Lana Ruth - Musical Gifts

Lana Ruth is the Sales Coordinator and the 'real boss' at THIEL. She's been with us for more than 10 years, and if you've ever called, you've probably spoken to her at least once.

Music has always been an important part of my life thanks to my father’s musical influences when I was child and then into adulthood working for THIEL. My father’s love of music was intoxicating. While growing up I remember him playing every kind of song imaginable. He loved all kinds of music whether it was country, rock, R & B, 50’s, 60’s, 70’s, 80’s and 90’s. My Dad even chose my name after a song he liked on the B- side of a Roy Orbison 45 record titled, Lana. I guess it would be safe to say that my love for music was inevitable from birth. My father taught me that music has the power to move you. Depending on the song, music can put a smile on my face, bring tears to my eyes, make me laugh out loud, make me feel happy, sad and mad or simply make me want to move my hips and feet to the beat.

I started working for THIEL back in 1998 and since I have always loved music, I thought it would be really cool working for a loudspeaker manufacturer. When I walked into the office for my first interview, I immediately heard Steely Dan playing in another room. I had heard Black Friday many times before and could even belt out most of the lyrics. The song sounded so different this time, better much, Much, MUCH better. The sound I heard was as if Steely Dan were in the next room putting on a live concert for this company, Wow! My love for music would be forever changed. I found that it was no longer satisfying to listen to my car radio or cheap S*ny home speakers of which I never before thought were really bad speakers. I realized that I had been missing something for the first 33 years of my life – perfect sound reproduction. THIEL taught me that a good recording coupled with a high performance speaker can move you equally, if not more, than the music itself.

My father passed away 3 short years after I started working for THIEL not having heard music through THIEL speakers. I often wonder how he would react after hearing a few of his favorite recordings through the THIELs, and as I wonder, a smile creeps to my face, knowing one would be on his face too. I would love to have taught Dad a few things I learned about music while at work.

I proudly became a THIEL owner in 2010, purchasing the CS1.6s and SS1 subwoofer. I find my listening experiences just as intoxicating as my father’s love of music. I’m now able to share and teach my own daughter all that music and my work with high performance loudspeakers have taught me. My 16 year-old daughter, Casey, can easily listen to a song on our THIELs and can tell you if she doesn’t like the song because it’s bad or because it’s a bad recording. I only hope this realization for her leads her to better music but that’s another story for another time…

The amazing thing about music is its ability to touch that place deep inside you, and the wonderful thing about good sound is that it allows the full emotional impact of the music to reach you. I might never have loved music as much as I do if it were not for my father, and I might never had heard perfect music if were not for THIEL.

Thanks Dad and Jim Thiel for the wonderful gifts of music and sound that you left behind, my life is richer because of you.