Official Classe SSP-800 thread. - Page 14

So you are saying it is better to decode in a $300 blu Ray player rather than in the $8000 Classé SSP-800 when it is upgraded?

What happened with Iron Man?

Originally Posted by DougWinsor

There will be no difference, digital is digital.

You need to run LPCM over HDMI or else a lot of the movies sounds will not work in the menus and other secondary places.

Originally Posted by wse

I am only interested in the movie, I could care less about special features download and so on? So I want the best sound quality not feature quantity

Originally Posted by sikoniko

then you do what everyone has been telling you for months and not focus on the onboard decoding...

Originally Posted by wse

Yes I know but I still have a problem spending $8000 and now knowing when Classé will release the new chip to decode the new codec. I feel like I would be buying an out of date product sorry.

Integra Research, Lexicon, Krell and so on have all done it, you will be able to upgrade your system and then when time comes oh sorry just buy a new one!!!
Been there done that so no thanks I will just be patient and by then all the bugs will be ironed out

Originally Posted by sikoniko

according to Dave, they don't plan on adding additional features based on the DSP. so, in reality, you won't be getting anything after the dsp that you wouldn't have now. B&W is looking into dsp speakers like meridian, and the ssp-800 will be the hub of that. that is the only feature i am aware of that will be dependent of the dual dsp board.

Originally Posted by hifisponge

wse - I don't understand your hestation to get the SSP-800 just because it doesn't decode DTSMA and DDMHD. You buy a piece like the SSP-800 for the sound quality, and as several other have stated before me, even if Classe doesn't come out with the upgrade board, you simply use a player that decodes those two formats (Sony PS3 or BDP-S550). This is not the same as the other brands you mention, which left you with no alternative when they decided not to provide the promissed upgrade. And to further beat a dead horse, doing the decoding in the player gives you the advantage of being able to use the special features on a BD disc.

You aren't missing out on anything, and you gain nothing by waiting. You can have everything you want right now, just not the way you want it to happen. I have no motivation to push you inot the purchase, but with all due respect, it's just that your rationale doesn't make sense.

Originally Posted by wse

Well that is your opinion, I still read that there are a number of software issues with the SSP-800. So I will wait patiently, anyway there is a backlog of SSP-800. I might not have to wait for too long and if by Q1 2009 they have not release the new board to decode DTS MA and DD tru HD then we will know that they are not keeping their word

Originally Posted by sikoniko

give up on him AV. he is wettou on htguide... he just wants to complain about the dsp not being there. its like beating a dead horse.

Originally Posted by owl1

I'm sorry, but I have to agree with WSE. I've had (for longer than I care to think about) a stopgap Pio 94TXH I picked to get the new codecs up until SOME high end manufacturer came out with a quality Pre;/pro that would handle the latest codecs. If companies like Pio have had this for well over a year I don't disagree with the philosophy it's an incomplete product and am left wondering why a manufacturer would release a pro in this day and age without DTS MA and True HD bitstream processing.

To say just use the processing in a $300 player when you've paid 8g's is a cop out. I've played around with the LPCM outs of the Sony as well as others and they don't do justice to letting the decoding be done in the processor of the receiver. I don't subscribe that digital is digital, and, oh, by the way you have to buy 7 good interconnects that are an extra interface with an output stage between components before your pre even gets the signal and all the degradation that entails especially in players which are built to a price point with no high end aspirations whatsoever.

I really want to purchase the 800 NOW but am going to wait also until they deliver a complete product or companies like ARCAM deliver turnkey. Oh, and I do have a player that decodes, the Pioneer Elite 05 but can't imagine even that player can approach a high end DIGITAL solution like the Classe promises.

Originally Posted by owl1

I'm sorry, but I have to agree with WSE. I've had (for longer than I care to think about) a stopgap Pio 94TXH I picked to get the new codecs up until SOME high end manufacturer came out with a quality Pre;/pro that would handle the latest codecs. If companies like Pio have had this for well over a year I don't disagree with the philosophy it's an incomplete product and am left wondering why a manufacturer would release a pro in this day and age without DTS MA and True HD bitstream processing.

To say just use the processing in a $300 player when you've paid 8g's is a cop out. I've played around with the LPCM outs of the Sony as well as others and they don't do justice to letting the decoding be done in the processor of the receiver. I don't subscribe that digital is digital, and, oh, by the way you have to buy 7 good interconnects that are an extra interface with an output stage between components before your pre even gets the signal and all the degradation that entails especially in players which are built to a price point with no high end aspirations whatsoever.

I really want to purchase the 800 NOW but am going to wait also until they deliver a complete product or companies like ARCAM deliver turnkey. Oh, and I do have a player that decodes, the Pioneer Elite 05 but can't imagine even that player can approach a high end DIGITAL solution like the Classe promises.

Originally Posted by owl1

I'm sorry, but I have to agree with WSE. I've had (for longer than I care to think about) a stopgap Pio 94TXH I picked to get the new codecs up until SOME high end manufacturer came out with a quality Pre;/pro that would handle the latest codecs. If companies like Pio have had this for well over a year I don't disagree with the philosophy it's an incomplete product and am left wondering why a manufacturer would release a pro in this day and age without DTS MA and True HD bitstream processing.

To say just use the processing in a $300 player when you've paid 8g's is a cop out. I've played around with the LPCM outs of the Sony as well as others and they don't do justice to letting the decoding be done in the processor of the receiver. I don't subscribe that digital is digital, and, oh, by the way you have to buy 7 good interconnects that are an extra interface with an output stage between components before your pre even gets the signal and all the degradation that entails especially in players which are built to a price point with no high end aspirations whatsoever.

I really want to purchase the 800 NOW but am going to wait also until they deliver a complete product or companies like ARCAM deliver turnkey. Oh, and I do have a player that decodes, the Pioneer Elite 05 but can't imagine even that player can approach a high end DIGITAL solution like the Classe promises.

Originally Posted by Aerialsound

So me being a real novice to this discussion. Feeding the SSP 800 via an analog passthrough from a sony 550 would not be any better than the sound quality pass through a SSP 300/600 or AVP +6 for that matter( for strictly HD movies)? Sorry if I sound ignorant. I always used a digital connection (DD,DTS) to my aging Proceed AVP for SD movies. Was listening to 2-channel for a while and now getting into all of this new HD BR movies.

I don't subscribe that digital is digital

Originally Posted by DougWinsor


Well maybe if you use a digital connection you would then understand better.

Originally Posted by hifisponge

Yeah, I figured it was the same guy. Even if he wants to wait for the upgraded 800, he should at least get his fix in the meantime with a player that decodes the hd audio formats.

Originally Posted by hifisponge

Aerial -

Similar to what I just said to the OWL1, you *do not* want to use the analog outputs of something like the Sony BDP-S550 if you want to retain the quality of signal processing and DA conversion afforded by the SSP-800. Use the HDMI digital connection from the S550 to the 800 and you should have close to, if not the same, performance of having the SSP-800 doing the decoding.

Originally Posted by owl1

Can someone comment on the quality of the HDMI video switching in the 800 and how it may compare to the very high quality HDMI switching solutions? I don't care about upscaling, only how it switches HDMI video and if there is ANY degradation that is noticeable. Also, any glitches with 24fps sources?

Hey Doug, if you actually read my post I indicated that I used LPCM out of the PS3 and bitstream and there was no comparison.

Bitstream was far more detailed, transparent and dynamic. The only way to go in my opinion. Have you done these comparisons yourself or do you just like jumping on here and saying things like digital is digital? It would take any moron 5 seconds to hear the difference - it's NOT subtle.

BTW when you say digital is digital does that mean 1 bit is the same as 16 bit is the same as 24 bit at any and all sampling frequencies and all codecs are the same?

Also, have you made the listening comparisons firsthand and heard bitstream vs lpcm with the latest codecs yourself? I'm also curious as to what processor you used for this critical listening. Hey, I may be wrong as a I haven't tried the latest generation of players doing lpcm, but I know what I heard out of the sony ps3 and seriously doubt the other players are doing it any differently. I would venture the differences may be in the software.

Originally Posted by Alembicjeff

If you could post a couple of pictures of your system, that would be welcome as well.

Jeff.

Originally Posted by hifisponge

Of course using the analog outputs of a cheap BD player will not sound as good as having the SSP-800 doing the decoding, and that is not what sikoniko or I are recommending.

We are saying to use the *HDMI digital connection* from the BD player to the SSP-800, which is a completely different matter.

With an HDMI digital connection between the BD player and the SSP-800, the SSP-800 does all of the bass management, time alignment, volume control, and digital to analog conversion-- all the things you would want a high-end processor to do. The only thing the SSP-800 isn't doing, is unpacking the HD digital signal.

Originally Posted by Kuma JofZ

The new update is being made in the next few months. This will be for Master DTS and True HD. Your technician will come to your home and do the install, it should take less then 30 mins.
As far as the unit changing, it wont happen. The only thing that will happen is pricing is going up, the 8k price is not leaving enough margin for Classe or its dealers, so count on 10-12k for the SSp-800 by this time next year.