Theta GenVa Upgrade

A few additional comments. I'm using a Data III transport and a Digital Lens does improve the sound of the Pro Gen Va. I've been a big Theta fan since way back but the Gen Va is old enough now that it has a noticable a gap compared to other units. Based on my direct experience I think the MSB Platinum has fantastic sound for the money though there may be other equally good units out there that I havn't heard. But I'm very sure that the dCs units are still the state of the art.

elgordo, pls1, have you tried single mode laser linque? I've never used the genesis but after getting the theta single mode installed on the jade/gen va, imho,I don't see how you could do better. Tim

I agree that the Jade does up the quality of the Gen Va, I had various success with no less than 6 digital lenses (very transport sensitive)so I never went that way. Theta still says the VI is months away But I feel the Gen Va is still a very good unit. I have the Gen Va/Jade combo and a Wadia 861 and the difference is not as great as you would think and depending on the material I prefer the Theta combo. The Dodson 217 MKII D is getting great reviews, you might want to try to find & demo one. Tim

Hifigy: What do you mean by "transport sensitive" with regard to the Digital Lens? This sounds interesting. As to the Lazer Linque, I'd love to try it and my brother has a Theta IIIa with that input. He also has the cable but neither one of us has a transport with that output and I certainly don't want to send mine back to Theta for an $800 upgrade. We live in central Florida which has lots of people (too many) and lots of audiophiles so maybe we can find one to try out.

I used the laser linque from my Data IIIa and it was excellent. When I wanted to go to the Sigtech DSP I found when I added the Digital Lens with Orchid interconnects the sound fairly equivalent, especially after I used 80 lbs of lead shot to absorbe the vibrations on the Data III's coverings! That said, no two Digital Lens units are exactly the same and I've had my hands on four! What finally caused me to move on was the flip side of the excellent bass from the audio output of the Gen Va, that is when going directly into my tube monoblocks there was a slight but noticable "transistor" sound. The Platinum balanced outputs have no analog (audio) stage and do not have that signature. The dCs units also don't have it. Also the Platinum and dCs have to my ears more musical D to A conversion. The Digital Lens slightly degrades the qualityof the sound with these units. Don't get me wrong the Va is a great unit and I loved it but time has passed it by. I certainly wouldn't dump it immediately because it will cost a fair piece of change to get better performance. But even at used prices I would have to think twice about recommending it and I've owned Theta gear for over a decade.