Dilettante..... As I've read your posts, I have to admit that the Classe SSP-800 Pre-Pro has become more interesting to me. As our signature will support, my heart has been with McIntosh (Mac) since the late-70s, but having learned what we (my wife & I) have researched about Mac pre-pros, during these past weeks, the previously "unthinkable" concept of putting our money into A/V equipment that doesn't have a glass front has become increasingly attractive to us.
With this in mind, I'd like to ask you a question or two about your Classe setup. You have owned the SSP-800 pre-pro for many years. You've already indicated that it's a strong unit for both movies and stereo music, but what would you say about its place in A/V/D world today? Do you still believe that it holds its own in terms of connectivity and processing of the latest surround encoding?
As an aside, we recently tested a few 4K UHD blu ray movies...and, quite frankly, I wasn't very impressed. We switched over to a regular blu ray last night, RockNRolla, and it didn't really seem very different to us. Bearing in mind that we've got a direct connection between our Sony X800M2 and our LG OLED TV, we're seeing these movies without any added equipment in the signal path. The point is that, if a suitable used pre-pro doesn't "support" 4K, I don't think that it would present a huge issue to us. Hell, we had (2) 35" JVC tube TVs for many years and, only recently, made the leap to flatscreen...so I really don't think that the latest and greatest -- like the 8K video that's being hinted about -- is really a primary consideration for us.
By the way, if you would share more thoughts on Classe multi-channel power amps, we will try to open our minds a bit further. We hope all is well in your part of the world ~ B&J
