Which system? EAD - THETA - CLASSE

Never heard EAD. I've directly compared Theta to Classe on a number of occasions. Classe just doesn't stand up. I know a dealer who uses Theta dvd and processor in their $400,000 home theater system. Works well. I also use a Theta player (Carmen) and DAC (IIIa). They're great, but they DEFINITELY ARE glitchy. Mine is a warranty replacement. They couldn't stop the original from skipping. I now wipe a cd or dvd off with a glasses rag every single time I insert the disk, just to be sure. Can't argue with the sound, though.

I did the same as Jdevine, I bought the EAD Encore first while Theta sorted out their delivery times way back then, then I sold it and bought a used Ovation.... WOW two channel music was awesome with my Sonic Frontiers SFT-1 Transport (AT cable), then I tried a ton of different amplifiers (back than I had Magnepans (Classe Sound Harsh in my system really Harsh) (Audio Research D300, D400MKII,Music Reference RM9, Hafler, SUMO,SIM (Yuk Stereophile A rated but once again for a $5000 amp Thin and no bass))... I found a deal on a used EAD Signature, Bought Balanced Transparent Reference (Xl) interconnects, Bought the EAD PowerMaster 2000 (400watts x 5 channels 8ohm)... and magic for two channel, overkill for movies because the DVD soundtracks are good enough. (HTPC with Midiman 410, Camelot Dragon 5.1).... EAD is also a piece of cake to setup... Sit in your favorite spot, hold the Mike at your ear level, Click "Auto Setup" on the remote, it plays static noise to level out all the speakers automatically and then pop come out of the speakers to automatically calculate distance and phase for every speaker...Then use the AVIA disk to setup the SUB, and your DONE!!! A work of art for that feature alone, especially if you have different brand speakers... You could get the new DVD 8000 and a good multichannel (EAD) and be done! Also they are beautiful pieces in your stereo rack. Good luck.

PS: There is a huge performance jump between the Encore and Ovation so spend the extra as the single bit DAC's in the Encore just can't resolve. (more for music than)

I started out with a beefy Classe H/T system but over the years switched to Theta and never looked back. Even when I reduced the wattage from my big Classe amps to a Theta Dreadnaught I didn't feel like I was missing out on anything. I'm not saying i don't like Classe I just don't think I'll change what I have for awhile. Current system Theta DaViD, Theta Casa Blanca II (Superior dac cards), Theta Dreadnaught, Cardas Golden Ref Balanced cabling, Five Thiel speakers, Velodyne HGS15 sub woofer.

I have heard good things about both Theta and the older Classe stuff; but as several above I went with EAD. I have the PowerMaster 1000 and the TheaterMaster 8. The PowerMaster 1000 bi-amps my Bohlender Graebener planar speakers (4 ohms) with ease. The EAD combo has a nice sweet sound with more bass than I was getting from my Denon/Citation combo. EAD does appear to be changing corporate ownership frequently but they make a quality product at a good price

I own the ovation and pm2000. Great combo. The strengths are the ovation's 2-channel output and the pm2000's flexibility and amazing sound quality. The older ovation is the weakest link because it doesn't have an analog pass-through, so you can't listen to SACD/DVD-A/vinyl (fixed in recent models). Since I'm interested in analog, my ovation is going to be boxed, and maybe sold. The amp, however, is a dream. I forget which year, but dubious Stereophile actually listed the PM2000 and the Signature proc in their A lists.

The company has stabilized, too. No problems with EAD.