 It seems that the life of the reviewer, or actually an editor is fun. I won't deny that. But it is not so easy to organize everything so, that all the hardware arrives in time, that the test takes as much time as planned, that ... just everything goes as we planned it. For this test we planned the power amplifiers Enterprise of the company Theta Digital, but they didn't arrive. Probably they got sold. I am not sure, as the Theta arrived in the last possible moment to making the review for this edition still made sense, then also just one box arrived, with a completely different contents, than we agreed upon with the distributor. So we apologize, if we are testing something else than you, the readers expected. But let us not shed any tears, as the Dreadnaught II is a splendid amplifier, but that what appeared on the cover (it was too late to change it) and in the table of contents (same here) describes a completely different device than the one tested inside the magazine. “Ce la vie” as the French use to say, or “Shit happens” according to the Blues Brothers. )
Anyway, every subsequent device of this company, that I test, turns out to be a very competent, prepared according to a clear recipe, piece of hardware. The universal player Compli, tested some time ago by me in Audio turned out to be a splendid player, regardless of the disc placed in it. Those of you that joined me to the presentation I made during the Audio Show 2006, regarding the differences between disc masterings and between the PCM 16/44.1 and PCM 24/192 standard, had an opportunity to confirm that what I just said, as the mentioned player had the role of the digital source during those presentations. When I got accustomed to the thought of testing that device, and ended with scowling it, it appeared from the very beginning – that this device, not broken in, connected directly to the variable output of the Lektor Prime Ancient Audio (by means of the ultra-precise Velum NF-G SE Blues cables, later exchanged for the Wireworld Gold Eclipse 5² for a short time frame, that gave a different, more massive sound) allow to identify the Theta as a Theta. The amplifier had a full, slightly warm, incredibly dense sound with a splendid bass. Just now, a few months after returning the Theta Compli after testing, when I listened to a few top-line universal players, I see, that even if I described it's sound properly, I did not value it as it deserved. Although I liked that player very much, I knew, it's sound is of high quality, but some deviations from total neutrality, like slight warming of the bass midrange transition point and the softening of the treble I perceive now differently, and I am now not so quick to reproach it. Those are still the same characteristics, but their interpretation, at least for the moment, has changed. And this is the reason we encourage to thoroughly read the tests, and the reason why we did not opt for any kind of point based evaluation, and why we do not write short summaries. Test is on one hand an entertainment – if we do not intent to listen to a device, and just want to know an opinion about it – on the other hand an interactive activity, that requires (co-)operation from the Reader. SOUND )
Buying the Theta, we actually buy two devices, depending on how we would like to use it. It sounds slightly different connected directly to the variable output of a player (Lektor Prime Ancient Audio and Wadia 27 ix), and different when connected to a preamplifier (Accuphase C-2810 and Pink Faun Fettle). About the differences in a few moments, because we can point out a few common things that constitute the sound of this device. In short we can say that this is the school of sound of the A-30 Accuphase and in great lengths the VK-250 Bat-Pak from BAT. So we have an incredibly saturated, full transmission with a powerful, dense bass. The latter comes down lower than in the A-30, in the end it is three times the power, but on the very deepest end it is not as well controlled as with the BAT, even less as with the phenomenal in that aspect A-45 Accuphase. Though it's sound is so enjoyable, that many listeners will be bought from the very first disc played. Let us state from the beginning, that this is not the non plus ultra of resolution, and the treble of the Theta is actually softened, like in the KT88 tube amplifier, but the music flows without any obstacles, and there is no time to think about what is missing, as we are busy with that what is there. From the first second we are engulfed by an expansive, large stage. This is typical for Theta and BAT. This is archived by a slight boost of the lower midrange. Yes, this is a sidestep from neutrality. When the acoustic guitars play on the phenomenal disc New Dawn from Dominic Miller and Neil Stancer (NAIM, naimcd0066, CD) they have a strong bottom range and some kind of “push”, something that makes them to have a large volume. In reality the guitars are not that filled, and are tuned slightly higher, but such kind of sounding is very easy to accept. We know that this is not the full truth, but as with Thiel speakers, where the same kind of trick was done, many listeners will be happy to accept it. Due to this, not only the reference recordings sound that incredibly well, but also the worse recorded, copy protected discs like Signs of a Struggle - Mattafix (Virgin/EMI, 39836, CCD), that sounded in a very nice way, losing somewhere the piercing treble, so characteristic to it. And when, on the disc like Justine Electra - Soft Rock (City Slang/Sonic Records SLANG1037982-2, promo CD) low, synthetic bass sounds, than it will be reproduced with power and in a warmed, very attractive way. )
The sound cleans-up in many ways, when we attach the Theta to an preamplifier. The bass is then shorter, and the treble more distinct. The upper frequency range is not as resolved and dynamic as from the A-45 Accuphase power amplifier, but there is audibly more of it than earlier. And here we can hear what makes the magic of this power amplifier. Although the sound in this configuration is more correct, the deviations from neutrality are perceived worse than before, and that what enchanted earlier disappears, namely the full bass and dense midrange. The sound on the lowest end of the scale is not as well defined as with the BAT or Accuphase and the accompanying loudspeakers should be chosen wisely. Any kind of resonant, slightly dessicated designs will live through an orgasm when paired with the Theta. In such configuration we will also get a nice gradation of the stage planes. The stage will not be very deep, but in the boundaries of that what can be heard, the instruments will not only be defined by one characteristic, pointing to their place, closer or further away from the listener, but by a set of characteristics, timbre, dynamics, etc. And always -and maybe I should have begun with that – the human voice will be number 1. When Frank Sinatra sings (Songs From The Heart, Capitol/EMI, 86842, CD), he is always located in front of the band, regardless if this is a mono or stereo recording. Instruments in the band, in the mono recordings are maybe not as well defined as with the A-45, especially those playing further away, but nothing from the recordings gets lost, everything is transmitted, with very good dynamics and timbre. )
Special attention to the Theta should be given by the admirers of heavier sounds. Tool and it's 10,000 Days (Tool Dissectional/Sony&BMG Music Entertainment, 81991, CCD) sounded gigantic, gargantuan, the guitars whizzing in the low frequency regions,and the gong opening one of the pieces, had a low, dark timbre, underlining the claustrophobic atmosphere of those recordings. Actually every disc with guitar music, like Megadeth from the disc Countdown To Extinction (EMI/Mobile Fidelity UDCD 765, gold-CD), sounded with swing, with very good reproduction of the guitar sound. The latter were maybe not as “dirty” as we are used to, because part of the characteristic distortions located in the upper midrange were a bit softened, but there is nothing coming for free. The same was repeated with classical music with a large performing apparatus, like Symphonies No. 2&12 of Shostakovitch (MDG 9237 1206-6, SACD/CD), where we had voluminous space and splendid dynamics. It was not that good with smaller ensembles, because when Norah Jones from the disc Not Too Late (Blue Note/EMI, 82035, CCD) sounded really nice, then the brilliant violin and harpsichord duo from Biber disc The Rosary Sonatas (Harmonia Mundi USA, HMU 907321.22, 2xCD – buy immediately, review in may!) sounded a bit too low resolved and too heavy. And it would be best to stay with rock or electronics, or with the climates of Sinatra, or Ray Charles, whose disc The Genius Sings The Blues (Atlantic/Warner Music, 73524, CD), although recorded very badly, with the Theta sounded very persuasive, in some way. Dense, full sound, with powerful bass and eased down treble, huge, expansive sound stage, those are the characteristics of this construction. Let's add to that the possibilities of expansion to, for example, bi-amping, with aid of mono power amps or a stereo module, and we come to the conclusion that the price we have to pay for this amplifier is really a bargain. And we just have to know exactly what we want from life, including music. DESCRIPTION )
The amplifier Dreadnaught II of the American company Theta Digital is a module based device, that can be expanded to include up to five stereophonic power amplifiers. The tested unit was in a stereo setup, but I see an easy way to add a second stereo module and drive the speakers in bi-amping mode. Even better – two different modules can be ordered – monophonic (then we can have five channels with 225W/8Ω and 450W/4Ω) or stereophonic (their output power is 2x100W/8Ω). Their set-up is identical, the only difference is the number of transistors in the output stage. The test was conducted wit one stereo module. As inside the enclosure many such modules should be placed, the enclosure is gigantic. The amplifier PCBs are mounted horizontally, and the connectors like: input sockets XLR and RCA, speaker terminals, are visible in a slot on the back panel. Unused slots are covered with dust plugs. A significant amount of the weight can be attributed to the two large toroidal transformers, located, similar to the Monster MPA2250 amplifier (test – Audio 11/06), in the front, in a separate, shielded chamber. On the motherboard, to which the amplifier modules are plugged-in, rectifiers for each of them were included and a separate power supply for the logic. One of the basic principles in designing this device was to omit a global feedback loop, that was applied only locally, stabilizing the work of separate stages. The whole amplifier, from the input until the output, is fully balanced. The larger part of the module is covered by a big heat sink, that is the reason it cannot be seen, what kind of transistors were used. It can only be seen that this are two pairs push-pull Motorolas per channel. At the input we can distinguish a worked-out stabilized power supply for the control section. Visible there are the nice Nichicon capacitors, including the Muse series. Separate capacitors, of the same company, are placed near the transformers, in the front section, where the rectifier for the current section can be found. Let us also mention, that the device can be equipped with a RS-232 port, and included in a computer controlled installation (like AMX or Crestron) and trigger sockets are standard equipment, sockets that can be used for remote power on or off. Installing devices from outside USA it is worth remembering, that while the device does not invert the absolute phase the “hot” branch of the XLR balanced input is on pin 2 and not 3 like in Europe or Japan ( Accuphase as an example).
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