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Classe compared to the Theta Dreadnaught

I am not an audiophile and putting my first real HT system together. I understand that you usually can not compare a $4000 amp to a $6500 amp. How much better is the Dreadnaught? I have not been able to compare them but hope to do so. I have limited funds so spending an additional $1400 dollars to buy a used Dreadnut vs a Classe is an important decision. Thanks
P.S. For what its worth, based on speaking with Classe the CAV-180 is not really comparable to the CAV- 150. Thanks.
flash_g_man
vengerltc
1 posts
 
Theta is way way better. There is no comparing the two for asthetics or sheer musicality. I am actually selling a Dred only because it is just way more amp than i need. I love the Dred. I did compare Classe and except for their omega monoblocks it is crap. My problem is I am selling the theta but simply can not find anything new or used at 5k that even comes close. The only one would be the krell home theatre standard at $7500
twilo
357 posts
 
You can also get an Adcom 5802 or 5500 2 channel amp, and get the 5503 3 channel amp. The 5802 is 300 watts, the 5500 and 5503 are 200 watts. This is a nice combo
jwin's avatar
jwin
101 posts
 
The Classe HT amps are quality products that tend to sound somewhat tube like. Those reviewed have been praised and I as a 35 year audio hobbyist find it offensive when I read a poster like Vengerltc referring to a product as "crap." In a recent Stereophile, the SSP-75 was included as the preamp of choice for a $50,000 system if I remember correctly. Reviewers of the SSP-75 and CAV-500 proclaimed this to be the most musical HT setup when producing audio. Many must ask our HT setups to double as an audio system and to my ears both Theta and Classe produce wonderful products.
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