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Please chip in with your ideas. I have an SSP 800 and a CA-5200 amp. If I am after the best quality stereo presentation which source am I best to use? A CDT 300, CDP 102, or CDP 202? Is it better to use the DACS in the processor or the source? or is it just as good using a cheap $300 transport? Please give me your views.
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I have a CDP-202 and comparing it with a simple cdplayer of 300$, the difference is huge!! I am using the SSP-800 like dac and I find it more musically from bypass... (sorry for my english)... I think that CDP-202 and CDT-300 uses exactly the same materials... But CDP-102 is a step behind! -
To give my two cents worth, which isn't worth much mind you, why not have the best of both worlds? Since you are running the same amp as myself, this lets me assume you are using your system for 5.1 and watching videos from some source. I will assume even further and guess that you have some DVDs?? If my assumptions can possibly be correct, then take advantage of the ridiculously low prices that the CDP-502 is bringing, so you can have an outstanding DVD player that upconverts your DVDs to a pretty fabulous level, and have the exact same CD player as the CDP-202 in one package? Classe' took the CDP-300 and added the reference CDP-202 source player workings to create the CDP-502 (300+202=502). This is an $8500 list price player that I have seen sell as low as $3500 to $3800 here of late. It wasn't that long ago that the $7500 CDP-300 was selling for that. I know I bought one of those that I still have, and had the opportunity to move up to a good buy on the 502. The CDP-300s are quite reasonable and are the equivalent of a CDP-102 and the same upconversion DVD player in one box. It seems like the CDP-100s, the CDP-102s, and the CDT-300 usually sell for less than $2000 unless they are almost new and flawless and then they'll bring a little more. The average CDP-300s seem to sell in the $2200 to $2700 range and I have even seen a few of those with some minor cosmetic issues bring anywhere from $1500 to $1800. It seems like most of the Classe folks on this site eliminated their various CDPs and replaced them with Oppo DVDs, a lot of Sony PS3s, a few other miscellaneous regular Blu-ray players and now there are quite a few going to the new Oppo Blu-ray as it becomes available, unless they got onboard the early release beta players.
Personally I will never part with my CDP because it goes with my other Classe components, is a wonderful CD player, and does a great job with my el cheapo DVDs, especially those with a DTS soundtrack. I do have to admit that I resisted Blu-ray like it was the plague, mainly because of how darned high those discs were and how limited the titles were. Now they are slowly but surely coming down in price with more and more titles being released regularly. I started out with an inexpensive Sony BDP-S350 and was pretty pleased after my upgrade to the PRO-141FD Pioneer Elite Signature Series that replaced my PRO-1540HD Elite that was only 720p. Where I have REALLY noticed a very, very big difference is in my current picture quality and especially the sound quality is by switching to the Pioneer Elite BDP-05FD Blu-ray player. I picked up a mint condition used one for about a 1/3 of retail and literally paid less for it than I did the Sony when I bought it. I would have never guessed that the picture quality could have been improved upon so much, but boy was I ever wrong! I can only imagine how insane the BDP-09FD is. I have to draw the line somewhere and I will stay where I am for the time being until I can sneak up on a steal on a the big boy. Meanwhile I will slum with my current Pio Elite that has unjustly been criticized for being just another regular pioneer with a pretty face and some neat touch sensitive buttons. It's a nice player and nice to be able to give the quirky Harmony 1000, that is possessed a break, and use the Pio remotes for the monitor and the Blu-ray.
Oh well, my apologies for the novel. I am running on no sleep, am trying to wind down and am rambling. It worked though, the sand man is all over me now!
Good luck with your search and rescue mission of a gently used Classe player. Take your time, buy carefully, and you won't lose money if you decide it's not for you.
Feel free to drop a note if you have any questions.Comment
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planitis metal do you get better sound from using the cdp-202 in bypass mode (i.e. analogue outs from the cd player to the ssp 800) or simply from using a digital cable from the cd player to the ssp 800? Oh by the way...ta elinika mou then eine bola kala. syxnomi. :-)Comment
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Hehehe!!! Wow!!! Your greek is better than my english :rofl:Originally posted by Shakespeare
I will make a serious test next weekend, and I will tell you! Because I have connected the CDP to SSP with XLR and Coax S/PDIF (for DVD-A), so I will make a big test!!! But you are talking for stereo only, so maybe XLR is the best connection!
*polyComment
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If you look over in the "first official review of the SSP-800" thread, I posted some technical results for both the CDP-202 and the SSP-800, and the 800 handily beats the 202 in jitter performance. Not that jitter is everything, but I think that it shows that the 800 is the best that Classe has to offer in terms of digital audio.Originally posted by Shakespeare
I've also owned the CDP-502 and CDP-300 and when I had them connected to the SSP-800 via coax digital cable (using them as transports) I could hear no difference between these two high-end players and the Mac Mini that I now use as a music server.
You may get a *different* sound by going analog out of the player into the SSP-800, but I doubt it would be clearly better. The DAC section in the SSP-800 is state of the art, AND it reclocks the incoming digital signal, so you can get away with a cheap transport, or something like I use and get outstanding results.
Good luck!Comment
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Hi,
I agree with AV-OCD: the DAC in the SSP800 is the Best solution available.
No CDP202/300/502....What your SSP800 give in digital is the Top at today avaialble.
with analog you go loss your time: with a digital sourge use the SSP800 as
"main" : source like cdp202 or others give you the best sound as transport with the SSP800.
Classe with the SSP800 have a lot of study to make the best in high end
today available (in a stereo & HT preampli)
StyleComment
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thank you all for your help. I really do appreciate it. The problem I have is that I currently own an SSP 800 and CA-5200 but my transport is a cheap denon dvd player. I was wondering whether it was money well spent to take the plunge and purchase a classe transport of some kind - whether its a cdp 102, 202, 300 or cdt 300. My aim is to improve my listening experience of music in stereo from CDs. If there was an obvious improvement in sound quality I would part with my money. However, if there was so little difference that you had to strain your ears to hear it I would probably spend the money on a screen and projector.Comment
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planitismetal you are right its 'poly' not 'pola'. O bateras mou kai ei mytera mou eine abo din kypro kai ego brosbatho na matho tin losa. :-)Comment
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May I apologise to all those on this thread who are faced with my gobooldygoo. I am trying to put some of my foreign language skills into practice with planitismetal.Comment
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SSP-800 as DAC
As a few have already said, use the SSP-800 as a DAC and your current CD player as a transport first before you spend money on a different transport for audio. I think you'll be amazed at how good the SSP-800 is in 2 channel.
wxmanunrComment
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have you considered hard drive based solution? I use a Sonos, AV-OCD like the AppleTV, and Logitech makes a couple options. Hard drive based solutions are superior to disc based solutions.Originally posted by ShakespeareI'm just sittin here watchin the wheels go round and round...Comment
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I haven't sikoniko. I will look into it further. Thanks.Comment
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Originally posted by Shakespeare
As I promised, I have made a small test with:
Samsung BD-P2500 connected with SSP-800
via HDMI - Van Den Hul Ultimate HDMI,
via Single Ended - Van Den Hul The First Ultimate Mk II (stereo),
via Fiber Optic - AudioQuest Optilink-G. The single ended and the HDMI was (for my ears) the same... Then I put the same cd (Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here by Sony Columbia 20-bit 24 Karat Gold remastered by Bob Ludwig)
to the CDP-202,connected with SSP-800
via Interconnect Balanced XLR - AudioQuest Niagara
and then via Coaxial - Straight Wire Megalink II and the difference with Samsung was HUGE!!!... Between XLR and Coaxial (I think) that with XLR the sound had more specific stereo image, and the bass was more controlled... In my opinion... BUT with Samsung as transport, there was like a fog in front of me... No details, no stereo image, no nothing!!! 90% down... And this cd, it is my favorite... I know every detail (if anybody can hear ever all the details of a Pink Floyd album ;x( )... So, if you are looking for a transport, don't waste the value of the SSP with a cheap player... But all this week I will continue the test with XLR and Coaxial...
Kepp it stereo ;x( ;x(Comment
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I wouldn't spend serious money on a fancy transport as the differences would be minor....
Having said that, and if you want to be sure that your processor is getting the best possible bits to handle....the you'll need a bit transparent transport (no clocks, no upsamplers altering the bits: that's the processor's Job)
to see what bit transparent is click here
To achieve that you don't need to spend loads of cash:
click here to see some dvd transports tested by benchmark
Finally a nice transport if you don't mind it's pro looks would be Tascam CD-01U Pro click here to see it
This can give you bit transparency, if you follow the instructions tascam sended me via e-mail:
"we checked your request with our developers and the CD-01U is able to reproduce the CD Data correctly with the following condition.
1. PITCH should be 0% and KEY ORIGINAL should be OFF.
2. MONO output should be OFF.
3. FADE IN/OUT should be OFF
the above is that you need to set the parameter due to making any change on Digital process.
Of coarse any C-2 Error happening while the data is read from the CD will result into an error correction."
I hope this helps!
Geia sas patriotes BTW
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Exeis dikio gia to Hellas... Oxi Greece... (You have right for Hellas, not Greece)Originally posted by ChrisssBGeia sas patriotes BTW
I changed it also!!! We are Ellines and not Greki (Turkish word)Comment
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Wrong!!! GRAECIA and GRAECI are Latin words...in fact the 1st errrm Hellenic tribe (Greek ) Romans met in southern Italy (Magna Graecia) where a Doric tribe called Graeci! So after that, Romans called all Hellenes (Greeks) Graeci....that in English became Greeks and GreeceOriginally posted by planitismetal
EDIT: *back to the topic now*
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Thanks for carrying out the test planitismetal. Its helpful information. I look forward to your final conclusions as between xlr and coax.Comment
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Originally posted by Shakespeare
As you know, when the difference is too small, it has to take many hours of listening... Then, I don't have such experience for this thing and maybe I'll make a wrong conclusion! But I will do this also for me because I'm very curious......... :E :E :E
So, a little more of patience...Comment
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