2. home-theater
  3. 128375-5802

Classe SSP-800 - Time to move on?

I'm looking for some advice...

I've been a happy owner of a Classe ssp-800 for the past 8 years.   Its been a terrific unit and I've found it to be a very musical.  Initially I focused on buying a high in audiophile processor that could also function reasonably well as a 2 channel preamp as it made a lot of financial sense at the time.

Since then my system has grown and changed a lot and I now have a dedicated Ayre preamp in the chain for my 2 channel listening which works great.

So my question is with all of the new home theater audio formats(and 4k) coming out and with room correction built in to a lot of processors now does it make sense to move on?   I've been specifically looking at the Anthem AVM 60, but am open to suggestions.   The whole idea of room correction sounds really good to me.

I would love to hear from some of you previous Classe SSP 800 owners to see if you had any remorse after selling your processor. 

Thanks




rshad0000
rshad0000 OP
268 posts
 
Thanks gocubs999

I have kx-5 twenty and vx-5 twenty for two channel and absolutely love them.  No  plans to replace those.

I certainly love the Classe but am interested in Atmos and some of the new formats coming out.   Plus it would be nice to switch 4k video through the processor.

I've been checking out the top of the line Arcam lately.   We'll see what happens.  Not sure yet.



auxinput
2,920 posts
 

I highly suspect that you would be losing sound quality if you moved from SSP-800 to an AVM 60.  Sure, you would be getting the new sound formats, but I think there is a distinct difference in what's put into the analog audio stages.

You might look into the Krell foundation.  With that, you would get 4K and Krell's ARES room correction.  I think it may be somewhat of a lateral move in sound quality from the SSP-800 (or maybe a little bit different signature).  Of course, you would not get Atmos and DTS:X.  Honestly, to me, the new Atmos/DTS:X modes wouldn't really make a difference unless you had the extra speakers (such as height/ceiling).  Even so (and I've said this before), I would rather have an ultra-realistic sounding 5.1 system than a decent sounding 9+ channel system.  :)

If you had your heart set on Atmos and DTS:X, I would look hard at the Marantz AV8802a to get the most out of sound quality.

rshad0000 OP
268 posts
 
Thanks Auxinput
I appreciate the advice.   Sounds like I would be better off using the extra money on continuing to improve my 2 channel system rather than change out the Classe.

I was not sure how much improvement I would get with a new processor using the new formats.


auxinput
2,920 posts
 

Just for your information, for many years I continued to use a Krell HTS 7.1 until about a year and half ago when it finally died. Keep in mind this is a product that was released in 2002 (much older than your SSP-800). I had tried several other home theater processors that used HDMI and bluray hi-res audio (including a couple that were very expensive). None of them could reproduce what the HTS 7.1 did in sound quality!! Ya know what, I ended up putting in a new Krell S-1200U (which is about the same generation as your SSP-800).

I did try out the Emotiva XMC-1, which is --probably-- on the same par as the AVM 60. I would say that it gives you an excellent amount of performance for what you are paying. However, even the HDMI audio could not compete with the HTS 7.1 down-converted digital COAX audio! The resolution and separation-of-instruments just wasn’t there and the Emotiva sounded a bit closed in.

denny001
10 posts
 
I have had my SSP-800 in a Stereo / HT setup for 7 years.  The continuing changes to the HDMI standards makes for some difficult and expensive decisions trying to find the right time and product to make a configuration change in higher end systems.  For me, the only reason to change is to get 4K HD video thru a one box solution.  I remain happy with the Stereo and Home Theatre processing capabilities of the SSP-800.  I am looking for a quality HDMI video switch that supports the current HDMI standards and all audio processing modes.  With that approach, I could bypass all video switching in the SSP-800 yet retain the audio quality - at a fraction of the price to upgrade.  Can anybody offer an HDMI switch recommendation?  

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