回复人: | Bonelllll | 来 自: | 219.131.19.21 |
回复时间:: | 2005-09-23 17:03:19 | 讨论 | 返回本版 |
评述: | 以前看到一篇刘汉盛写的,在新视听的63期,不过现在在网上找不到了。英文的倒不少,这
里有一篇。 http://www.hifichoice.co.uk/review_print.asp?ID=437 Theta Carmen Its scale, articulation and lack of clutter with complex material makes it true heavyweight CD/DVD transport Theta's Carmen is a dual-function device that can operate as a minimum compromise (never say no compromise!) CD and DVD transport. Note transport, not player: it has video outputs that can be patched to a TV monitor or projector, but the audio outputs are digital only; you'll need a D/A converter like the Theta Generation V DS Pro, for example, which was used for part of this test alongside a Krell KPS25SC CD transport-cum-digital and analogue preamplifier, or a multi-channel A/V preamp/processor. Stereo performance of the Carmen was mainly assessed using Martin-Logan Prodigy electrostatic hybrid speakers (which will be the subject of a forthcoming report), although the transport was also briefly plumbed in to an existing A/V system using a combination of speakers (JMLabs, Castle etc.) driven by a Lexicon MC-1 processor and Parasound HCA-2205 five-channel power amp. Anyone with any experience of Theta will know roughly what to expect. This is a transport designed to live up to Theta's high-end credentials, and there are few shortcuts. But it is far from being 'cost no object'. In fact, it is the second and less costly of two Theta DVD/CD transports, the other being the DaViD, ('better power supplies, a better video section and better metalwork'), which costs £4,650. In practice you may find that the differences are not big with most video hardware, but there is a significant difference in stereo sound quality in favour of the more costly unit. If your picture of a high-end DVD player is that it is long on performance and short on features, the Carmen will come as a breath of fresh air. The only respect in which users may feel short-changed is the remote control, which is a rebadged and rather cramped Pioneer unit which is hardly commensurate with the price. The on-screen menu system has 'basic' and 'expert' settings - which are patronising, as well as failing to live up to the billing - but the on-screen set-up and other 'furniture' is otherwise no better or worse than others of its type. Which means roughly equivalent to computer practice of, oh, 20 years ago. The feature list is extensive, and - wonder of wonders - the player will automatically detect and switch regional coding automatically, although that wasn't the case with my early sample. The component video interface is a prerequisite for high-end displays, but RGB would help in the UK. What is appreciated is the ability to drive two audio outputs simultaneously: one handles PCM, Dolby Digital or dts, which will suit any home cinema amp or processor, and the other PCM only, which would be appropriate for a stereo music D/A converter as it carries a straight stereo output or a two-channel mixdown from a multi-channel source without danger of frying tweeters with raw dts. Of course, the Carmen's ability to stream 96kHz audio is very much in keeping with its 'music first' pretensions, but it is the options list that really makes the eyes water. There's the possibility of AT&T/ST and Theta's own Laser Linque digital audio feeds and a painstaking implementation of progressive scan video, aka 480p, which de-interlaces the output in the digital domain prior to D/A conversion. Line multipliers usually work on an analogue input, which means daisy-chaining D/A and A/D stages. An RS232 option allows the unit to be computer controlled in a multi-room system. Apart from the rough-sounding loader, the Theta worked superbly, with quick track access, a dimmable display and a complete lack of video output when playing CDs, which must benefit the internal electrical environment, and all of which contribute to a fully rounded whole. With DVDs, picture quality is first rate. In its normal picture mode - there are alternatives for particular types of programme material - the Carmen generates a wide dynamic colour range with excellent shadow detail, truly excellent blacks, and a level of motion artefacts including pixilation and 'jagglies' (which look like saw teeth) that was swamped by the very good Philips TV used for the assessment, and which was certainly better than I have seen elsewhere. That said, the margin over the best Pioneers and Sonys is small thanks to the limitations of the available display CRT and of the S-Video interface. With the right display and the appropriate additions from the options list, it would be a quite different story. I wasn't able to assess the 96kHz output, although this is probably academic given the paucity of recordings currently available in this format, but for CD replay this is the first DVD I have used (DaViD apart) which is completely credible when driving systems with the resolving ability of the one used for the test. Nevertheless, I was surprised by the scale of the differences to the previously mentioned (and very much more expensive) Krell, which has a more laid back, and some might say analogue-like quality and dark hued tonality. The Theta is sharper and more immediate, but still large in image scale and dynamics, and it still has a genuinely powerful, earth-moving bass when needed. These comments apply when using the Theta D/A converter and the Krell as a digital preamplifier. These last are qualities it shares with the Krell, but not too many others, and if the Krell is clearly the better CD player - it ought to be, of course, and it is - the Theta has all the scale and articulation, and the lack of clutter with complex material, that are the prerequisites and special preserve of the true heavyweights. It's also well equipped, extremely upgradable, and transparent to regional coding. Right now, the Carmen is surely the finest of its type. |