Would the Audio Aero Capitole better Theta

Believe it. Yep! The Capitole (24/192 version) is the single best all-in-one CD player I've had the pleasure to own -- and I've heard, and/or auditoned my share.

At the very LEAST, hear one before you buy ANYTHING (or upgrade).

Cheers!

I own the capitole, and have'nt heard anything better for the money... and if you ask these salespeople of these devices, you might find that you won't have to pay $6000 for one... I did'nt...

Cousindupree- Yes, I've heard them, albeit in somewhat disimilar setups. I prefer the Aero. Everything is relative, one mans giant is anothers dwarf. At 6K, the Aero isn't cheap, however vis-a-vie the 2 box units comprising top of the line Accuphase and Burmester digital playback systems, which IMO it is competitive with, one could fathom it a giant killer given their price points of what, around 30K?

has anyone compared it to the Cary 306/200?

Mes-Very welly put, me and a friend are in the process of comparing his Audio Aero Capitole and my Accuphase Digital pre and it is amazing how good they both are(which is scary because the msrp. on my Accuphase is 4 fold the price of the capitole, YIKES!). One would think that with a price difference of that much there would be more noticeable improvements, only thing that I have heard betters the accuphase is the Boulder gear and Burmester, which both are also more $$$, such is life in this hobby. So I guess what I am saying is yea I agree that the capitole is a giant killer.

BTW The dealer my buddy bought his from told him it sounds better with the top open, is this common knowledge with these players? and if so why does the top being open effect the sound?