Down to the Final Two -- Dreadnaught vs. Titan

I've not auditioned the Dreadnaught, but love the 5 channel Titan which has been in my HT system for the past year. It is a great match with the Krell HTS 7.1 and B&W 802 matrix s3 speakers. Don't forget the most important review, though.....your own ears!

Well, I have a Titan so....I've got the seven channel and honestly the thing it too big. The 5ch is 1/3 smaller. The module approach is interesting, being you can add/upgrade power.

I had a change of thoughts some time ago on this, the power supply issue. I always thought a power supply per channel(module design) was the best..but...honestly what music/HT blasts all channels at once? None.

The Sim has two supplies, and depending on how you hook it up in 2ch listening you can have one supply for each size(a power supply rated for 3-4 channels driving one channel).

I've always wanted to increase the 2ch performance of my system so I just made this login up...:)

Anybody ever clip a Sim Titan? I also replaced the little Bryston 9bst.

Good luck.

Marty

Sidssp,

I would love to find a Dread I at a good price. However, I would be somewhat concerned buying a Theta unit without the advantage of having a warranty. Every Theta dealer with whom I have spoken has criticized the reliability of Theta products. While most of thier concerns relate to the processors, I would be somewhat hesitant about buying one without a warranty.

Thanks for all of the feedback.

Tdavism,
I can't speak for the Theta processors but the Dreadnaught is very well made. I bought mine over 4 years ago and never have any problem. Dreadnaught does run hot, especially with all five channels running. If you put it in a closed environment, you will definitely shorten its life expectancy. But put it on an amp stand in the open, it will last a very long time. Besides, for the price of a new II you can almost buy two used Dreadnaughts that will give you a backup as well as bi-amp possibility.

I had a Titan 5 channel in my system for a couple of months, then a Classe CAV-180, then finally the Dreadnaught II. Mine is the 7 channel config. The Dreadnaught just sounded "right" to me. It mates well with the rest of my gear (Lexicon MC12b, Aerial LR5's, CC5, SR3's). Also, that Titan amp is just way too big. It's almost twice as tall as the DII.

They're both great amps, and you really can't go wrong with either one. If you get a 5 channel Titan, I don't think you can upgrade it yourself to a 7 channel one, if you decide to do that down the line. It must be sent in to an authorized center, and shipping that beast is not something you'll want to do.