Situated just outside Montréal, the Classé headquarters is home to the Classé Design team. Chairman Mike Viglas, at the helm of Classé for more than thirty years, began his involvement as an audiophile customer who fell in love with the original Classé amplifiers, designed by founder David Reich. Since the early days, Mike has transformed the company into a global brand, with digital audio and multichannel technologies to supplement Classé’s core amplifier and preamplifier designs.
The CP-800 Stereo Preamp Processor combines the functionality of a conventional analog preamplifier with that of a multi-input DAC having digital processing features. The single-box approach eliminates unnecessary chassis, circuitry and cables, which reduces cost, shortens the signal path and preserves signal quality. The CP-800’s processing capabilities allow performance-enhancing features like parametric EQ, tone control and bass management to be accomplished in the digital domain, preserving the resolution of signals in a way not possible with conventional analog-based systems.
This new preamp/processor architecture is supported by numerous proprietary Classé technologies. The highest performance is achieved via the CP-800’s USB inputs. Asynchronous techniques are used for both computer-based sources (rear panel USB Device connector) and Apple® portable devices (front panel USB Host connector). Galvanic isolation and a technique we call Single-Clock-Substrate extend the advantages of our Asynchronous USB solution, lowering noise and reducing digital jitter to the lowest possible levels. The result is a breathtakingly direct and immediate sound—a crystal clear view into the soundstage—as if you were in the recording studio with your amplifiers plugged into the mixing board.
An entirely new design employs Zero Volt Switching in a Switch Mode Power Supply with Power Factor Correction to deliver performance and value on a scale never before offered in a high-end preamplifier.
|RRP $9,500 Contact us for Best Price
UPGRADE KIT RRP $1,750
The surround sound processor is the core of a high-end home theater system. It is the conduit through which all source signals flow and it performs the critical tasks of decoding various audio formats, converting digital signals to analog, and then pre-amplifying the analog signals in as pure a manner as possible. It must allow high definition video to pass through uncorrupted. A surround sound processer can either limit or gloriously reveal the full potential of every component in the home theater system. Proliferation of the latest high-definition audio and video technologies served as the inspiration for a new challenge: the creation of the definitive SSP—a surround sound processor to set the standard for the high definition era. The result is the SSP-800, Classé’s statement preamp/processor.
The SSP-800 is a ten-channel preamp/processor, offering both balanced and single-ended connections for all channels. Audio Digital Signal Processing (DSP) is handled by Texas Instruments processors, which operate in 64-bit double precision. Floating point arithmetic is used for all audio signal calculations to ensure the most accurate results possible. All bass management filters, level adjustments and parametric EQ filters also benefit from the added precision. Two DSPs, each rated at 2800 MIPS (Million Instructions per Second) provide HD Audio decoding and the power to handle a vast array of post processing features at full resolution.
Powerful DSP is only one of many of the SSP-800’s outstanding qualities. Throughout the SSP-800 are examples of cutting edge technology and superior design techniques, employed in the service of better sound. We evaluate performance by listening to music, which remains the most reliable method of judging sound quality. In fact, no surround processor can accurately reproduce movie sound if it fails to reproduce music properly. At Classé, our first priority is developing components that perform exceptionally well with music—this is our heritage from the first component we manufactured more than thirty years ago. We then turn our attention to processor decoding capabilities and developing features that enhance flexibility and in-room performance.
In addition to high performance, quality and technology, the SSP-800 offers the flexibility to handle a wide range of real world applications. Its ten-channel design creates the possibility of configuring two channels for additional subwoofers, as mirrors of the front left and right channels for bi-amplifying, or delivering audio to a separate room or system. Five-band manual parametric equalization is provided for each of the ten channels to help tune the system to its environment. Menu driven front panel controls allow a high degree of customization for an ideal user experience.
|RRP $14,500 Contact us for Best Price|
Our newest Delta series amplifiers embody all that Classé represents: innovation, technological achievement, consummate craftsmanship,and iconic design. But they are not just the latest in the distinguished line of Classé amplifiers to be launched since 1980. They are new, revolutionary and unique.
The Classé design team has created the ultimate environment toamplify an audio signal. The entire amplification process occurs ona single board, creating the most direct and transparent signal pathconceivable. Our uniquely miniaturized driver stage is virtually noise free, so every nuance of the original signal reaches the output stage. Here, vast quantities of clean power are controlled with absolute precision. Suddenly, the world’s finest speakers sound even better.
Heat management in Classé’s new Delta series amplifiers is providedby the ICTunnel™ (pronounced Icy Tunnel), a sensor- and microprocessor- controlled technology inspired by the heatsinks found in high-power laser and medical equipment. Mounted inside the unit, the ICTunnel™ actively regulates the amplifier temperature to ensure both optimum performance and reliability.
From room temperature, the amplifiers warm up fast. They reach their ideal temperature in less than fifteen minutes and remain there regardless of how hard they are driven. No conventional heatsink can do this.
In a Class by itself
|RRP $11,500 Contact us for Best Price|
|SIGMA AMP5 FIVE-CHANNEL POWER AMPLIFIER
|The Sigma series AMP5 is a 200W/Ch five-channel amplifier derived from the AMP2, but with necessary part and layout changes to accommodate its five-channel architecture. Like the AMP2, it utilizes switching technologies for both power supply and amplification stages. A Classé-designed switch mode power supply with Power Factor Correction makes over 1,000W of clean and stable power available while being both compact and efficient. A new class D amplifier topology provides wide dynamic range, smooth and extended frequency response and rich harmonic detail to yield stunning sonic performance. The efficiency of class D adds efficiency, low heat dissipation and relatively small size to the list of the AMP5’s attributes.
|RRP $8,500 Contact us for Best Price|