meridian 861 or Theta Cas.III-which is better

I do have the 861/800 Version 3,with the latest software.The sound is very good.The video is OK. Only down side with meridian you either are very good with operating that computer or have access to a VERY good installer.

I sold my Theta in favor of Meridian 861 V4.

I auditioned both the Meridian 861/800 version 4's and the Theta Casablanca III/Esoteric UX-1 combos in my system and feel the Meridian combo stood shoulders above the Casa III/UX-1 combination in my system and room. I tried the Meridian combo hooked-up two ways, both with their proprietary 3-cable direct digital transfer and with using the analogue outputs/inputs. I thought the Meridian sounded better hooked up either way (much better with the direct digital hook-up) as compared to the Casa III/UX-1 combo hooked-up with the analogue outputs/inputs. I think the Meridian 3-cable direct digital hook-up is tough to beat. If you don't want to spend a fortune, one good alternative you may want to consider is the Meridian G68/G98 combo. I auditioned this also with the above two combo's and feel it sounded very similar to slightly better as compared to the Casa III/UX-1 combo, especially and again with the direct digital connections on the G combo! Beleive me, the Casa III/UX-1 combo is no slouch as it sounded pretty fantastic and if I hadn't listened to it in a direct A/B comparison with the Meridian pieces in my home with my system, I could have easily went with the Casa III! Good luck!
Jim

I had compared Theta CB2 with xtreme DACs to Meridian 861v3 and there was no comparison- 861 was much better wrt soundstage, clarity and overall better sonics. I was actually surprised- with v4 it was a no brainer (if your room is poor in bass coverage then v4 offers even more improvement)

I personally feel Meridian is one of the top pre-pros to beat and once you hear anc play with Trifield- you will not listen to 2 Ch music (provided you have an equal or almost matched center channel with front 2 speakers)

BTW I uses analog speakers not Meridian.

Cheers,
Kishore

861 v4 is the current end of the road