Theta Pro Prime IIA DAC on the way!!!
zombie boy 2000
Posts: 6,641
Months of DAC searching are finally over and it looks like I'll be getting a Theta Pro Prime IIA. Man, oh man am I stoked. I'm hoping to God it plays nice with the other children. Anybody have any experience with this model, or Theta DAC's in general? I noticed madmax has a Theta transport...
I never had it like this where I grew up. But I send my kids here because the fact is you go to one of the best schools in the country: Rushmore. Now, for some of you it doesn't matter. You were born rich and you're going to stay rich. But here's my advice to the rest of you: Take dead aim on the rich boys. Get them in the crosshairs and take them down. Just remember, they can buy anything but they can't buy backbone. Don't let them forget it. Thank you.Herman Blume - Rushmore
Post edited by zombie boy 2000 on
Comments
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Congrats!
Post a pic of it
Out of curiosity, whats the price?
Audio Physic Scorpio II
Pathos Logos
MIT Shotgun S3
Bada HD-22 CDP -
Oh man, be prepared to be blown away. Seperate dac's are where it's at.;)"Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!
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I have heard nothing but good things about Theta. Congrats.Sharp Elite 70
Anthem D2V 3D
Parasound 5250
Parasound HCA 1000 A
Parasound HCA 1000
Oppo BDP 95
Von Schweikert VR4 Jr R/L Fronts
Von Schweikert LCR 4 Center
Totem Mask Surrounds X4
Hsu ULS-15 Quad Drive Subwoofers
Sony PS3
Squeezebox Touch
Polk Atrium 7s on the patio just to keep my foot in the door. -
Some pics....
And a stupid question....
The button on the right is a phase button which switches the unit from either "in phase" or "inverted". I understand this function as it applies to a subwoofer, but have never seen it on a component. What exactly is its purpose?I never had it like this where I grew up. But I send my kids here because the fact is you go to one of the best schools in the country: Rushmore. Now, for some of you it doesn't matter. You were born rich and you're going to stay rich. But here's my advice to the rest of you: Take dead aim on the rich boys. Get them in the crosshairs and take them down. Just remember, they can buy anything but they can't buy backbone. Don't let them forget it. Thank you.Herman Blume - Rushmore -
Some components maintain "absolute polarity" and some don't. My guess is that the vast majority of CDP's would be non-inverting, so you would select "in phase."Source: Bluesound Node 2i - Preamp/DAC: Benchmark DAC2 DX - Amp: Parasound Halo A21 - Speakers: MartinLogan Motion 60XTi - Shop Rig: Yamaha A-S501 Integrated - Shop Spkrs: Elac Debut 2.0 B5.2
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Thanks for chiming in Steve:)
So what exactly do you mean by "absolute polarity"?I never had it like this where I grew up. But I send my kids here because the fact is you go to one of the best schools in the country: Rushmore. Now, for some of you it doesn't matter. You were born rich and you're going to stay rich. But here's my advice to the rest of you: Take dead aim on the rich boys. Get them in the crosshairs and take them down. Just remember, they can buy anything but they can't buy backbone. Don't let them forget it. Thank you.Herman Blume - Rushmore -
There are preamps that invert the phase (positive signal to the black post, negative signal to the red post); if you had one of these, you'd probably want to use "inverted", though from what I understand there's really no difference in sound, as long as the "absolute" polarity is right (both speakers in phase, or both speakers with inverted phase"
Anyway, I guess that this does not matter anymore given your Fisher Price new toy...._________________________________________________
***\\\\\........................... My Audio Journey ............................./////***
2008 & 2010 Football Pool WINNER
SOPAThank God for different opinions. Imagine the world if we all wanted the same woman -
How many times do I have to tell you Ricardo... it's not a "toy". It's an astoundingly sophisticated exercise in high fidelity:D Earing a A+ rating in Sesame Street Quarterly. I think the monkey button is a load of snake-oil, but other than that, it's music to my ears.
Thanks for clearing up the notion of "absolute polarity". I can see that in my 30 minutes of research, its a topic of much debate. As in, who can hear it and who can't. Why would someone design a preamp to invert the signal? Are amps known to do this as well? The only reason I ask is that the color of the posts on my Monarchy have always been reversed from all other components....I never had it like this where I grew up. But I send my kids here because the fact is you go to one of the best schools in the country: Rushmore. Now, for some of you it doesn't matter. You were born rich and you're going to stay rich. But here's my advice to the rest of you: Take dead aim on the rich boys. Get them in the crosshairs and take them down. Just remember, they can buy anything but they can't buy backbone. Don't let them forget it. Thank you.Herman Blume - Rushmore -
My AES preamp inverts the signal in the circuit; don't know why, but it's related to the type of circuit used. Some preamps get the signal back in phase, but it means additional components in the signal path. The instructions of the AES say that you need to connect red/black between the speakers and the amp. I do this on the CArver AL-III's, but don't on the SDA's (common ground requirement). Everything sounds great._________________________________________________
***\\\\\........................... My Audio Journey ............................./////***
2008 & 2010 Football Pool WINNER
SOPAThank God for different opinions. Imagine the world if we all wanted the same woman -
I take it you're not a fan Sean:DI never had it like this where I grew up. But I send my kids here because the fact is you go to one of the best schools in the country: Rushmore. Now, for some of you it doesn't matter. You were born rich and you're going to stay rich. But here's my advice to the rest of you: Take dead aim on the rich boys. Get them in the crosshairs and take them down. Just remember, they can buy anything but they can't buy backbone. Don't let them forget it. Thank you.Herman Blume - Rushmore
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Just thought I'd provide a quick take on this piece though it has already been replaced (more on that in a bit)...
Quite simply, this DAC is a stellar piece which worked perfectly within my system. I really wasn't expecting much to be honest. What I did get was a bit more than subtle. The top-end was smoothed out considerably. The soundstage became a bit wider. The separation between instruments entered the sublime. Point blank, everything became a bit more involving -- which really wasn't an issue to begin with. Supposedly this model is renowned for it's tight, controlled bass, but as my system already excels in this area, I didn't really take note of any improvement.
No A/B comparos necessary... the differences were immediate and especially obvious when the DAC was removed.
Why? I needed funds for a Pro-ject Debut and Phono Box. However, I do have a Lite Audio DAC-Ah (modded by Pacific Valve) en route, so my DAC journey continues...
I really miss this piece.I never had it like this where I grew up. But I send my kids here because the fact is you go to one of the best schools in the country: Rushmore. Now, for some of you it doesn't matter. You were born rich and you're going to stay rich. But here's my advice to the rest of you: Take dead aim on the rich boys. Get them in the crosshairs and take them down. Just remember, they can buy anything but they can't buy backbone. Don't let them forget it. Thank you.Herman Blume - Rushmore -
zombie boy 2000 wrote:Just thought I'd provide a quick take on this piece though it has already been replaced (more on that in a bit)...
Quite simply, this DAC is a stellar piece which worked perfectly within my system. I really wasn't expecting much to be honest. What I did get was a bit more than subtle. The top-end was smoothed out considerably. The soundstage became a bit wider. The separation between instruments entered the sublime. Point blank, everything became a bit more involving -- which really wasn't an issue to begin with. Supposedly this model is renowned for it's tight, controlled bass, but as my system already excels in this area, I didn't really take note of any improvement.
No A/B comparos necessary... the differences were immediate and especially obvious when the DAC was removed.
Why? I needed funds for a Pro-ject Debut and Phono Box. However, I do have a Lite Audio DAC-Ah (modded by Pacific Valve) en route, so my DAC journey continues...
I really miss this piece.
It takes a big man to let go of what sounds like a perfect fitting nirvana piece. Hopefully the unit en route will give the same level of satisfaction."Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul! -
Damn, Zombie, how long did you keep it -- 15 minutes???
I ain't mad at ya 'cause I've done that a few times.
BTW -- let us know about the Lite Audio DAC-Ah. Try to hold onto this one for a least a week, please.HT/2-channel Rig: Sony 50 LCD TV; Toshiba HD-A2 DVD player; Emotiva LMC-1 pre/pro; Rogue Audio M-120 monoblocks (modded); Placette RVC; Emotiva LPA-1 amp; Bada HD-22 tube CDP (modded); VMPS Tower II SE (fronts); DIY Clearwave Dynamic 4CC (center); Wharfedale Opus Tri-Surrounds (rear); and VMPS 215 sub
"God grooves with tubes." -
Oh... it's funding another piece H9, so I wouldn't call me a "big man" so much as a "betting man":D
I really, really, really am a firm believer in a quality external DAC now. I just couldn't pass up a chance to get my foot into the door of Vinyl. Hopefully, cross my fingers and toss some salt, the Lite Audio will provide just a portion of the Theta's performance.I never had it like this where I grew up. But I send my kids here because the fact is you go to one of the best schools in the country: Rushmore. Now, for some of you it doesn't matter. You were born rich and you're going to stay rich. But here's my advice to the rest of you: Take dead aim on the rich boys. Get them in the crosshairs and take them down. Just remember, they can buy anything but they can't buy backbone. Don't let them forget it. Thank you.Herman Blume - Rushmore -
Early B. wrote:Damn, Zombie, how long did you keep it -- 15 minutes???
I ain't mad at ya 'cause I've done that a few times.
BTW -- let us know about the Lite Audio DAC-Ah. Try to hold onto this one for a least a week, please.
It would have stayed longer. Trust me. I had no intention of letting it go upon hearing it. I just couldn't turn down the opportunity to pick up a Debut, esp. coupled with the opportunity to try another DAC.
I won't lie though. I'll flip gear without hesitation. I'll always enjoy the music, but the prospect of hearing different interpretations of it is what makes this hobby so much fun.
Besides EB, I recall a certain tube buffer which never even left the box:DI never had it like this where I grew up. But I send my kids here because the fact is you go to one of the best schools in the country: Rushmore. Now, for some of you it doesn't matter. You were born rich and you're going to stay rich. But here's my advice to the rest of you: Take dead aim on the rich boys. Get them in the crosshairs and take them down. Just remember, they can buy anything but they can't buy backbone. Don't let them forget it. Thank you.Herman Blume - Rushmore
