Cedia 2009: Theta digital news!!!@@@ - Page 7

From what I've been reading about Oppo mods, as various companies are doing them, I think that clearly thanks to better power supply, clock and parts that those using the player's analog outs, for both stereo and multi-channel, will get better sonics. Whether those better sonics are as good as or better than a stock Pioneer 09, that I do not know and will not venture a guess. My impression is that the Oppo modders are not doing any DAC changes.

As to those of us interested in Oppo modded solely as an HDMI transport for Blu Ray AND perhaps for digital transmission of SACD (converted to PCM by the Oppo), the questions is whether such mods will reduce jitter and result in discernable video improvement and/or audio improvement. I do not know. Seems most of the Oppo mods out there again are for folks who want to use the player for all of their audio and video player needs.

It would be nice to have an idea of whether the mod involves simply an upgraded power supply, or also a better clock, or also other items as well.

ATI-Theta hasn't set or announced pricing yet. So we do not know.

On the other hand, the CB3 HDMI will be available as a brand new model and certainly they will have a MSRP price list for it depending upon the features, channels, DACs, etc ordered.

Nick, as an attorney, certainly you can read and comprehend. So you know that ATI-Theta is not giving us a date when it will be ready, only that Momentum is currently writing the software/firmware and beta testing will hopefully begin soon.
And as a sly and smart consumer, you know that until HDMI 1.3 is here and said and done, there ain't no guarentee, especially in these dire economic times. Hopefully Theta will come through but meanwhile, it is sort of imprudent to buy a new CB3 even at reasonable discount from list, not until HDMI 1.3 is actually available. Us Theta owners remain hopeful but are yet to be assured until its said and done.

How would you know? Have you been there? HA!@@@@@

I continue to patiently wait and hope for the HDMI 1.3 upgrade since I am a long time Theta CB owner and that makes economic and hopefully sonic sense for me.

Nick, you are giving us your interpretation of events. Congratulations on your ability to read other folks' minds.

If one gives the Sinclairs the benefit of the doubt, they may well have been legitimately exploring the concept of HDMI, considering the cost, and also exploring selling the company at the same time. Given how perfectionist the Sinclairs had been in their audio development over all these years, why wouldn't they have been similarly inclined in reviewing this once HDMI needed to become a reality for the Casablanca to remain a long term viable surround processor? Also given the fact
that the Sinclairs owned Theta Digital since its start 20 years prior.

I do not know whether there was any intentional misleading. I don't know that exploring all possibilities is intentional misleading as you characterize it. I don't know if Evelyn Sinclair's posting at AVS that Theta had decided to move ahead with HDMI 1.3 was their own hopeful thinking while exploring sale possibilities as well, or if she was intentionally trying to mislead us. I cannot read her mind.
And I do not know if such posting by Evelyn Sinclair at AVS had any effect on enhancing sales price, as I am not privy to those discussions between ATI and Theta. Though I would think that the owner of ATI is a very good and shrewd businessman and somehow I doubt that ATI didn't fully investigate Theta's current hardware and developmental status before spending the money. To assume otherwise once again has no basis in fact of which we know but is simply speculation.

And thanks to many here at AVS, especially you Nick and The Bland, anyone reading Evelyn Sinclair's posts were well cautioned re holding off on buying any new Theta CB3 given the concerns about HDMI upgradeability. Nick, you don't give yourself enough credit for cautioning folks. And if you read my posts the past two years since Theta was sold to ATI, although I remain hopeful, I have cautioned folks not to buy new CB3s until HDMI 1.3 is here, and many folks have contacted me and heeded my cautions, thus a number of folks with the Integra 9.8 which I recommended as a relatively inexpensive, interim solution.

I do know the HDMI with license fees and the new development costs to try to HDMI-ize the "old" but wonderful sounding Casablanca platform is in todays dollars as much an expense as it was for Theta Digital to start development on the Casablanca as an audiophile state of the art surround processor in the first place. As we get older we often get much less risk prone with our $$$$. If HDMI was as simple dollar wise an upgrade as say the move from DPL and CS to DPL2 and CS2 not requiring bascially brand new state of the art surround processor development costs this would have moved the Sinclairs more towards not selling Theta.

The Sinclairs sold Theta many months before the market plummetted,and if they had waited or not sold, Theta would surely have gone under like many other companies. Whatever happens, API buying Theta can only be a better situation for Theta owners, and hopefully it will be - hopefully. But again, given this economy, nothing is set in stone, and until the fat lady sings with the HDMI 1.3 upgrade is actually available, nothing is actually 100% assured, so folks looking for brand new high end surround processors would be cautioned to hold off on buying a new CB3 unless and until the HDMI 1.3 is available.

Nick, you are entitled to your interpretation. I prefer not to read minds. What counts is the future anyway, and I think you and I are in agreement on that.