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The CP-800 is going to be getting an all new digital input board to replace the existing one. Originally Classé was planning to release an upgradeable daughter card to support Airplay over WiFi and Ethernet. This is no longer the case. The new board will still support Airplay over Ethernet but it will not have built-in WiFi. On the other hand, the new board will support streaming over Ethernet and DLNA sources and devices. It will also support IP control for use with home automation systems and/or an all new iOS app called CP-800 Classé Control.
The board will get the new 192kHz USB chipset and new processors that will handle all standard and hires sampled content at their native rates. To optimize the new USB micro controller as well as the Ethernet module the topology of the original board was altered thus lowering the noise floor an additional 10dB but some technologies such as galvanic isolation were removed in the process. The streaming audio path also allows for up to 24-bit/192 kHz resolutions and it works in Clock Master mode for both AirPlay and DLNA sources, which means Classé controls the clock in the same way that they do for the USB path. One of the best features is that whether using iTunes (AirPlay) or DLNA, you get control of the CP-800 volume from your media player window.
The new board will be priced at $1000 and will be field upgradeable. The price of the CP-800 (Revision 2) which includes the new board will rise to $6000.
A $500 phono board was expected to be made available this summer as well but product delays with the digital board have postponed those plans.
Availability Status
The hardware is complete so Classé is building the new digital input boards for the upgrade kits now. They are expecting to release the kits for sale worldwide next month (August). CP-800 (Revision 2) units should follow about four weeks later. Classé won't release anything until they have Apple certification, so this is all assuming that they get that handled in the meanwhile. An unofficial photo of the input board is attached along with four sample screen shots from the CP-800 Classé Control app. Basic adjustment features like Tone Control and enabling/disabling the EQ from the app are available but it's not intended to have complete unit setup, so for the time being, setting the EQ and other one-time setup parameters will need to be done from the touchscreen.
UPDATE: Availability Status as of September 24th, 2013
Production kits of the new digital input board are being packaged now and they expect an official release sometime next month (October), pending (still) Apple certification (and a small amount of clean up remaining in the code). They expect the kits to be available about four weeks before the units are released. Overseas markets, which are shipped at the same time as the US, will see product arriving a few weeks later due to the logistics involved.
USB Specifications
The CP-800 (Revision 2) upgrade is not a USB 3.0 product, nor does it need to be. The 2.0 specification covers everything needed for 192 kHz audio and more. Using 3.0 hardware, which supports higher data rates, does not result in data being transferred any differently than in a 2.0 product using asynchronous synchronization.
USB Isolation and 192kHz
Galvantic isolation in the original CP-800 has been removed from the updated unit because of a change in the speed of the signals that must be supported on the input side of the USB micro controller, which prevents the use of the high speed transformers that provided the isolation in the original design. There are no such devices available to isolate at the higher speeds, so the alternative is to move the USB micro controller to the other side of the isolation, what one might think of as the dirty side, which would require isolating it from everything internal. This introduces the potential for more jitter and Classé compared the sound of the board with a new grounding scheme to the original with the isolation transformers and the new layout was superior, so they felt they could offer the 192kHz feature and better overall performance without the galvanic isolation.
DSD and DSD File Support
The CP-800 (Revision 2) upgrade utilizes the same Wolfson WM8741 DACs that are in the first revision and they do support DSD mode but Classé has chosen not to use it. Their position is that most competing units that offer both PCM and DSD decoding simply convert the DSD signal to PCM, thereby negating any potential advantage it might have had. They don't think, even if you try to do it right, that you can build a DAC that does both PCM and DSD without compromising one, the other or both signal paths. The filters required for the two are different, so either you force one of the signals through a sub-optimal filter or at a minimum, you have to add a switch to select between the paths. There are also challenges with respect to board layout and power distribution that make a dual-use unit compromise overall performance. Classé advocates that the only high-end analog sources are turntables and SACD players. Because a properly optimized SACD player converts the DSD signal to analog in the best way possible, Classé is able to handle it in the CP-800 best as an analog source from that point onward.
Phono Preamp Module
Classé is in the process of sourcing a shield box for the new phono board, so they don’t have an exact production date, but they assume a few months. As previously mentioned the retail price of the kit will be $500 USD, but unfortunately, it won’t be a field upgrade as they had initially planned. Units will need to be sent to authorized technical service centers, which in the US is Equity in North Reading, MA, where the upgrade will be performed. They haven’t settled on a labor charge yet, but it will probably be about two hours labor. A photo of the new phono board is attached below.
The board will get the new 192kHz USB chipset and new processors that will handle all standard and hires sampled content at their native rates. To optimize the new USB micro controller as well as the Ethernet module the topology of the original board was altered thus lowering the noise floor an additional 10dB but some technologies such as galvanic isolation were removed in the process. The streaming audio path also allows for up to 24-bit/192 kHz resolutions and it works in Clock Master mode for both AirPlay and DLNA sources, which means Classé controls the clock in the same way that they do for the USB path. One of the best features is that whether using iTunes (AirPlay) or DLNA, you get control of the CP-800 volume from your media player window.
The new board will be priced at $1000 and will be field upgradeable. The price of the CP-800 (Revision 2) which includes the new board will rise to $6000.
A $500 phono board was expected to be made available this summer as well but product delays with the digital board have postponed those plans.
Availability Status
The hardware is complete so Classé is building the new digital input boards for the upgrade kits now. They are expecting to release the kits for sale worldwide next month (August). CP-800 (Revision 2) units should follow about four weeks later. Classé won't release anything until they have Apple certification, so this is all assuming that they get that handled in the meanwhile. An unofficial photo of the input board is attached along with four sample screen shots from the CP-800 Classé Control app. Basic adjustment features like Tone Control and enabling/disabling the EQ from the app are available but it's not intended to have complete unit setup, so for the time being, setting the EQ and other one-time setup parameters will need to be done from the touchscreen.
UPDATE: Availability Status as of September 24th, 2013
Production kits of the new digital input board are being packaged now and they expect an official release sometime next month (October), pending (still) Apple certification (and a small amount of clean up remaining in the code). They expect the kits to be available about four weeks before the units are released. Overseas markets, which are shipped at the same time as the US, will see product arriving a few weeks later due to the logistics involved.
USB Specifications
The CP-800 (Revision 2) upgrade is not a USB 3.0 product, nor does it need to be. The 2.0 specification covers everything needed for 192 kHz audio and more. Using 3.0 hardware, which supports higher data rates, does not result in data being transferred any differently than in a 2.0 product using asynchronous synchronization.
USB Isolation and 192kHz
Galvantic isolation in the original CP-800 has been removed from the updated unit because of a change in the speed of the signals that must be supported on the input side of the USB micro controller, which prevents the use of the high speed transformers that provided the isolation in the original design. There are no such devices available to isolate at the higher speeds, so the alternative is to move the USB micro controller to the other side of the isolation, what one might think of as the dirty side, which would require isolating it from everything internal. This introduces the potential for more jitter and Classé compared the sound of the board with a new grounding scheme to the original with the isolation transformers and the new layout was superior, so they felt they could offer the 192kHz feature and better overall performance without the galvanic isolation.
DSD and DSD File Support
The CP-800 (Revision 2) upgrade utilizes the same Wolfson WM8741 DACs that are in the first revision and they do support DSD mode but Classé has chosen not to use it. Their position is that most competing units that offer both PCM and DSD decoding simply convert the DSD signal to PCM, thereby negating any potential advantage it might have had. They don't think, even if you try to do it right, that you can build a DAC that does both PCM and DSD without compromising one, the other or both signal paths. The filters required for the two are different, so either you force one of the signals through a sub-optimal filter or at a minimum, you have to add a switch to select between the paths. There are also challenges with respect to board layout and power distribution that make a dual-use unit compromise overall performance. Classé advocates that the only high-end analog sources are turntables and SACD players. Because a properly optimized SACD player converts the DSD signal to analog in the best way possible, Classé is able to handle it in the CP-800 best as an analog source from that point onward.
Phono Preamp Module
Classé is in the process of sourcing a shield box for the new phono board, so they don’t have an exact production date, but they assume a few months. As previously mentioned the retail price of the kit will be $500 USD, but unfortunately, it won’t be a field upgrade as they had initially planned. Units will need to be sent to authorized technical service centers, which in the US is Equity in North Reading, MA, where the upgrade will be performed. They haven’t settled on a labor charge yet, but it will probably be about two hours labor. A photo of the new phono board is attached below.
; BTW is possible that my long waiting will be finished the next week so I hope I can get my new amp in few days.
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