Listening
I've had the Generation III in my rack for a few months, but it had to wait until recently to become my primary digital processor—I've had so many other products to audition. This turned out for the best: While the review was in progress, Theta upgraded the review sample to reflect…
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Overall, the Generation III's outward appearance is utilitarian and businesslike, in sharp contrast to its tweaky circuitry and build quality. It is obvious that Theta chose to put all the money into audible improvements—over $50 worth of Vishay resistors, for example—instead of cosmetics.
Sidebar 1: Robert Harley's Associated Equipment
I auditioned the Gen.III with the usual retinue of components. The Theta fed an Audio Research LS2 line-stage preamp, which in turn drove either a Mark Levinson No.23.5 or VTL 225 monoblocks. Loudspeakers were Hales System Two Signatures, helped in the bass by a Muse Model 18 subwoofer, except when the No.23.5 was driven directly in balanced mode. Interconnects were AudioQuest Lapis and Diamond, or Monster Cable Sigma. The Theta was driven primarily through the ST-type optical input from Theta's Data Series II transport.
To get the…
Lewis Lipnick listens to the Theta Pro Balanced Generation III
For the past three years I've lived with one of the original Theta Pro D/A processors. After what seem like dozens of updates and upgrades, my archaic (by today's standards) Pro finally made it to the vaunted status of Generation II Balanced. Although I hadn't had the opportunity to hear all of Theta's competitors' products in my system (except for the Krell 32 and 64, and original Proceed D/A), the Gen.II balanced processor surpassed everything auditioned Chez Lipnick within the realm of musical accuracy. The Theta seemed…
Sidebar 2: Lewis Lipnick's System
My reference system (which I own) used for this review consisted of a Mark Levinson No.26S preamplifier, No.23.5 power amplifier, and a pair of B&W Matrix 800 loudspeakers. A Cello Palette Preamplifier, and Krell KSA-250, KMA-300, and Boulder 500AE monoblock power amplifiers were substituted at various times during the listening sessions. Cello Strings and Acrotec balanced and unbalanced interconnects were used between D/A processor/preamplifier/power amplifier. Theta optical (AT&T configuration) and coaxial, and XLO coaxial cables were used…
Thomas J. Norton, November 1993 (Vol.16 No.11)
How did the Mark Levinson No.35 fare in a head-to-head comparison with the best of other, perhaps more comparably priced processors? Unfortunately there was nothing on hand of equivalent cost, but the Theta DS Pro Generation III—a less expensive but still hardly bargain-basement processor—was available. The Theta has been, and continues to be, highly rated in these pages, though I confess that my own experience with it had been, prior to this review, limited.
It took little listening for me to determine what others here already know:…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
Theta processors have always put out a very high signal voltage, and the Generation III is no exception. From the unbalanced outputs, the unit produced a whopping 6.98V when decoding a 1kHz, full-scale sinewave. This is 10.8dB higher than the standard 2V output. I measured a huge 14.03V from the balanced outputs. These are extraordinarily high levels. According to Mike Moffat, this high output voltage results in better sound.
Potential purchasers are cautioned, however, about using the Gen.III with preamps with unusually low input-overload voltages.…
Ever since the first electrical loudspeaker—a glorified headphone with a horn on it—was outmoded by the balanced-armature cone speaker, paper has been the standard diaphragm material for speakers reproducing low frequencies. The Rice-Kellogg moving-coil transducer replaced the balanced-armature driving system in 1925, but the paper cone remained. And although many improvements have since been made, were no more major changes in loudspeaker design for over 30 years!
Paper was cheap and readily available, and when properly baffled in a large horn or bass-reflex enclosure, to minimize its…
Sidebar 4: Specifications
Description: Solid-state D/A processor. Frequency response: DC–21.72kHz (no tolerance given). Decoding software: proprietary time- and frequency-domain optimization. Math resolution: 56 bits. Computing power: 45 MIPS (million instructions per second). Inputs: four coaxial on RCA jacks (Toslink and AT&T ST-type optical inputs optional). Digital output: one RCA jack, S/PDIF. Analog output: Single-ended on RCA jacks, 3.4V minimum at full scale (balanced on XLR jacks optional). S/N ratio: 120dB. Resolution: 20 bits. Linearity: 20 bits. THD: 0.002% at full scale…
Pro and Con the Paper Cone, from December 1962 (Vol.1 No.2)
In the last issue, Irving M. Fried of Lectronics presented the case for poly-foam loudspeakers, asserting that cone woofers are doomed to extinction. Since we got the magazine out late last time, only one contributor met this issue's deadline with a rebuttal, which we present herewith.—J. Gordon Holt
Mr. Fried's article championed progress in loudspeakers and, as such, was laudable. However, the point of view expressed contained some calculated omissions of such a nature as to lead us to believe that we are actually…
Disclaimer
Sirs: Your introduction to Irving Fried's "Forum" piece (Vol.1 No.1) states "Mr. Fried confesses to at least partial responsibility for the development of the Klipsch and Lowther horns..."
Sirs: Your introduction to Irving Fried's "Forum" piece (Vol.1 No.1) states "Mr. Fried confesses to at least partial responsibility for the development of the Klipsch and Lowther horns..."
The undersigned would like very much to know what the basis for such claims could be. The first time I ever heard of Mr. Fried was in one of the audio hi-fi magazines in perhaps the mid-1950s. The basic designs of my horns were laid down in 1940–1941.—Paul W. Klipsch, Klipsch & Associates, Inc.
Hope, Arkansas
Plastic Cones
Sirs: Irving Fried's "Forum" piece,…