From: kucharsk@Solbourne.COM (William Kucharski)
Newsgroups: rec.audio.high-end
Subject: D/A Converters, Round III
Date: Thu, 15 Oct 1992 07:41:57 GMT
Organization: Solbourne Computer, Inc., Longmont, CO
Distribution: usa
NNTP-Posting-Host: 129.89.7.4
Originator: tjk@csd4.csd.uwm.edu


Having just returned the Theta DS Pro Basic II to the store, I thought it was
time for another summary, but important news first:

The PS Audio Ultralink I auditioned was indeed BROKEN.  Granted, the folks at
Stereophile aren't Gods, but I really couldn't believe they would drool over
the Ultralink the way they do if it was meant to sound the way the one I heard
did.  Well, it shouldn't.  Hopefully the dealer will get a new one in soon.
I've already made a decision, though. (later...)

Equipment Refresher:
	Preamp:		Adcom GFP-565
	Amplifier:	Mark Levinson No. 27
	Interconnects:	Monster Interlink 400 (Converter -> Preamp)
			XLO Type 4 (Transport -> Converter)
			AudioQuest Ruby (Preamp -> Amp)
	Speaker Cable:	AudioQuest F14 (Biwired)
	Speakers:	Apogee Caliper Signature

The Theta was, in a word, quite impressive.  In all the converter's I've
auditioned in the "Battle Royale" I've had taking place in my system for the
last week or two, none of them have thrown a soundstage like the Theta.  It
was wide, focused, and very, very deep.  For the first time when I played a
disc of Beethoven's 9th I could actually pick out the Chorus <-> Orchestra
relationship in detail.  I put in disc after disc and simply could not
believe the detail and depth presented by the Theta.  But...

To me, the Theta was a bit bright for my taste.  I listened for a few hours
to jazz, classical, and pop, but after a bit the highs began to grate on me.
While the soundstage was spectacular, I just didn't feel involved the way I
did with the Wadia.  I could actually bring myself to stop or change discs -
something I couldn't bring myself to do with the X32.

As a check, I dragged the Theta down to the other dealer I work with, to
directly compare it with the Levinson No. 30.  Since the Basic II offers
balanced outputs (as opposed to the unbalanced-only X32), the balanced outs
from both processors were fed into a Levinson No. 28S preamp and from there
into a Levinson 23.5 driving a pair of Sonus Faber Extremas.  (Sorry, I don't
have cable details).

Needless to say, the No. 30 won hands down, as always.  But my impressions
were confirmed - the Theta was indeed a bit bright compared to the No. 30,
at times almost painfully so.  Granted, the Wadia is known to roll off highs
(starting at about 13kHz, until it's about 3db down at 20kHz), but the Levinson
does no such thing.  The Theta and No. 30 presented near identical soundstages,
though the Theta was a bit more "etched" in character.

Summary:  Although I loved the Theta's soundstaging, I found it just a bit too
	  bright for my tastes.  The Wadia, by comparison, had a "rightness" to
	  the sound which, although was less accurate than the Theta, I found to
	  be more pleasing.  At this point it looks like I'll get the Wadia X32.

Other notes:

    * Krell Digital has a relatively new Bitstream processor, the "Stealth,"
      that sounded like it would be worth a listen, especially if you're
      considering another Bitstream processor like the Theta DS Pro Prime.

    * Given the fact that it was broken, ignore my review of the PS Audio
      Ultralink.

    * Though I don't believe either the Theta or the Wadia has undergone a
      software revision, I decided to narrow my decision down to a D/A
      converter with a software-based filter for just such upgradability.
      Do keep in mind though, that the wildly spectacular No. 30 uses a
      "standard" filter chip.

Wild Theory:

    Stereophile isn't a real big fan of Wadia processors, which tend to have a
    "tube-like" quality.  I found the Theta (which they love) to sound a bit
    too bright for me.  Then I noticed:  Almost all of Stereophile's reviewers
    (or at least RH, JA and CG) are driving their systems with VTL
    amplifiers.  Could it be that the "brightness" I found objectionable in
    the Theta would be softened by a tubed amp, but the "additive" softness of
    the Wadia and a tube amp might soften the sound TOO much (resulting in a
    "dark" midrange)?  Likewise, would a Wadia processor make a better match
    for a solid state amp like the Levinsons and such amplification might make
    a Theta sound too bright?  Who knows.  All I know is I decided which
    sounded best in my system, which is supposedly what this whole disease is
    all about...  :-)
-- 
| William Kucharski, Solbourne Computer, Inc.     | Opinions expressed above
| Internet: kucharsk@solbourne.com   Ham: N0OKQ   | are MINE alone, not those
| Snail Mail: 1900 Pike Road, Longmont, CO  80501 | of Solbourne Computer, Inc.
| President, "Just the Ten of Us" Fan Club        | "Dittos from Longmont, CO"