The official "Theta" thread - Page 154

I had an Oppo 93 for a short time, 1.5 years ago, but other than memory guestimates can't do an A-B. Don't have the new Oppo 103, either. Oh well!

I've been real busy on the home front - but as soon as I get time, I'll give you more on the performance of the Compli Blu 3D in my system.

Tonight I watched the blu ray of "The Amazing Spider-Man", via the Theta Compli Blu 3D. Looked and sounded great!!@@

Last night I watched the blu ray of the best guitar picker in the whole world, Albert Lee, an AIX disc with 96-24 sonics. Looked and sounded great!!!@@@

Does the Theta Compli Blu 3D look and sound better than the Theta Compli Blu? Certainly is easily as good if not better in all departments. It will take more watching and listening
though and even then I would likely have to reinsert into my system the plain 'ol Blu for this purpose. Whether I have time or interest in doing so remains to be seen.

The 3D version clearly is even better buiild quality, heavier, and seems to be more responsive and quicker in fast forwarding or reverse, etc and less prone to errors. I had difficulties with the Spider-Man blu ray on the plain 'ol Blu the other week but it played wihtout a hiccup on the 3D Compli tonight.

When I have time I plan to play some SACD and DVD-Audio via HDMI, and some redbook CDs, to give you my impressions. May be awhile though.


I saw Spider-man in the theaters, both times 4K projection, one time 3D. Thanks to my having the Darbee device just prior to my projector, my picture looked better than the 2D in the theater and at times close to the 3D in the theater, without needing to wear glasses, and with better resolution than the 3D in the theater. I can't complain.
Edited by Steve Bruzonsky - 12/11/12 at 10:33pm

is there a real difference with an oppo ???
the back seems to be the samme than oppo 93…

Very interested in an A-B comparison with the Bryston for 2 channel audio.

BTW I asked Jaehong Lee what he thought of the look of the power supply. He was rather puzzled at the lack of capacitors and questioned its quality. Compare the inside of the Ayre DX-5 with the Theta Compli Blu - rather different. One might perhaps expect less given there's no need to supply an analogue section but the visual difference is rather massive. I think I will drop in his $240 power supply into my Oppo 93 and see what happens.

According to Dr. Lee, his Powersupply fits into the 103 without any changes, so you might as well get that instead of a 93 if you consider going down the DIY path.

Except that I already have the 93

If any of the features on the 103 are worth having to you just sell the 93 for $400 and get a 103 for $500. I'll jump on the 103 as soon as a digi out board becomes available for it, because with the HDMI input on the 103 I can eliminate a SSP processor from my system, that I now use just for satellite TV.

We've seen Theta's power supply and the homemade one by Lee. The homemade one by Jaehong Lee is the one of questionable quality. The parts are cheap standard Korean made eletrical parts which is widely reported, nothing audiophile or special about them. The visual difference between both Ayre and Theta's power supply in comparison to his homemade one is the one that is rather massive:D. Dr. Lee's power supply being homemade and certainly looks like it is made at someone's kitchen table. The stock Oppo parts are of higher quality.

Also, the Ayre player as the original Compli Blu had to power the analog outs of the players. I would expect a smaller power supply in a digital only player. To compare a power supply hat was used for both digital and analog to one for digital only would seem to be misleading to put it mildly.
Edited by Bulldogger - 12/12/12 at 1:14pm

Any speculation about the impact of a power supply on sound quality on the basis of pictures and standard of parts used is a waste of time in my opinion. It is reasonable to expect the Compli 3D will sound better than a 93 with Dr. Lee PS, for the simple reason it only has to deal with the digital side of things. However, only a side by side listening comparison will shed light on the issue, and only if such a comparison is done in a double blind test would I personally trust the conclusion.

Tonight with the Compli Blu 3D:

(1) Played some of Roy Orbison SACD over HDMI into CB3 HD (with the new digital out card to Gen VIII Series 3 DAC, otherwise CB3 HD has Extreme DACs for other channels) - as I found 1.5 years ago with the Oppo 93 and then with the Theta Compli Blu, the SACD sound over HDMI is rather lifeless and flatty sounding, compared to DVD-Audio or even redbook CD. Why? First, the Compli Blu and Compli Blu 3D use the Oppo, on which they are built, mechanism which loses some of the SACD resolution and outputs over HDMI at 88 kHz. This is why ripping SACDs to a hard drive played by the Bryston BDP-1 Media Player sound so good in comparison.

(2) Played some Neil Young and Roy Orbison DVD-Audio discs (both 96-24) from Compli Blu 3D into CB3 HD - sound very, very good, stereo or multi-channel.No complaints here and I have number of DVD-Audio discs that I may play from time to time if I am so fancied!

(3) Played some of the Stevie Wonder blu ray, which is 48-24 both stereo and multi-channel. Blu ray sounds better than ever whether multi-channel or stereo. I can listen to blu ray music on my system and never look back!@@ I have ripped this blu ray to hard drive for the stereo 48-24 PCM track. I switched between the Bryston BDP-1 medial player and the Theta Compli Blu 3D. My gut impression is that the BDP-1 wins but frankly, by a small margin, one that I would hardly notice unless I was A-Bing. Soundstage, vocals, dynamics, microdynamics, "gut" feeling of the music, all excellent with BDP-1 or Theta Compli Blu 3D, with perhaps the BDP-1 prevailing by a hair or two. Gee, HDMI and jitter, one would think that the BDP-1 could beat the Compli Blu 3D by more than just a hair or two! The Compli Blu 3D certainly acquitted itself very well indeed.

I have all my blu rays with stereo tracks ripped to hard drive. So over the next few weeks, as I have time and inclination, I will be doing some more comparisons, Compli Blu 3D vs BDP-1, for redbook, 48-24, and 96-24, using the CB3 HD with its new digital out card to the Gen VIII Series 3 DAC. Hold your horses and you will hear from me later with more on this.

How do you rip blu ray and SACD to your hard drive?

I wasn't aware that you had one of Mr Lee's PSUs and had checked the parts. (BTW I do believe you are wrong as to where the parts are sourced.)

I also believe I noted such in my post but note that there is a separate power supply unit in the Ayre for the analogue stage (as can readily be seen from photos of its interior).

I couldn't make this on my kitchen table. Could you?



I'm sure Theta can make a nice power supply. I am a bit disappointed to see that this (together with the chassis adjustments) would appear to be the bulk of the adjustments that have been made.
Edited by stevekale - 12/13/12 at 1:00am

Thanks for the update Steve. I look forward to hearing more from your comparisons, particularly ripped Redbook on the BDP-1 versus the Compli 3D.
Edited by stevekale - 12/13/12 at 1:39am

Using a PC, you can rip to hard drive:

DVD-Audio discs - using DVD Audio Extractor

Blu Ray discs if they have stereo PC hi rez tracks - using DVD Audio Extractor, and
some discs use BD+ encloding for which you also need AnyDVD HD.

As for SACD discs, see
http://www.whatsbestforum.com/showthread.php?3341-Ripping-SACDs-the-right-way
Very complicated process but I managed to have a few done and they sound really good.
This requires using a Sony Playstation 3 certain old models with older software only to rip,
software for free you can download as shown in the above thread to do the ripping, and
Korg Audiogate (you tweet each time you use it ih order to use it) to convert SACD to 176.4 - 24 PCM (using low filter and Aqua dither settings).

Good luck!

Please, this is a Theta thread, no more discussing of this here.

Steve, just out of interest, did Theta leave the Toslink connection in place? One simple upgrade of the Oppo is to disconnect this.

No need to own it. It's been extensively discussed on the internet. I assure you the parts are nothing special and just cheap local Korean parts. I am not knocking Korean made parts, just saying the ones in that powers supply are of low quality. I think the price being charged is a rip-off. I don't have any bias against mods. Personally, I would go a different direction here in the U.S. with a companies whose mods are more well reviewed. There is nothing wrong with modifying a player. The pros and cons of that approach are well discussed. It's not for all. Some of the companies like Mod Wright use much higher quality stuff than that ridiculous looking power supply Dr. Lee has made. I have contacted Oppo and they of course use a better supply in the Oppo 95 and 105. However they don't use this supply as has been discussed for HDMI.

Is that player sanctioned by Oppo? If not it's intellectual property theft.
Edited by Bulldogger - 12/17/12 at 1:20pm

Around $250 shipped from Korea. Definitely one of the more affordable rip-offs in audio.

Sure. I've been busy making a fusion powered power supply at my kitchen table. Almost done. Not using cheap Korean parts, using REALLY cheap North Korean parts.

You can try undercutting Dr. Lee and sell it for $200 to gullible audiophiles.

Hoping some Theta fans can help me out. I'm looking for a used Theta Dreadnaught. There are currently two of them on e-bay. My question is why does this amp have different looking modules:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Theta-Dreadnaught-ii-5-Channel-Power-Amplifier-225w-ch-Custom-Stand-4288-/321043286919?pt=US_Home_Audio_Amplifiers_Preamps&hash=item4abfabcb87

They're all 225 watt modules. But three of them don't have the SE/Balanced switch while the other two do. I have a feeling this was a mix and match of modules from possibly the Dreadnaught I and II?

Thanks in advance for any insight.

I ran your question by John Baloff, our tech guru. The amp has a mix of Dreadnaught I and Dreadnaught II modules. The modules from the II have rail fuses on the back panel.

Jeff

Jeff, thanks for the response. Just as I had suspected. I love those amps, but would rather wait for one with all the same modules. Thanks Again!

Watched "Act of Valor" blu ray tonight with the Theta Compli Blu 3D. Great movie! Picture and sonics at the very top of the heap! Dynamics and microdynamic bursts, explosions, gunfire, missiles - outstanding!

Is the Theta Compli Blu 3D as good or better than the previous model - the Theta Compli Blu? Sorry, but I am too lazy to put the Compli Blu back in my system to demo back and forth. Too many other obligations and things to do these days due to my personal circumstances. My "gut" tells me that the Blu 3D may indeed sound even better than the plain 'ol Blu, but the plain 'ol Blu sounded awful good in my system.

No doubt if you have a "high end" audiophile home theater system with excellent dynamics, soundstaging, etc, that you will appreciate the Compli Blu 3D sonically over the more "stock" blu ray players. At least in my opinion. And over the past few years, I've had several Oppos, Panasonic, a Marantz UD-9400, and the plain ol' Compli Blu in my system. And the picture quality can't get any better from a blu ray player!

Yes, Oppo have made great strides since the 83. The 103/105s are even better builds than the 93/95 although many are questioning certain comprises made in the 105 versus the 95. Ditch the analogue stuff in the 93/103, add good power supply and upgrade at least the master clock and you've got a great machine.

PS: the scene in the swamp is fantastic! (albeit all the acting is very weak for reasons well understood)

Nope, planning on pricing it many times higher. I subscribe to the high-end mantra, the more it costs the better it must be.

Need some help with my Dreadnaught (original from 1999) and thought someone here might be able to help me.

I'm having trouble with the "trigger" and "remote" plugs on the back of the unit. It seems like they aren't communicating with the motherboard correctly. (long, detailed, strange problem...)

Anyone know what will happen if I disconnect the ribbon cable from the trigger inputs that plugs into the motherboard? (I'm assuming the ribbon cable just sends a signal telling the amp what to do, but I don't know for sure.) I'd like to do this so I can just use the front panel buttons to turn the unit on/off just until the holidays are over.

Thanks to anyone who might be able to answer in advance.

You should email theta support- address is on their website- or better yet give a call. that is your best source of information.

That's what I usually do....but their hours are M-Th, so they are closed today

They probably won't open up until next Weds so I was trying to use the system over the Christmas break.

No movies over the whole Christmas break

Thanks for the response, k_lewis

wow that is lame! so no hope of turning it on with the front button when 1/8" jack is unplugged? what is your processor set to- pulse or constant on the 12v out to amp? I have an intrepid with my CBIIIHD and even though the intrepid manual states pulse type, it only works with constant from the CBIII.