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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
pweg
25 posts
 
rshad 

i was in a similar but different situation 18 months ago. I redid my HT and went with Marantz processor and Bel Canto monos for power. To cut a long story short i finally ended up with a Cary processor. Does way less compared to the Marantz but sounds way way better. 

i fear your classe will simply blow everything else into the weeds from a sound perspective but may not have all the new gadgets .....
rshad0000 OP
265 posts
 
pweg,

Yes, I agree, I've listened to several mid priced Processors and it surprises me the difference in sounds quality; particularly in musicality.   Cary, Bryston, Classe, McIntosh, Theta, just to name a few are very nice sounding.   Expensive, of course, but nice.
Ag insider logo xs@2x
dbphd
1,620 posts
 
OP, I'm using the same Ayre preamp and amp as you with an Oppo 205 in a stereo setup with a 4K Sony XBR.  I always take HDMI-1 from Oppos directly to the monitor or projector.  In the stereo setup, I use analog from the 205 to the Ayre, and for SACDs it's pretty close to the Ayre C-5xeMP.

In a surround/HT setup, I use HDMI from a 105D to a Bryston SP3, with front LR passed through a Parasound JC 2 BP to JC 1 monoblocks.

BTW, I'm using an $50 4K HDMI switch from Monoprice to select between DirecTV and FireTV in the stereo setup, and it works well

db
rshad0000 OP
265 posts
 
You definitely have a similar set up to mine.   I recently bought a Ayre QX-5 and basically have the Oppo act as a digital player for the new DAC when I'm listening to music--have a solid state hard drive connected to the Oppo as well as stream Tidal.   Works really well.
anoutsos
2 posts
 
Has anyone compared the sound of the Aurender A10 (XLR outs) to that of the CP-800? Flexibility issues aside (e.g. the A10 has only one digital input), which one would you prefer for 2ch listening? Is using the A10 only as a streamer (to the CP-800 via USB, for example) a waste of its DAC capabilities? Both units are similarly priced, but which one would you say is more `musical`? (Sorry, I know I am asking for very subjective information, but I would like to hear some opinions.)
Thanks.
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