Price Paid:  $2400.00

Summary:
Bought the Ovation with some skeptisism,having never had an opportunity to actually hear one.No local dealers carry them.With a lot of research and recommendations,decided to take the leap of faith.WOW!!!! best described my first listening experience.Silky smooth and expansive,the best I've had in my setup.Have had several processors over the years,Lexicon,Fosgate,Sony 9000ES and a Citation.Have auditioned Krell and the monster Lexicom MC12.Nothing sounds like the EAD.I suspect there will come a time that the urge to upgrade/change will happen,but I am thoroughly pleased with the airy,liquid sound I am hearing from the EAD.I was so happy with the EAD,that I bought a matching Powermaster.Had a mix match set of power amps,a Krell KAV running the front pair of Aerial 6Bs.Although,I lost a bit of bass with the Powermaster,it seemed to articulate the highs better.And 2 channel stereo is a good as it gets for this price point.

Strengths:
Smooth,liquid sound.Huge soundstage in 5 channel.Silver face plate is gorgeous to look at.

Weaknesses:
Limited inputs for analog.Relay click on input changes.

Similar Products Used:
Citation 5.0,Sony 9000ES,Fosgate Model 5,Lexicons.

Price Paid:  $0.00 from EAD Dealer

Summary:
My long and expensive processor search is over! After extended listening tests with many pre-pros in-house, the Ovation Plus is here to stay. My first EAD product, the Encore, offered terrific 2-channel sound (not to the level of the Ovation Plus, however), but suffered from loss of detail in 5-channel and operational glitches. I moved on to the Lexicon DC-1 (great surround, electronic-sounding 2-channel), Anthem AVM20 (Outstanding surround, clean but sterile 2-channel), Acurus ACT-3 (Nice, but overly warm 2-channel, top-notch surround) and Aragon Soundstage (excellent, detailed 2-channel and the most dynamic surround I''ve ever heard). As you can see, I loved the Aragon Soundstage, and was content to stop there. Only problem was, I had already ordered an EAD Ovation Plus from my dealer. After trying unsuccessfully to sell the Ovation Plus, I bit the bullet, sold the Soundstages (I had acquired multiple units by then) and decided to open the box and make do with the Ovation Plus. SUPRISE! The Ovation Plus ended up being the best of all! (And no, I''m not in denial.) 2-channel is airy and detailed, with a warmth and emotion like I''ve never experienced. 5-channel is nearly as detailed as the Soundstage, but with a wonderful relaxed quality and richness. There are no software pops or glitches, and even the remote works great! I''ve never enjoyed hearing my current music more, and as a result, I''ve bought more music in the last few weeks than ever before. I decided a while back not to chase DTS-ES/DPLII and 7.1, and decided to find the best 5.1 processor and be happy with it. Thanks to the Ovation Plus, I''m not just happy, I''m downright ecstatic! Associated equipment: Sherbourn 5/1500A Amp EAD Theatervision P Progressive DVD/CD Bohlender Graebener Radia X3 Towers Bohlender Graebener Radia X1 Center Phase Technology Teatro Surrounds DH Labs BL-1 Interconnects Bettercables bi-wire speaker cables Bettercables Toslink cable Bettercables Coaxial cable

Strengths:
Rich, luscious, detailed 2-channel sound, dynamic yet smooth 5-channel, beautiful looks and build quality, tiffany connectors

Weaknesses:
Switching between inputs harder than it should be, only one toslink input

Similar Products Used:
Ead Encore, Lexicon DC-1, Anthem AVM20, Acurus ACT-3, Aragon Soundstage

Price Paid:  $65000.00 from price in SEK

Summary:
I''ve had the TheaterMaster Encore since -98 and upgraded to the TheaterMaster Ovation-8 in 2001. It''s hard to fault this one when it comes to the soundquality. All multichannel systems on CD, DVD and LD sounds wonderful. Music from CD is detailed and naturall. Very transparant analog bypass wich at the same time is versatile since you can configure it as one 8-channel or divide it into 6-channel and 2-channel at the same time. It''s a bit expensive in Europe. The user interface is good and becomes better with the Pronto remote. The autosetup feature works very good and makes it easy to set it up. As for discreet IR-codes this one has it all! Almost everything is a discreet code.

Strengths:
Neutral. Analog bypass, excellent in multichannel sound reproduction.

Weaknesses:
No 24/96khz digital handling, DPL2 or DTS-ES. Only one toslink input.

Similar Products Used:
TheaterMaster Encore, H/K Signature 2.0

Price Paid:  $1400.00 from Analog Shop

Summary:
I''ve owned the Encore,ovation,and now the upgraded ovation-8.All of which are the same unit sent back to EAD for factory upgrade. The ead "sound" is so holographic and draws you into the movies like no other.Since i have a three year old and sit through hours of animated films i have grown to respect pixar,disney and a slew of other movie makers. This processor is so clean.and clear.I run it through B&K st-140''s( three).Between the warmth of the b&k''s and the soundstage of the ead i can''t loose.I also use older paradigm mini mk3''s for the front LCR and ES.Soon to use another pair for the back RL.I''ll never sit in a noisy movie theater again.This system is so enjoyable i have a very small wish list.Using the ead for two ch. listening is gripping to say the least.Great cd''s sound so engaging you can imagine you are there at the session.Badly recorded cd''s are so easy to pick out and never visit again.I''ve been building this system for years (fourteen to be exact) I''m at a place now that has got to be my personal pinnicle.I''ve heard louder systems and listen to more expensive systems but when i put in Steely Dan two against nature in dts, Killer,killer,killer keeps coming to mind.If you are begining to build a system always remember a loud speaker that got rave reviews will sound as good as it did five or ten years ago.And amps are amps, they have changed little inthe last ten years. Find a stereo amp that is warm and engaging and when you think it''s the one for you, buy two more for hometheater. The processor is the heart.They have made leaps and bounds in the last ten years.Imagine using it day to day and let that determine which one you buy.EAD Ovation-8 is a no-brainer.Look no further.

Strengths:
Burr Browns all the way around.Built like a tank.Check out the rca''s,that''s right each one is screwed to the chassis.DVD audio with ead''s own inter connect.DTS so smooth .

Weaknesses:
Just bought by Taralabs , Hope these guys don''t drop the ball.

Price Paid:  $5000.00

Summary:
I was searching for a Preamp and I had the change to compare the new Tag Mclaren (with ex) the new EAD Theatermaster 8 (7.1 channels) the Onkyo Integra and Theta Casablanca II (I live in Europe, I don't know if the new Tag is available in USA) All of them were playing in the same system, ($ 20.000 speakers – amps) therefore the comparison was really interesting. It is very hard to hear all the above with the same system set-up.
I read every day comments from people in lots of forums. What I realize was that most of them haven’t really made a true comparison because they hear the Preamps with different systems. The sound of Tag and Integra was really similar in reproduction of Home cinema. I can’t understand why many friends discover differences. Both machines give a robust but limited soundstage, good channel separation, deep but not well controlled bass, good voices. Compared with integrated pre -amp like Denon 5800 or Yamaha AX 1, I can say that they deliver the same quality. However in stereo mode you realise why you must pay more and take separate preamp. Both TAG and Integra give much better sound than the -all in one- machines. I really like the Integra in stereo mode, I put Tag far behind. The sound of Tag is very compressed, its like a curtain in frond of you. Sure, as I mentioned before is superior to -all in one- machines but for $4500 I was expecting much more. Integra is far better pre-amp.
As you can read I haven’t mention until now EAD and Theta. That’s because this two preamps are 10 classes above TAG and Integra. WOW, what a difference!! It’s like hearing a CD after an old cassette. Tremendous separation in Home cinema, you can define even where a nail is dropping, the voices are crystal clear , the soundstage huge, the bass punch your stomach, you feel inside the movie !! In stereo mode everything is amazing. Smooth sound, well defined and huge soundstage, you can detect all instruments, the music just blends and fills your place. Yes, that’s what I need. I was really blow away when I hear DVD Audio from EAD. (Unfortunately, Theta does not provide bypass !!, so forget DVD Audio)
When I hear Thetas price ($ 15000) part of my dream collapsed. But when I hear that price of EAD is the same like Integra and Tag, I really jump up and down many times blessing EAD and wondering what’s wrong with the people out there who pay lot of money without listening to EAD dream machines. Now I am the proud owner of EAD Theatermaster 8 and very soon from Ultra DVD Audio Player (the first 8 channel Audio player with Farouja progressive circuit).
If you are searching for the best Pre-amp out there just buy the new EAD. It’s a well priced dream machine.

Strengths:
build quality, 7.1 analog bypass, amazing sound , Aesthetics, set-up flexibility

Weaknesses:
component switching