theta casablanca 3 audiophile qlty stereo sound?

One can certainly go back and fourth on this but for me I just don't know if my ears can hear that level of difference. What the hell is coloration anyway? Moreover, I think the point of this thread was getting the best of both worlds out of the CB3. It would make some sense that the less things you have in the chain the cleaner the sound but for the casual user I don't think they care or could even identify the differences. Just my .02.
BTW, I’ve heard the Meridian equipment very nice stuff. They do a great job a matching their equipment being all in the digital domain. Also when you at these levels there’s really not a bad one in the bunch, it boils down to choice and budget.

Stick, your comment that you and your friends were blown away by your current system. This being the case, and my impression that you are totally satisfied, then why change anything? Perhaps you are at the point where the improvements that you may see will not be sufficient enough to satisfy your multi thousand dollar additional investment. There is always "better" equipment to buy, but I find stopping when you are satisfied may be the best solution. Until there is something specific and annoying about your system, why not just keep it where it is? My comments/suggestions made on this site are always honest and straight to the point (at least this has been my intent) - but they are always my impressions and from my experiences (within my system/room). Like everybody else's opinions, they are just that - opinions. My comments and those of others should never replace what you personlly hear and/or like. If you find your system fully satisfying why change?

Are your referred to me Ckoffend? If so, I'm a bit confused by your last post. I never said anything regarding me or my friend being blow away by my system nor would I. That's not my style. Honestly, I have no others close to me interested in this hobby as much as me. Maybe you have me confused with another poster. I have posted my system on this forum as there are other enthusiasts that would appreciate the details but not to brag. I have made changes to my system for my own reason and desires Please explain your last post. Or if I'm not the one you’re speaking of then my mistake.

Stick, my apologies, in my haste, I had attributed what Dan wrote about his and his buddies experience to you.

I'm biased admittedly, but even today the Vimak DS-1800mk2 dac from circa 1993 is in my view a better sounding dac than a Theta. The Vimak was an 18bit, 64x OS dac implemented in discrete logic. It used a massive 4 layer pcb board, a seperate/shielded power supply with 2 copper clad c-core transformers, and was designed in an incredibly detailed and complex way which manufacturers are not willing to do anymore..instead they just pump more 'bits' and higher rates of oversampling into their dacs. Probably the best audio engineer in Australia - Dallas Clarke remarked "The legendary Vimak Delta-Sigma 1800 is the largest, heaviest, most complex DAC I have ever seen. It's also one of the best-sounding Digital to Analog Converters ever made, IMHO"

Very hard to find 2nd hand on Audiogon i've noticed though, I can't believe I was lucky enough to find a perfect example!