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     Reich Interview

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(Continued from previous page)
"I heard some assertions early on that movies and music really required two different systems," Sinclair says, "but I couldn't see a good reason for that. We simply made it our manifest to make equipment that would sound good on movies and still serve music. We also knew this could not be done cheaply." (The Casablanca processor sells for $5000 to $12,000, depending on how it's tricked out.) "At the same time, we wanted to protect our customers against obsolescence.

"That was the false promise of the computer industry. It seems every 18 months you have to start over with a new computer you can't just update the computer you have to catch up with the technological advances. In our processors, such as the Casablanca, the motherboard remains in place, but the daughterboards can be replaced and you've got the newest and best version."

Today Theta makes seven core products encompassing processors, CD/DVD transports, a multichannel amplifier, and now an integrated CD player called the Miles, after the late jazz trumpeter Miles Davis. "He was an inspiration," says Sinclair. Then he adds, almost as a reminder to himself: "These are personal products."

The enterprise, aspirations, and achievements of Theta Digital indeed express the persona of its co-founder; those elegant sonic tools bespeak the man. Sinclair, who casually estimates that he works 70 hours a week ("I don't really make a point of getting away from it all"), has been married twice. His first wife, Evelyn, who helped him create his retail venture as well as CAL and Theta itself, remains a good friend. He says the sheer intensity of work burned that marriage out. Lynn, whom he married last July, is his export manager, a huge factor in Theta's ultra-high-end market niche.

"On 15-hour flights, it's great to have somebody you like and who really understands the business for a companion. We do have wonderful weekends. You know, the Milan show is over and you don't have to be at the Barcelona show for five days, so you drive through the south of France, enjoy the beautiful countryside, and talk business.

"This is what I do. It worries me to risk sounding like a crazy person. Into adulthood I enjoyed science fiction, and I still buy books, but now I have a lot of books I've read the first 30 pages of. When the work load isn't so bad, I play the drums. Up to the early '90s I was playing small-time professional jobs around L.A., but I had to give that up. You can't have other musicians waiting while you're at an audio show in Malaysia. I still try to keep my chops. Playing clears my head and keeps me happy.

"I'm really not an audio monk. I don't wear a hair shirt. We make our choices freely. Oh, I bitch to friends that I wish I had a plumbing-supply business so I could enjoy music as a hobby. But I don't think I'd want to have it any other way. "

Sinclair breaks off for a moment. Then, in his ruminative, still voiced way, he adds: "I don't exactly believe in destiny. Maybe pre-programming."

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