SSP-800 Availability Update
July 31, 2008
Early in July we shipped a small number of pre-release units to expand the number of installations using SSP-800s. Our goal has been to gather more feedback on possible HDMI compatibility issues and discover if any major bugs had slipped through our own testing.
The results of this additional testing have been extremely positive, with the handful of dealers involved in the program unanimously reporting the best performance they have ever heard from a surround sound preamp/processor.
Vu Phan at High End Theater in Texas reported:
"The SSP800 is the best processor we have ever heard, and we are hardcore audiophiles! Congratulations to the people at Classe who made this possible."
Igor Kivritsky at Hi Fi Center in BC said:
"You guys really outdid yourselves on this one... I could instantly hear a major improvement in detail, focus and tonality"
Along with the positive comments, a few new issues were in fact discovered, although none that would be considered particularly serious. Until a few days ago, it looked like we were on our way to releasing official software to production for shipments to commence today. Then an old digital audio noise problem related to DVI switching that we thought had been resolved, reappeared. The good news is that we can now reliably reproduce the problem, which was not the case when it was first identified some time ago. The bad news is that we now need to trace the problem, fix it and re-test. That will take more time. Meanwhile, there are many customers with theater systems down, waiting for the SSP-800. There are also dealers who need the SSP-800 for their demonstration rooms.
To accommodate those of you who have no theater until we deliver the SSP-800, we will make more pre-release units available in North America. This will further widen the scope of feedback we get while solving problems for those who are willing to install a unit which will require a further software update.
Pre-release hardware is 100% , only the software is in a pre-release status. This software is identified by a yellow band across the display.
If you are interested in obtaining a pre-release unit, contact your dealer about availability. A shipment of pre-release units will be made to our distribution facility in Buffalo next week and distributed to dealers immediately from there. Once we approve a final software release, the yellow band will be removed and these units may be updated with the official production code.
We apologize for the additional delay of official production but we are trying to accommodate those of you who can accept the SSP-800 temporarily as it is and don’t mind doing an additional update.
Stay tuned to the website for further announcements regarding SSP-800 availability and thanks again for your patience and support of Classé.
Regards,
David Nauber
Executive VP
Classé
*Shipments to overseas markets will begin at the same time as shipments within North America. For our overseas customers, please be aware that the additional distribution channels may add up four to six weeks to delivery.
July 31, 2008
Early in July we shipped a small number of pre-release units to expand the number of installations using SSP-800s. Our goal has been to gather more feedback on possible HDMI compatibility issues and discover if any major bugs had slipped through our own testing.
The results of this additional testing have been extremely positive, with the handful of dealers involved in the program unanimously reporting the best performance they have ever heard from a surround sound preamp/processor.
Vu Phan at High End Theater in Texas reported:
"The SSP800 is the best processor we have ever heard, and we are hardcore audiophiles! Congratulations to the people at Classe who made this possible."
Igor Kivritsky at Hi Fi Center in BC said:
"You guys really outdid yourselves on this one... I could instantly hear a major improvement in detail, focus and tonality"
Along with the positive comments, a few new issues were in fact discovered, although none that would be considered particularly serious. Until a few days ago, it looked like we were on our way to releasing official software to production for shipments to commence today. Then an old digital audio noise problem related to DVI switching that we thought had been resolved, reappeared. The good news is that we can now reliably reproduce the problem, which was not the case when it was first identified some time ago. The bad news is that we now need to trace the problem, fix it and re-test. That will take more time. Meanwhile, there are many customers with theater systems down, waiting for the SSP-800. There are also dealers who need the SSP-800 for their demonstration rooms.
To accommodate those of you who have no theater until we deliver the SSP-800, we will make more pre-release units available in North America. This will further widen the scope of feedback we get while solving problems for those who are willing to install a unit which will require a further software update.
Pre-release hardware is 100% , only the software is in a pre-release status. This software is identified by a yellow band across the display.
If you are interested in obtaining a pre-release unit, contact your dealer about availability. A shipment of pre-release units will be made to our distribution facility in Buffalo next week and distributed to dealers immediately from there. Once we approve a final software release, the yellow band will be removed and these units may be updated with the official production code.
We apologize for the additional delay of official production but we are trying to accommodate those of you who can accept the SSP-800 temporarily as it is and don’t mind doing an additional update.
Stay tuned to the website for further announcements regarding SSP-800 availability and thanks again for your patience and support of Classé.
Regards,
David Nauber
Executive VP
Classé
*Shipments to overseas markets will begin at the same time as shipments within North America. For our overseas customers, please be aware that the additional distribution channels may add up four to six weeks to delivery.
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