rdw89@ecs.southampton.ac.uk (Richard Williams) (12/06/90)
Recently I've been listening to some off board DACs, with a view to
upgrading my Marantz CD94 player. While not wanting to compromise
too much, I decided that the top Krell and Wadia offerings were just
too much to pay for something that will be old hat in a year's time.
Anyway, having listened a bit, I came to a few conclusions:
{Partnering system : Marantz CD94, ModSquad Passive, Musical Fidelity
P270.2, KEF 105/3 speakers}
Meridian 203 : A worthwhile improvement on the basic Marantz, in areas
like soundstaging and low level detail. Bass resolution and attack
were about the same though. The differences were clearly audible -
not your 'sit with it for a week' type excuse for not noticing.
Meridian 606 : Twice the price of the 203. Showed that the 203 tended
to be a bit 'soft' in places. Superb bass resolution and general
imaging. The size of a concert hall was better portrayed.
Wadia X32 : This did not impress me at all. I preferred both Meridians
to it. The soundstage seemed to have collapsed into the middle of
the speakers. Attack and tonal reproduction were good though.
Theta DSPro basic : This really got to me! The improvement in resolution
across the whole frequency range was amazing. Imagery was first class,
and didn't give up under complex conditions. In particular the way
that decay stages gave a precise feeling of being in the concert hall
far surpassed the other players.
In the UK, Meridian offerings are much more competitively priced than
the Wadia or Theta units. In particular the 203 seems a good buy.
It seems that what a product sells for in the US in $ is what it costs
here in pounds.
How much does the Theta DSPro and DSPro basic cost in America?
What does the DSPro (with all the expensive PTFE pcbs etc) sound like?
- I didn't dare try it!
Richard.neighorn@uunet.UU.NET (Steven C. Neighorn) (12/10/90)
In article <8120@uwm.edu> rdw89@ecs.southampton.ac.uk (Richard Williams) writes: >Recently I've been listening to some off board DACs, with a view to >upgrading my Marantz CD94 player. While not wanting to compromise >too much, I decided that the top Krell and Wadia offerings were just >too much to pay for something that will be old hat in a year's time. > >Anyway, having listened a bit, I came to a few conclusions: >{Partnering system : Marantz CD94, ModSquad Passive, Musical Fidelity >P270.2, KEF 105/3 speakers} > >Theta DSPro basic : This really got to me! The improvement in resolution >across the whole frequency range was amazing. Imagery was first class, >and didn't give up under complex conditions. In particular the way >that decay stages gave a precise feeling of being in the concert hall >far surpassed the other players. Agree completely. I hear things in my system I have never heard before. The sound stage is incredible! >In the UK, Meridian offerings are much more competitively priced than >the Wadia or Theta units. In particular the 203 seems a good buy. >It seems that what a product sells for in the US in $ is what it costs >here in pounds. >How much does the Theta DSPro and DSPro basic cost in America? >What does the DSPro (with all the expensive PTFE pcbs etc) sound like? >- I didn't dare try it! The DSPro basic retails for $2000, and the DSPro is $4500. They can be purchased for slightly less if you pay cash and/or are a "good" customer, ie you buy a lot of stuff :-) I have listed to the DSPro and the DSPro basic with a Proceed transport, ML #26 preamp, bi-amped ML #27 amps, a DAX electronic xover and Apogee Diva's. The DSPro is a little less harsh in the highs, and the bass is a little more compressed, but they still sound quite similar. The DSPro does have balanced outputs, an on-off switch, and two algorithms (which again do sound a tad different, but *not* by much, as least to my ears). With my ears and pocketbook, the DSPro, while excellent, wasn't worth the approx $2500 more they are selling it for. I think that extra money can better be spent on other parts of the system, which brings up another point about your posting. Don't get rid of your CD94!!! In my humble opinion, it is the best under $2000 transport I have heard. I have listened to the the Theta with the Proceed PDT, the Luxman D113D, the big Accuphase unit, and a variety of other cheaper player/transport combos. The build quality and transport solidness of the CD94 is better than anything I have seen except the Accuphase, and the performance is so close to the Accuphase that I couldn't tell the difference. I am sure the Esoteric P2, the Krell CD turntable, the big Wadia transport are better (the sure ought to be considering they cost $4000 or more), but given you already own a CD94, keep it! I have not heard the Meridian 200 transport through the Theta, but it isn't supposed to be available in the Pacific Northwest for at least another month, and probably more. If I am preaching to the choir, forgive me, but as a CD94/Theta owner, I am happy as a clam, and I thought a little anecdotal reinforcement might come in handy as you make your purchases. -- Steven C. Neighorn cse.ogi.edu!qiclab!neighorn OR neighorn@nosun.West.Sun.COM Sun Microsystems, Inc. "Where we DESIGN the Star Fighters that defend the 9900 SW Greenburg Road #240 frontier against Xur and the Ko-dan Armada" Portland, Oregon 97223 work: (503) 684-9001 / home: (503) 641-3469