Rookie Audiophile with Classe Gear

[Spikey]

Recently thought I'd reward myself with some gooooood sound for a 2-channel setup and after some reading settled for Classe and B&W. I now have 804S (bought used) and Classe CP 800 and CA 2300. However, I'm not too impressed with the sound quality. Not sure if I'm tuning it properly or not. Is there somewhere a rookie can go to learn how to set up the CP 800? Or must I get a subwoofer before I get some decent sound?

[madmac]

Most people here on the forum will tell you that Classe and B&W gear are excellent. I however have never been excited about the B&W sound. I would experiment more with your speakers as proper placement is essential to getting the best out of speakers. A few inches here and there can make a world of difference! You mention getting a subwoofer so I am assuming that you are disappointed with the low frequency presentation?

[leo2498]

Recently thought I'd reward myself with some gooooood sound for a 2-channel setup and after some reading settled for Classe and B&W. I now have 804S (bought used) and Classe CP 800 and CA 2300. However, I'm not too impressed with the sound quality. Not sure if I'm tuning it properly or not. Is there somewhere a rookie can go to learn how to set up the CP 800? Or must I get a subwoofer before I get some decent sound?

what source you are using? I uses the same gear with B&W 804 Diamond and I like a lot even with all the problem that I had. I bought more acoustic pannels and a XTZ PRO II to measure my room but to my ears the sound is very accurate I jus want to know how much flat the frecuency response is and how much I can get with acoustic treatement, you could try to measure your room and if you will need some of acoustic treatement. BTW all of us will need it.

[aarsoe]

If your CP-800 and CA-2300 are new then give them a lot of time breaking in. I have never seen (or heard) a dealer demo of Classe and B&W that sounded very exciting and each time I come to the same conclusion - that the gear is not broken in.
Try taking your remote and turn on your Classe gear. Press menu and F1,F2,F3 & F4 - one after another and you will see the "hidden" service menu. There you can see how long or rather how many hours your units have been in stand-by and running.
You need several hundred hours in my opinion before it sounds at its best. Off course good setup of speakers, ensuring a well balanced acoustic environment is also very important so don't miss out on doing that as well.