Home Digital Drive

Upsamplers, DACs, jitter, shakes and analogue withdrawals, this is it.

[ Follow Ups ] Thread: [ Display  All  Email ] [ Digital Drive ]
[ Alert Moderator ]

Have you updated the GenV to GenVa level software?

The proprietary Theta DSP algorithms (software) used in their DSP-based DAC's were all revised in the mid-to-late 1990's to the "a" release level.

At the time, I had just bought a DSPro Progeny and received the upgrade free of charge. The upgrade consisted of an E-PROM (Electronically-Programmable Read-Only Memory) chip which was used to replace the old one. The difference was quite noticeable at the time - with improvements in detail-retrieval, timing and at both frequency extremes.

I subsequently upgraded - first to a Prime IIa and then to a GenVa - and have compared the GenVa to the original GenV and found a similar level of improvement as experienced with the Progeny.

I've also been keeping half-an-ear on possible replacements for my Data Basic II (due to the persistent posts on the impending failure of my CDM9-Pro mechanism) and - to be quite honest - have not found a dedicated CD-only transport at a "reasonable price" that comes close - they're also few and far between...

From the DAC perspective, I've grown very fond of the GenVa "sound" - it is very musical and very involving. Most of the newer DAC's I've auditioned have sounded more "HiFi" than "musical" - particularly when auditioned against a vinyl source.

One CD player that combined a reasonable sound and decent CD-only mechanism was the Lyngdorf CD-1:

- which has a useful capability to disable all analogue circuitry when used as a transport only. As a transport, it also offers SPDIF, Toslink or AES/EBU connection to an external DAC - making it ideal for use with a GenVa and as a replacement for the Data Basic II. It also seemed to be well-engineered and reasonably-priced (For details see link below).

Coming back to your question "is this so old that I should get rid of it and get something different, better, while it still have some value left?"...

You have four permutations/options:

1) Keep both CDT/DAC
2) Keep CDT & replace DAC
3) Keep DAC & replace CDT
4) Replace both

If your transport is the old laserdisk-capable Data II, you're not going to realise too much by selling it (you may want to browse Audiogon/eBay for current pricing). If it's the Data Basic II, you're likely to get less due to the scare re CDM9-Pro mechanism.

The GenV DAC is still in some demand (once again check Audiogon/eBay).

So, as far as the value is concerned, don't expect to recognise megabucks from selling the CDT and/or DAC - in fact, be prepared to have to chip in with a fair amount of cash to find a replacement for both.

Some posts have suggested buying an el cheapo DVD player and using it as a transport - personally, I wouldn't as the time taken at disk-load to identify the media-type is a royal PITA...

What I would suggest?

a) Contact Theta and find out if they still have the "a" upgrade EPROM available and, if yes, do the upgrade!
b) Do nothing with the Theta pair until you've done A:B at home with candidates
c) Decide, via critical listening, what you really like/dislike about your Theta pair
d) Use this as the basis/yardstick when A:B comparing other options

I hope that helps...

PS: I have a softcopy of the GenV operator's guide if yours has gone astray - if you want a copy, post your e-mail address in a follow-up and I'll send you a copy.

Image Hosted by ImageShack.us

"Don't roll those blood-shot eyes at me!"

This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:
  Schiit Audio  

Follow Ups Full Thread
Follow Ups
You can not post to an archived thread.

[ Top Top of Page ] [ Contact Us ] [ Support/Wish List ] [ Copyright © 2024, Audio Asylum, all rights reserved ]
[ General ] [ Speakers ] [ Tubes ] [ Vinyl ] [ Digital ] [ Hi-Rez ] [ Video Asylum ] [ Cables ] [ Tweaks/DIY ] [ Music ] [ Films ]