@mike_in_nc
You are correct that for 1-2 years, the Classe repairs were being handled by B&W and quality was definitely suspect but over the last year or so many of the original technicians from Montreal have been re-hired. Last year at Axpona (April 2019), I had the opportunity to speak with Dave Nauber (General Manager of Classe) and he told me that this was exactly the plan that would be taking place over 2019 and it appears that the plan has been successfully executed. All of the new equipment is now being manufactured in a SOTA factory in northern Japan.
Classe is now back up and operating as well as shipping new products. I actually listened to a new Delta Pre with Delta Stereo in February that had been delivered in January. These products are extensions from the CP-800 pre-amp (which was the design basis for the Sigma SSP I recommended) and the CA 2300/ CAM 600. These new and improved versions are priced at nearly 2x their predecessors. They sound fantastic but I have not had the opportunity to listen back to back with the predecessors so I can't say degree to which they are better. The amps are biased much more towards class A operation (I think 35wpc before crossing into class A/B. Even so, these units run very cool compared to other designs.
Last month, I was on the phone with one of the technicians that I remember from earlier days as I was trying to purchase a new shipping box for a Classe Sigma Amp 5 that I am going to be selling. Unfortunately, they were not able to supply me with one as this product has been discontinued but he did confirm that they will service it as well as the 3 other Classe products that I own.
The market seems to be taking notice of this situation as many used Classe prices have been drifting upwards. There is an exception to this: the Sigma Amp 2 and Amp 5 lines. This is because Listen Up in Colorado bought up all of Classe's remaining inventory and has been selling these at less than 50% original list. I own an Amp 5 and used it for nearly 5 years with my SSP. This is a very good class D 5 channel amp with 2 channels fully balanced, but the sound quality of the CA and CAM versions is significantly better IMHO. I say this at my own loss because I would love to sell the AMP5 and it will not be worth nearly as much as I would like.
Regarding the fan noise, in my listening room, the fan noise from my plasma TV is actually louder than from the 2300. This could be a function of layout, proximity to hard reflective surfaces vs. absorptive, etc. So I can only say that in my room the 2300 is not audible over ambient levels except at startup as noted before. I live near a highway in the Chicago suburbs so my ambient noise might be greater than yours therefore potentially covering up fan noise that might otherwise be audible.
You are correct that for 1-2 years, the Classe repairs were being handled by B&W and quality was definitely suspect but over the last year or so many of the original technicians from Montreal have been re-hired. Last year at Axpona (April 2019), I had the opportunity to speak with Dave Nauber (General Manager of Classe) and he told me that this was exactly the plan that would be taking place over 2019 and it appears that the plan has been successfully executed. All of the new equipment is now being manufactured in a SOTA factory in northern Japan.
Classe is now back up and operating as well as shipping new products. I actually listened to a new Delta Pre with Delta Stereo in February that had been delivered in January. These products are extensions from the CP-800 pre-amp (which was the design basis for the Sigma SSP I recommended) and the CA 2300/ CAM 600. These new and improved versions are priced at nearly 2x their predecessors. They sound fantastic but I have not had the opportunity to listen back to back with the predecessors so I can't say degree to which they are better. The amps are biased much more towards class A operation (I think 35wpc before crossing into class A/B. Even so, these units run very cool compared to other designs.
Last month, I was on the phone with one of the technicians that I remember from earlier days as I was trying to purchase a new shipping box for a Classe Sigma Amp 5 that I am going to be selling. Unfortunately, they were not able to supply me with one as this product has been discontinued but he did confirm that they will service it as well as the 3 other Classe products that I own.
The market seems to be taking notice of this situation as many used Classe prices have been drifting upwards. There is an exception to this: the Sigma Amp 2 and Amp 5 lines. This is because Listen Up in Colorado bought up all of Classe's remaining inventory and has been selling these at less than 50% original list. I own an Amp 5 and used it for nearly 5 years with my SSP. This is a very good class D 5 channel amp with 2 channels fully balanced, but the sound quality of the CA and CAM versions is significantly better IMHO. I say this at my own loss because I would love to sell the AMP5 and it will not be worth nearly as much as I would like.
Regarding the fan noise, in my listening room, the fan noise from my plasma TV is actually louder than from the 2300. This could be a function of layout, proximity to hard reflective surfaces vs. absorptive, etc. So I can only say that in my room the 2300 is not audible over ambient levels except at startup as noted before. I live near a highway in the Chicago suburbs so my ambient noise might be greater than yours therefore potentially covering up fan noise that might otherwise be audible.
