudspeaker
manufacturer headquartered and established in Lexington, Kentucky
. Thiel Audio products are distributed to over 30 countries spanning the globe. All their products are designed and built in their 35000 square feet (3,251.6 m²) facility located in Lexington. The current president
of Thiel Audio is Kathy Gornik, who is also the chairman of the Consumer Electronics Association
.
in 1968, majoring in physics
. Thiel Audio first exhibited at the Consumer Electronics Show
in 1977, which is the year in which the company is often cited as being founded.
Jim Thiel's brother was good at woodworking
, and would build the speaker boxes. Their first product was a two-way speaker with an equalizer
to give it high-quality bass response. Jim soon realized that he would need someone to do the sales part of the business, so he asked Kathy Gornik who lived in Washington DC to sell them there. She agreed and sold over 2,000 speakers in the first nine months. Thiel and Gornik are considered to be good partners due to Thiel's good engineering skills and Gornik's good salesperson skills.
In March 2006, Thiel and Gornik unveiled the Thiel CS 3.7, a high performance speaker in the Middle East
, an event hosted by Emirates Computers, one of Dubai
's leading technology companies.
In 2007, Thiel Audio announced that it will offer its high performance line of loudspeakers in Crutchfield
retail stores, the Crutchfield site, and through their catalogs. At the time, the primary lineup that Thiel was to offer through Crutchfield was priced from about $990 to $5,450. Thiel's products in general range from about $990 to $6,450.
Jim Thiel died of cancer on September 17, 2009.
Innovations Design and Engineering Award, for which Thiel has been honored 22 times, and the Image Hi-Fi speaker of the millennium award in 2000. Thiel has also won BizRate's coveted "Circle of Excellence" award seven times.
Privately held company
A privately held company or close corporation is a business company owned either by non-governmental organizations or by a relatively small number of shareholders or company members which does not offer or trade its company stock to the general public on the stock market exchanges, but rather the...
high performance loudspeaker
Loudspeaker
A loudspeaker is an electroacoustic transducer that produces sound in response to an electrical audio signal input. Non-electrical loudspeakers were developed as accessories to telephone systems, but electronic amplification by vacuum tube made loudspeakers more generally useful...
manufacturer headquartered and established in Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...
. Thiel Audio products are distributed to over 30 countries spanning the globe. All their products are designed and built in their 35000 square feet (3,251.6 m²) facility located in Lexington. The current president
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
of Thiel Audio is Kathy Gornik, who is also the chairman of the Consumer Electronics Association
Consumer Electronics Association
The Consumer Electronics Association is a standards and trade organization for the consumer electronics industry in the United States. The Consumer Electronics Association is the preeminent trade association promoting growth in the $173 billion U.S...
.
History
Thiel Audio was formed by three college friends, including Jim Thiel and Kathy Gornik, who started in 1976 with equipment in Thiel's garage on Georgetown Road in Lexington. Thiel Audio was formed with $25,000 borrowed from Thiel's parents, Gornik's parents and some friends. Jim Thiel graduated from the University of KentuckyUniversity of Kentucky
The University of Kentucky, also known as UK, is a public co-educational university and is one of the state's two land-grant universities, located in Lexington, Kentucky...
in 1968, majoring in physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
. Thiel Audio first exhibited at the Consumer Electronics Show
Consumer Electronics Show
The International Consumer Electronics Show is a major technology-related trade show held each January in the Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. Not open to the public, the Consumer Electronics Association-sponsored show typically hosts previews of products and new...
in 1977, which is the year in which the company is often cited as being founded.
Jim Thiel's brother was good at woodworking
Woodworking
Woodworking is the process of building, making or carving something using wood.-History:Along with stone, mud, and animal parts, wood was one of the first materials worked by early humans. Microwear analysis of the Mousterian stone tools used by the Neanderthals show that many were used to work wood...
, and would build the speaker boxes. Their first product was a two-way speaker with an equalizer
Equalizer
Equalizer or equaliser may refer to:*Equalization, the process of adjusting the strength of certain frequencies within a signal*An equalization filter for used audio and similar signals...
to give it high-quality bass response. Jim soon realized that he would need someone to do the sales part of the business, so he asked Kathy Gornik who lived in Washington DC to sell them there. She agreed and sold over 2,000 speakers in the first nine months. Thiel and Gornik are considered to be good partners due to Thiel's good engineering skills and Gornik's good salesperson skills.
In March 2006, Thiel and Gornik unveiled the Thiel CS 3.7, a high performance speaker in the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
, an event hosted by Emirates Computers, one of Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
's leading technology companies.
In 2007, Thiel Audio announced that it will offer its high performance line of loudspeakers in Crutchfield
Crutchfield
Crutchfield Corporation is a consumer electronics company specializing in many consumer electronics items, including mobile audio and video equipment for the automobile and televisions, speakers, and other electronics for the home....
retail stores, the Crutchfield site, and through their catalogs. At the time, the primary lineup that Thiel was to offer through Crutchfield was priced from about $990 to $5,450. Thiel's products in general range from about $990 to $6,450.
Jim Thiel died of cancer on September 17, 2009.
Awards
Thiel Audio has won many awards, including the International Consumer Electronics ShowConsumer Electronics Show
The International Consumer Electronics Show is a major technology-related trade show held each January in the Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. Not open to the public, the Consumer Electronics Association-sponsored show typically hosts previews of products and new...
Innovations Design and Engineering Award, for which Thiel has been honored 22 times, and the Image Hi-Fi speaker of the millennium award in 2000. Thiel has also won BizRate's coveted "Circle of Excellence" award seven times.
External links
- Official website
- Kathy Gornik speaks about Thiel Audio on International tradeInternational tradeInternational trade is the exchange of capital, goods, and services across international borders or territories. In most countries, such trade represents a significant share of gross domestic product...
- Thiel in Moscow