CES 2013 News

[RebelMan]

I agree that having to pay an upcharge is not usually a welcome thing but at least you can decide if you want to. Besides you got to enjoy the CP-800 all this time and still have the option to upgrade for no more than you would have paid had you waited.

Lowering noise by a further 10db? What noise? This thing is already dead quiet

I said the same thing and the reaction I got was the same as you and me. I saw the output curve and it was nearly flat. The old board's curve wasn't close to being flat. Quite impressive and it should heal the 2bit issues John Atkinson noted in his review. The $6K CP-800 shouldn't have any problems overtaking the $11K Debussy now.

I talked to the principle engineer behind the new amplifier and he is one of the best in the business when it comes this (new) architecture. I also heard the new CP-800 with the new amplifier and a pair of 804D2s. It was very very nice even though time to play was limited.

[Christmas72]

Originally Posted by RebelMan

Classe' has been going through changes for the last couple years. Some which you may know like production moving to China and some which you may not like the departure of some key players that made up the Classe' Design Team. To be honest I had some worry regarding both but after my recent visit to CES I can safely say that neither is any longer a reason for concern. Production at the new plant is going smoothly and the new design team is going strong as ever. In fact, these two changes have helped put Classe' in the formidable position to add value to some existing products and to produce some totally new ones. The first are enhancements to the CP-800 and the second is an all new amplifier.

The CP-800 is going to be getting an all new digital board to replace the existing one. Originally Classe' was planning to release an upgradeable daughter card to support Airplay over WiFi and Ethernet. This is no longer the case. The new board will still support Airplay over Ethernet but it will not have WiFi built-in. The new board will also get the new 192kHz USB chipset and processors that will handle all hires sampled content, improve sound quality and lower noise by a further 10dB! In addition to the new hardware comes an all new IOS application that allows full graphical control of the CP-800 in the palm of your hands! The new board will be priced at $1000, is estimated to debut in April and will be field upgradeable. The price of the updated CP-800 will rise to $6000. Later in the year around summer time a $500 phono board will be made available as well.

Classe' is going to release for the first time in company history a Class-D amplifier called the CA-D200. It will produce 200 wpc into 8 ohms, 400 wpc into 4 ohms and is stable down to 2 ohms. It features a 1000 watt amplifier module and a switched-mode power supply with power factor correction, similar to the CP-800. It is expected to debut around April and will carry a $4000 price tag.

I have some pictures but my current status limits my ability to post them. I think I'll have to change that.

I am disappointed.don't get me wrong...I LOVE Classe'!

But I have to say that they are losing the pace vs. the competitors.
that's all, really???
look at the the other brands what they are presenting, displaying.

Their big move was to move the production to china??besides i dont think that this was the best move especially for high end quality products, they should also move their commercial strenght over china, if any.in china none of the newer product has the CCC certificate, so no cp-800,ssp-800, ca-2300 and so on. But c' mon!!!

Look at mcintosh.they are very well established here, network is not the best but nevertheless 80% of their product line is available.and they dont even produce here.
At least learn from your B&W cousins...

Let's go back in topic.
It means for me that if i want to uodate my dac to 24/192 will have to sell my classe' and get mcintosh stuff.very sad.

Bummer!

[RebelMan]

Don't be to hasty to jump over to McIntosh. As you may know they have been picked up by a group of venture capitalists. What you may not know is that was after B&W took a look at their finanicial profile and passed them over. There are some big rumors going around which I probably should not comment on but Chris Smith (whom I know from his Classe' days) scarcity around the mac forum is, I suspect, more than a coincidence.

On the other hand, Classe's position in the high-end, high-performance arena is solid. They are doing many more things than I am allowed to comment on and a few things I couldn't because they are keeping some things very close to the chest. Suffice it to say they have several short term and long term plans in store. The move to China was a wise move. Let me make this clear, they are NOT outsourcing to contracting companies in China. They have their own in-house facilities which the are sharing with B&W and Rotel. This gives them much greater control over quality and maintains profitablity to keep pushing R&D.

[mbovaird]

Originally Posted by RebelMan

Let me make this clear, they are NOT outsourcing to contracting companies in China. They have their own in-house facilities which the are sharing with B&W and Rotel. This gives them much greater control over quality and maintains profitablity to keep pushing R&D.

When I saw a lot of negativity around the whole China thing and Classe - I tried to point this fact out. To me, the quality is outstanding. I own the CP-800, CA-2300 and CA-5300. I've had zero problems and Classe support (for tweaking my CP-800 for bass management) has been excellent.

I think their gear not only represents one of the best values in high end, but some of the best - regardless of price. I will be very interested to hear the improvements to the Classe CP-800 and pit it once again against my ARC REF 10 in my main system.

If I was building an under "$30,000" system today, the CP-800 and CA-M600's would be on my short list.

[RebelMan]

Originally Posted by mbovaird

I think their gear not only represents one of the best values in high end, but some of the best - regardless of price.

You are not alone in this sentiment. I can appreciate other gear too but not their prices and in many cases they don't sound as good as they should.

[fourxmotion]

Originally Posted by RebelMan

Classe' has been going through changes for the last couple years. Some which you may know like production moving to China and some which you may not like the departure of some key players that made up the Classe' Design Team. To be honest I had some worry regarding both but after my recent visit to CES I can safely say that neither is any longer a reason for concern. Production at the new plant is going smoothly and the new design team is going strong as ever. In fact, these two changes have helped put Classe' in the formidable position to add value to some existing products and to produce some totally new ones. The first are enhancements to the CP-800 and the second is an all new amplifier.

The CP-800 is going to be getting an all new digital board to replace the existing one. Originally Classe' was planning to release an upgradeable daughter card to support Airplay over WiFi and Ethernet. This is no longer the case. The new board will still support Airplay over Ethernet but it will not have WiFi built-in. The new board will also get the new 192kHz USB chipset and processors that will handle all hires sampled content, improve sound quality and lower noise by a further 10dB! In addition to the new hardware comes an all new IOS application that allows full graphical control of the CP-800 in the palm of your hands! The new board will be priced at $1000, is estimated to debut in April and will be field upgradeable. The price of the updated CP-800 will rise to $6000. Later in the year around summer time a $500 phono board will be made available as well.

Classe' is going to release for the first time in company history a Class-D amplifier called the CA-D200. It will produce 200 wpc into 8 ohms, 400 wpc into 4 ohms and is stable down to 2 ohms. It features a 1000 watt amplifier module and a switched-mode power supply with power factor correction, similar to the CP-800. It is expected to debut around April and will carry a $4000 price tag.

I have some pictures but my current status limits my ability to post them. I think I'll have to change that.

Hi Rebelman
Any indication if the upgraded board will support DSD over USB?
Thanks.

[Christmas72]

Originally Posted by RebelMan

Don't be to hasty to jump over to McIntosh. As you may know they have been picked up by a group of venture capitalists. What you may not know is that was after B&W took a look at their finanicial profile and passed them over. There are some big rumors going around which I probably should not comment on but Chris Smith (whom I know from his Classe' days) scarcity around the mac forum is, I suspect, more than a coincidence.

On the other hand, Classe's position in the high-end, high-performance arena is solid. They are doing many more things than I am allowed to comment on and a few things I couldn't because they are keeping some things very close to the chest. Suffice it to say they have several short term and long term plans in store. The move to China was a wise move. Let me make this clear, they are NOT outsourcing to contracting companies in China. They have their own in-house facilities which the are sharing with B&W and Rotel. This gives them much greater control over quality and maintains profitablity to keep pushing R&D.

I see your point but i eveluate the products themselves and not really the company financial situation or anything else.
if they sound good they sound good.no matter what. and also for sure mcintosh stuff always performed well in the used department.

I need a replacement in my a/v system, i need a 24/192 dac!
I cant wait to get old(er) and gray(er).

wont give away the cp-800/ca-2300 though.

i am just sad that cant increase the beloved classe' family.

PS
if they really need or love to to sell and promote their brand they should update their website including the news!

[RebelMan]

Originally Posted by fourxmotion

Hi Rebelman
Any indication if the upgraded board will support DSD over USB?
Thanks.

It wasn't mentioned. Classe' has shied away from DSD support in the past and that is likely to continue in this iteration but I can confirm.

[RebelMan]

Originally Posted by Christmas72

I see your point but i eveluate the products themselves and not really the company financial situation or anything else.
if they sound good they sound good.no matter what. and also for sure mcintosh stuff always performed well in the used department.

True but isn't company solvency important to providing lifetime product support as well? I think so, especially for the second hand market.

I need a replacement in my a/v system, i need a 24/192 dac!
I cant wait to get old(er) and gray(er).

wont give away the cp-800/ca-2300 though.

I don't follow. In reference to the CP or the SSP?

iif they really need or love to to sell and promote their brand they should update their website including the news!

Then what more could I say?

[HedgeHog]

Originally Posted by RebelMan

Nothing official about the SSP... yet.

Thx for the reply, RebelMan (btw, seems like a few HTG users have migrated here). Shame they are not adding CP800 features to the SSP. I had hoped that the SSP-800 being their flagship product that they would keep it up to current technology.