A Q&A with Dave Nauber from Classe

[1oldguy]

lol......Thanks....My Bad

[wettou]

Thank you, this was very informative,

Well as Dave says the SSP-800 is not for everyone and Classé will lose customers. And by the way sorry for those who were thinking a new SSP-300 it's not happening you either shell out $8,000 or take a hike! ops:

I also liked the comment about the DSD!! What I heard from others at Classé was that no ones listen to SACD so who cares

I also like the rationalization about DAC and every other things as to why they won't do anything that the customer wants!!!

So with that in mind all the best to you all, I find interesting his take on Automated EQ as well !!!! I forwarded this to people at Trinnov and Audyssey they declined to comment 8O Just said what ever

Very disappointing but I predicted the responses NO THANKS

[alebonau]

Thank you, ~but ~ NO THANKS

its about where it leaves it for my cousin. he bought classe last time around... but he aint jumping on this merry go around again...

as with any brands products there will be some who will buy it and others who wont.

regardless of anyones view points. good on you siko for taking the time and effort in setting up the Q&A and Dave Nauber in taking the time out to answer

[Nolan B]

Thank you, this was very informative,

Well as Dave says the SSP-800 is not for everyone and Classé will lose customers. And by the way sorry for those who were thinking a new SSP-300 it's not happening you either shell out $8,000 or take a hike! ops:

I also liked the comment about the DSD!! What I heard from others at Classé was that no ones listen to SACD so who cares

I also like the rationalization about DAC and every other things as to why they won't do anything that the customer wants!!!

So with that in mind all the best to you all, I find interesting his take on Automated EQ as well !!!! I forwarded this to people at Trinnov and Audyssey they declined to comment 8O Just said what ever

Very disappointing but I predicted the responses NO THANKS

Take my advice...move on and find another brand which suits your needs. I get the feeling you are wasting time visiting this forum.

Personally after Dave's answer as to why Classe is not coming out with a 300 it makes me see the value of the 800 and want to save for it that much morel

[londoner]

This is a great Q&A. I like what Dave has said and the priority Classe are clearly giving to audio quality. It's making me lean further towards the SSP-800 as a future purchase.

One follow-up question that I've joined the forum specially to ask relates to this answer on audio servers ...

Classe and A/V Sources:

Audio Server
Q. Do you have plans to make an audio/video server and do you see it being possible to develop something that would allow people with a BD library to transfer it bit for bit to a server?

A. No. Like the Blu-ray player, we believe the opportunity cost of developing a server would detract from our efforts in areas where we can add more value.

A music server has three components: interface, data storage and signal delivery. Large software corporations are in the best position to develop compelling user interfaces because they can amortize the cost over millions of customers. Cheap, reliable data storage solutions are available from the consumer electronics giants. We don’t add value in these areas and are not going to become a computer company or sell to the masses.

Classé is all about sound. What we want to do is pull your audio off a network, wherever it is stored, and make it sound better than anyone else. We want to add value by acquiring and then rendering audio with our own preamps/processors, performing signal processing, D-to-A conversion, adjust the volume and amplify it. These are the things that we do best and it’s where our efforts are being directed.

What Dave says here on software and data storage makes a lot of sense, and I agree that it doesn't look to be an area Classe can easily compete in. However he doesn't comment on the third component - signal delivery.

My guess is that the quality of digital signal delivery on the source side of the HDMI link can make a significant difference, and it would be good to see Classe use their expertise.

I'd like to know whether Dave thinks there's scope for Classe to provide something that can receive multi-channel hi-bitrate audio off a network and deliver it cleanly over HDMI to the SSP-800.

It's obviously possible to by a high-end audio card, but that's paying for extra DACs that you don't need. Perhaps this could be an extension to the CDT-300 rather than to the SSP-800. The problem involved is similar - getting data cleanly off a silver-disk/network and then delivering it cleanly over HDMI.

Interested to hear his thoughts as part of follow-up questions (or thoughts of anyone else who's solved this problem in another way without buying lots of unnecessary extra DACs). Thanks

[sikoniko]

This is a great Q&A. I like what Dave has said and the priority Classe are clearly giving to audio quality. It's making me lean further towards the SSP-800 as a future purchase.

One follow-up question that I've joined the forum specially to ask relates to this answer on audio servers ...

welcome to the club!

What Dave says here on software and data storage makes a lot of sense, and I agree that it doesn't look to be an area Classe can easily compete in. However he doesn't comment on the third component - signal delivery.

My guess is that the quality of digital signal delivery on the source side of the HDMI link can make a significant difference, and it would be good to see Classe use their expertise.

I'd like to know whether Dave thinks there's scope for Classe to provide something that can receive multi-channel hi-bitrate audio off a network and deliver it cleanly over HDMI to the SSP-800.

refer to this section for your answer:

Multi-Zone/Multi-Room
In the future, I see home audio being somewhat hub and spoke, where most stuff is centralized and in the various rooms there are "extenders" that allow playback from centralized sources. Is Classe looking into ways that it can utilize its strengths in audio and HT playback around this type of model? Perhaps, creating 2 channel and HT/multichannel integrated products (for rooms that won't accomodate a full-blown system with lots of sources and amplifiers) that could stream a/v sources to each room over the network from a centralized hub while providing the Classe experience we all love?

A. Yes.

I poked for more information and he basically said he felt this answer was more provacative. :W He agrees with that assessment though. :W

I think the topic is worthy of discussion though. Take, for example, Meridians recent acquisition of Sooloos. Meridian plans on taking the workings of their CDPs and stuffing them into the Sooloos to optimize it. Acquiring a company that is already doing it is obviously the quickest route, as you don't have to start from scratch.

It's obviously possible to by a high-end audio card, but that's paying for extra DACs that you don't need. Perhaps this could be an extension to the CDT-300 rather than to the SSP-800. The problem involved is similar - getting data cleanly off a silver-disk/network and then delivering it cleanly over HDMI.

for the sake of conversation, I dont see them modifying any current products to fit. I could be wrong though. I don't have any insider knowledge. Dave doesn't really share much with me that he isn't willing for me to publicly repeat.

Interested to hear his thoughts as part of follow-up questions (or thoughts of anyone else who's solved this problem in another way without buying lots of unnecessary extra DACs). Thanks

I think I put his thoughts above, but if that is not sufficient, lets discuss something more specific and I will ask.

My solution is to use a Sonos and a NAS. Logitech also makes the squeezebox. It works great and is quite affordable.

As Dave alludes to in his replies, they put their work into the SSP-800. Thats where they feel they can make the best contribution. I believe his reply on BD is overall a reply on sources in general. Send the source digitally to the SSP-800 and let the processor do the heavy lifting. That is what it was designed to do. This also makes it so your source can be economical, as it basically just needs to read the information and send it.

What I read in the response to making a blu-ray product is that they feel they put so much time, energy, and engineering into the SSP-800, that it makes the source player somewhat irrelevant. Now that is still subject to opinion, but what I read between the lines there is that they are willing to lose or kill their own potential sales on source products to make the SSP-800, instead of cutting corners to continue to add value and justification in the source market.

that is a very strong stance to take and one not many companies would be willing to do when there is money to be made. You have to ask yourselves their reasons for doing that. When I ask myself, the conclusion I come to is that they do it because they believe it is the right thing to do - not necessarily the profitable thing to do. I respect that, and it makes me that much more an enthusiast of them.

[Hberg]

Thanks.

Bravo, Sikoniko. Excellent work.

My sincere thanks to you and Dave.

[1oldguy]

Yes I agree.....Thank you guys

[londoner]

Thanks for your follow up Sikoniko. I think that multi-room question does address what I'm asking, and I think you're right that the "yes" is as specific as Dave's going to get at the moment. It's very good to see him be as open as he's been, so I can sympathise that he's not being more specific about future Classe products. Feel free to probe further if you think he'll say more, but I don't have a specific further question in mind.

[wettou]

its about where it leaves it for my cousin. he bought classe last time around... but he aint jumping on this merry go around again...

as with any brands products there will be some who will buy it and others who wont.

regardless of anyones view points. good on you siko for taking the time and effort in setting up the Q&A and Dave Nauber in taking the time out to answer

Your lounge: Denon and Focal Utopia I see good for you, no Classé SSP-80 then!!!

[sikoniko]

bumping this up since we are doing a new q&a so people that may have not seen this can see what was asked the last time.

[realalan]

Q: With the introduction of the CP-800 and the possibility of connecting a USB device to this new pre-amp, does this mean that there will be no further development of a new CDP (e.g. to replace 202) likely? What's Classe's view on the future of CD players?

[RebelMan]

Skyblu is taking the lead on follow-up questions for the SSP-800. I will address any questions that pertain to the CP-800 with Classe'. Your question has been added to the list. No specific QA thread for the CP-800 has been established because much of the information has been classified TBA. All in good time.

[wettou]

Here is a great article that many Classé owners should read, I could not agree more with this:

The Unease of the Audiophile

The Pulse


Music and its accurate reproduction can provide some of life’s great pleasures. Beautiful art meets wonderous technology, and fanatics find communities of fellowship and glossy magazines with which their desires are regularly stoked. But audiophilia comes at a price, and not just in dollars and cents. A three-decade obsession with sound has convinced me that the natural state of an audiophile is not, as we are promised, the relaxed contemplative state of auditory bliss, but the slightly anxious ambivalence of uncertainty. We vary one way or another, but our resting place is not where it should be. When I look for a resolution, I make the following observations to my fellow fanatics about what it means to be an audiophile:

Music and its accurate reproduction can provide some of life’s great pleasures. Patrick Dillon ponders the ins and outs of this hobby.

Continue Reading...


Ah friends, it never ends. It’s all about the music, people will tell you, but you and I know it is much more than this: unease is your disease. And we wonder why young people aren’t audiophiles!

[Skyblue]

Here is a great article that many Classé owners should read, I could not agree more with this:

The Unease of the Audiophile

The Pulse


Music and its accurate reproduction can provide some of life’s great pleasures. Beautiful art meets wonderous technology, and fanatics find communities of fellowship and glossy magazines with which their desires are regularly stoked. But audiophilia comes at a price, and not just in dollars and cents. A three-decade obsession with sound has convinced me that the natural state of an audiophile is not, as we are promised, the relaxed contemplative state of auditory bliss, but the slightly anxious ambivalence of uncertainty. We vary one way or another, but our resting place is not where it should be. When I look for a resolution, I make the following observations to my fellow fanatics about what it means to be an audiophile:

Music and its accurate reproduction can provide some of life’s great pleasures. Patrick Dillon ponders the ins and outs of this hobby.

Continue Reading...


Ah friends, it never ends. It’s all about the music, people will tell you, but you and I know it is much more than this: unease is your disease. And we wonder why young people aren’t audiophiles!

Not quite sure what relevance it has with Dave but quite funny

[wettou]

Not quite sure what relevance it has with Dave but quite funny

It doesn't not I just thought it would lightened up the thread. :B

[Skyblue]

bumping this up since we are doing a new q&a so people that may have not seen this can see what was asked the last time.

Thank you. No point in repeating questions with known answers.

[wettou]

Any one knows when the new software for the 800 will be available!

[kpodolski]

What ever happend to the CVP processor that Classe was working on. Sounded like a good at the time...HDMI switching with analog video conversion. Probably went the way of the dodo bird....

[wettou]

Now if only Classé could do what all the others are doing such as Pioneer and the new receivers integrating Airplay and a lot of tools

http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Home/AV-Receivers/Pioneer+Receivers/Apple+Lifestyle