Classe CP-800 users?

[mbovaird]

Originally Posted by dca

Hello, I must admit I'm a bit lost about your opinion about the CP-800, as on the first page of this same thread you wrote :

"Bill - I owned this for 3 months and sold it. Purchase price was $3800 (new). It sounded too mechanical to my liking. I liked the functionality, but not the sound."

and

"Admittedly, the CP-800 certainly gives you a lot of candy for money. Hard to beat...and everything worked flawlessly when I had it. I just couldn't get use to the sound. Sorry...but that was just me."

For someone reading the whole thread it gives the impression the you started to kind of dislike the CP-800 so much that you sold it but now it's just the opposite.
Did you changed your mind lately, and is so why ?

Synergy. Paired with the matching Classe amp the second time around, the combo sounds great. I also didn't give it 200 hours to break in the first time around - so that could have been part of it. I had Mc amps and Magnepan speakers the first time around and didn't like the combo. If I had allowed it to break in, then maybe the result would have been different. Maybe.

There are no absolutes. Synergy is so crucial.

Hope that explains things.

Mike

[dca]

Originally Posted by mbovaird

Synergy. Paired with the matching Classe amp the second time around, the combo sounds great. I also didn't give it 200 hours to break in the first time around - so that could have been part of it. I had Mc amps and Magnepan speakers the first time around and didn't like the combo. If I had allowed it to break in, then maybe the result would have been different. Maybe.

There are no absolutes. Synergy is so crucial.

Hope that explains things.

Mike

Sure, thanks. I saw your signature of the original message and I thought that you were using the same system at the time, hence my question...

[silvertone]

Originally Posted by mbovaird

I own the CP-800. The DAC section is one of its stronger points. I prefer it to the DAC in my Oppo 105, but it can't (and shouldn't) compete with my $15,000 Emm Labs DAC2X.

Mike

In which ways is the EMM DAC2X better?

Thanks for sharing.

[rjd]

This isn't in keeping with the recent conversation, but I'm new to this forum and can't start a new thread.

I recently tried to use the "Teach IR" function to get my Harmony remote to learn a few extra commands, but had no luck. I then tried another learning remote (Rotel RR1050) with the same result. I talked to Classe support, but they said it should work OK with my remotes. I went back to the dealer to see if his CP-800 was any better. It wasn't. Back home, after much fiddling I finally discovered the secret. If I held the learning remote very close to the CP-800 IR window (i.e. 1/2 inch), I could get it to work. The IR emitter in the CP-800 must be very weak.

I just thought I would pass this along in case somebody else is having the same problem.

[ChrisG]

In case anyone is looking, a CP-800 just came up on AG today for $3400. It won't last long at that price.

[bbarrett]

I inquired with Classe about the digital board upgrade for the CP-800 that many have heard about and received this reply. I thought I'd share it with other CP-800 owners who are wondering.

Bob

"Good Afternoon Mr. Barrett,

Thank you for your nice comments on your CP-800.

There is indeed an upgrade coming in the near future that will permit 24/192 through the rear USB port (A USB 2.0 driver will be required when the upgraded digital input board will be installed in your unit with the new USB micro that supports up to 192 kHz), the upgrade will also activate the Ethernet port at the back of your unit, DSD is not supported..

Best Regards

Robert Adam
International Customer Service Coordinator"

[ChairmanChow]

The upgrade is now available. The cost is 1k and your local authorized dealer can do the upgrade ( if they have a service dept.) I'll be getting mine installed in the next week or so.

[Mark]

All new Classe CP-800 cost $6,000.00?

[ChairmanChow]

6k, yes... It's the same cp-800 as the 5k version it just has the upgrades already installed.

[dca]

Would appreciate a few words about the new board by someone who took the plunge.

Mainly, does it sound as good as before with 96k/24 files over USB ?
I read somewhere that they had to drop the USB galvanic isolation to be able to go up to 192k and I'm obviously wondering whether that has an adverse effect on the sound...