For the past 15 years, I have been using a Theta Casablanca preamp/processor that I've continually upgraded (now as an IV version) for both watching movies and listening to music. I, and my audiophile friends, find its performance in my AV system to be fantastic. However, to be fair, the rest of my components (front end, amps, cables and speakers) are generally of comparable quality. Two aspects of the Casablanca IV are particularly remarkable: (1) processing of Blu-ray soundtracks; and (2) converting 2-channel audio into 5 (or in my case 7) channel audio, which is by far now my preferred way to listen to music. Multi-channel audio is grossly, and wrongly, disparaged. The matrix audio processing of the Casablanca IV simply provides a 3-D dimensionality unachievable by a mere stereo setup -- and without any discernable degradation of the micro-details of the audio performance. Allow me also to say that the Casablanca IV is a very fine preamplifier and, especially with their "upgraded" boards, an excellent DAC, too. Moreover, I have three separate DACs incorporated into my system, and the Casablanca IV allows me to switch between them as well to use its internal DAC.
Let me make three other comments. First, the greatest drawback of the Theta Casablanca IV is its price. Top quality performance is not cheap, and a newly purchased unit with the best DAC boards installed costs more than $20,000. Second, what we hear is the aggregate result of a highly complex electronic/electro-mechanical system, not individual components. How they interact, as well as the room in which they reside, ultimately determines the quality of the sound one hears. Consequently, achieving "audio nirvana" is a quest involving lots of experimentation. Sometimes a component which has enjoyed great reviews simply doesn't work well in a person's system. (That certainly has been my experience, albeit rarely.) Third, Theta Digital has never abandoned its quest to offer its customers state-of-the-art performance. At most one can complain (as I have) that they are slow in delivering new enhancements. Nonetheless, once released, every new feature -- or enhancement of an existing one -- has been great.
In conclusion, I enthusiastically recommend giving a Theta Casablanca serious consideration when upgrading the preamp/processor of one's AV system.
Let me make three other comments. First, the greatest drawback of the Theta Casablanca IV is its price. Top quality performance is not cheap, and a newly purchased unit with the best DAC boards installed costs more than $20,000. Second, what we hear is the aggregate result of a highly complex electronic/electro-mechanical system, not individual components. How they interact, as well as the room in which they reside, ultimately determines the quality of the sound one hears. Consequently, achieving "audio nirvana" is a quest involving lots of experimentation. Sometimes a component which has enjoyed great reviews simply doesn't work well in a person's system. (That certainly has been my experience, albeit rarely.) Third, Theta Digital has never abandoned its quest to offer its customers state-of-the-art performance. At most one can complain (as I have) that they are slow in delivering new enhancements. Nonetheless, once released, every new feature -- or enhancement of an existing one -- has been great.
In conclusion, I enthusiastically recommend giving a Theta Casablanca serious consideration when upgrading the preamp/processor of one's AV system.