EAD lovers: tell me about the $10K TM Sig Classic

Essentialy based off of the 9000 MKIII dac(same Chassis) has the best dac chips ever made the 63k BBs,Teflon boards,,nothing but the best parst available were used,all hand made,and depending on what stage unit you have ,full DTS for DVDs and without a doubt one of the best sounding pieces ever made.The downside,is,it is s total pain in the ass to use,and can be extremely finicky as it has NO display and you must remember your letters and #s on the remote.Had a tendency to pop,as the sometimnes the digital flywheel would n not sync up,and the fan noise could be become distracting.

All and all compared to what is available today the sound is unbeatable other than the EAD Signature series which used the next best dac chips the 1702 BBs.The Signature is a much easier piece to use,had more software updates that eliminated problems with the classic.Pewrsonaly I would grab a hold of a more current Signature send it to Boelen have them modifiy the power supply and call it a day.Though you do not get the latest formats,upsampling,ect the sound is still unbeatable with most of what is offered today.

The Signature versions had NO video whatsoever(so RF is no problem) unlike the Ovations and Encores(which was an outsourded piece).I have owned all of them and as a dealer I am shooting myself in the foot by not telling you to buy and 8800,but the truth is the Signature and Signature classic were and are the best period.

The bottom line is there nothing in software passed 24/96.Theotricaly it is possible to get to 192,though I have yet to hear or see anything close to it.As far as I know you cannot get blood from of a stone.This upsampling,oversampling is nothing but a lot of hype.As a dealer I have heard all the so called "Kings of the Hill"(Meitner,Audio Aero,Burmeister ect)and to my ears this added information is just that.I feel that the music has become totaly lost in mathematical equations..

Obviously I cannot be all wrong as some of the more tradidtional companies still maintain 18 and 20 bit dacs,some with no filtering ie Audio Note,47 labs,Goldmund ect.The Theatermaster Signature and the Classic were and are the best out there when it comes to a pre/pro.Yes you are gving up on the newer technology,dpl II dpl Ex upsampling ect.The decison must be wether you want the best sound ,or you are willing to sacrifice for the more updated offerings that are essensialy of the shelf boards and dacs that are slapped together.

You have on other recourse if you want to stay with EAD and that is the Signature 8,Has full analog pass through,for your hi rez.The DAC chips though are 17632s which was the progression of the downward spiral on quality dac chips.

I forgot.Since the the Alpha Digital EAD is NOT a true balanced pre/pro,other than convenience there is no audible improvement of single ended.

You have no dsp engines with them.Since bass management,roll off, ect , are pretty much very bacic in most of these DVD and Universal Player systems you probably would be be very limitied in customizing your sound