Official Classe SSP-800 thread. - Page 158

I finally bought the Classe CT-SSP pre pro, CT-5300 amp and CP-800 Pre DAC. I am using the CT-SSP for movies and CP-800 for 2 channel computer audio via its USB input. I am using the B&W 803D2 speakers for fronts, 805D2 for surrounds, HTM4D2 for center and PV-1 for subwoofer so this is a very B&W Group-centric system.

It took me awhile to connect the components together, but I got help from a B&W rep that was demoing the CP-800 at my local stereo store. He mentioned that the CP-800 Ethernet upgrade will be offered around September, 2012 and will cost $500. All new CP-800 units coming from the factory with the Ethernet upgrades will cost an additional $500. The current units will not have to be sent back to the factory, but will be upgraded by a technician (?) coming to your home and installing the new hardware / software.

For those with an SSP-800, he also mentioned that a new version is being worked on now and will be coming out in about 1-1.5 years from now. Current SSP-800 units will NOT be upgradable to the newer unit, so this will truly be the next generation preamp processor. I'm not sure why he mentioned this because it might hurt current sales, but I assume most people don't want to delay their purchase this long.

Anyway, I have a question regarding speaker configuration. You can change the name, distances, levels, size and crossovers. The distances are pretty straightforward. Regarding the sound levels, do I just buy an SPL meter and follow the instructions below from the owner's manual? Also, should I set all the speaker sizes to Full Range and do I need to adjust the crossovers?

The Levels menu allows you to adjust the output levels of the speakers. An SPL meter should be used from the primary seating position to ensure that each speaker delivers the same sound pressure from a given test noise audio signal. Touch the Noise Seq button to activate the noise generator; the top of the menu now states Levels Noise: L - indicating that the test noise is being generated on the front left speaker. The test noise automatically moves to each of the available speakers, as indicated by the menu title, and continues to rotate around the room until the Noise Seq button is touched again.

To modify the actual levels, touch the speaker you want to update and then adjust the level using the increase and decrease buttons. Set the SPL meter to C weighting and Slow response. Each speaker level should be adjusted until the SPL meter reads 75dB at your main listening position.

I was also going to buy this SPL meter below. Would this work or does anyone have a better or cheaper recommendation?

American Recorder Technologies SPL Meter:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...=AIMZUKBRH6H15

Yes.


If you set the mains to full range, then no need to change crossover settings. But even with "full range" speakers it can be beneficial to cross over to the sub: a) to extend the bass range of the mains; b) to allow better power handling; c) to achieve better bass response by placing the sub optimally.


It will work fine. Many of us use a Radio Shack (I prefer the old analog version), and they work fine, too.

No, Yes I have, although that was with the old 1.3 board. ( I now have upgraded to 1.4). If I set in manually it works fine, but it's not convient.

^^ Since I am checking a beta drop today, I will ask about your issue, too.

If anyone is interested, I may be selling my SSP-800; PM if interested, else I will be posting on the classifieds here shortly.

This is the 1.4 version (as built, not upgraded).

I purchased a CP-800 for two channel music, so doing a bit of "cost reallocation" in my set-up.

Inverse to my last post, if I choose to keep the SSP, curious if anyone has thoughts or insights in the the chances Classe might offer an upgrade to the SSP800 to add NeoX decoding, and option use of the Aux 1 and Aux 2 for either Height or Wide channels for such decoding?

I'm also hoping for Dolby PLIIz and dts NeoX

Been a while, but I have a FW drop with Dolby Volume running. Made some suggestions for usability that might slow things down, if they do them that is. Thus far I can say it is nice to have the leveler for TV.

Nice to hear

Hey all. I'm trying to get my SSP-800 to trigger my CA-5200 but i'm not having any luck. I set the trigger to +12v and set the event to input 1 which is my source component (Oppo BD-83). I am assuming that when the 800 is set to run the output of the Oppo that the trigger is intiated. What am I missing?
Any insight greatly appreciated.

Best,
Tim

Hi Tim,

Did you inform your preference to the CA5200? See p.11 of its manual.

Thanks Roger. I didn't read that section slow enough i guess. The manual talks more about setting up delays if you are running more than 1 amp but not much at all for triggers, and nothing about triggers in the setup section where you would think it should be.

Much appreciated. I'll give it a whorl tonight.
Have a good weekend.

Tim

If you are using Classe amps, why not just use the CAN Bus ports? I have all my amps daisy chained to the CT-SSP using ethernet cables. Works very well.

Do you think it would be possible to connect my SSP-800 to my Mark Levinson No. 436 mono blocks?
CAN bus wise that is..

No. I'm pretty sure CAN is Classe proprietary.

Hi Tony,
Once you made the connection and fired your gear up does the handshake take place automatically?

Best,
Tim

I don't think so. You need to go into the setup menu and tell the SSP that you have an amp connected. It does other cool things as well. Like check running temperature, health check, etc.

Nice to know they're still developing for the platform.

Hi Tony,

Hi

Over the weekend i tried connecting the CAN cable and end plug as suggested by Classe between the 800 and the 5200. For some reason when i go into the CAN menu it only shows the 800, not the 5200. It should show up in the menu so that you can setup the relationship. I just checked the Classe website and there is a firmware update back in June of 2008 that enables CAN. Does the firmware update work like it does for the SSP?

Should work the same way but I would check with Classe. Mine must have had the correct firmware already as I didn't need to update it.

Sorry Tony, I sent a premature message earlier. I must have hit send but I don't remember doing it. Anyway, I've done some reading and I will need to update the firmware on the 5200 to enable the CAN. The steps are similar to the SSP update although I can't use USB. Pretty sure I have an RS-232 cable somewhere. I am glad I have an explanation as to why I wasn't able to see the amp in the setup menu. I was thinking I might have had a bad ethernet cable, but when I checked it it tested OK. I am looking forward to having the 5200 attached intelligently to the the SSP. Its such a pain to have to turn it on seperately

Best,
Tim

For updating your 5200, I recommand a RS232-USB cable.
Even if you find an old RS232 cable, chances are you won't find the compter with such an input.

A premature explanation...we've all suffered that symptom here...

You are correct. I went through this exercise when I had the SSP-600 where I didn't have a PC that had that output, so I found a USB/RS-232 adapter. Now if I can remember where I put it...

Best,
Tim

Actually CAN bus was developed for the automotive and aerospace industry that allows communication to seperate microcontrollers without using a computer, hence access to all of the info you see listed for the Classe components. Classe likely adopted this standard rather than coming up with their own, which makes a lot of sense. Certainly not likely to be their core competancy. There might be other audio component manufacturers using CAN but I'm not aware of any (which doesn't mean a lot) andfrom what i've seen in this industry its like herding cats to get anyone to agree to a standard for anything.

Best,
Tim

I believe my Ducati 999S had it!

Have you tried to plug it onto your SSP-800?

Hi All. Since this morning my SSP 800 has been acting up on me. The video cut out suddenly from HDMI Out 1. I connected it to the HDMI Out 2 and it works fine. I disconnected all cables and power and reconnected everything back. If I connect my Oppo BDP 95 to my TV directly there are no issues. I interchanged the cables as well. Is there any particular sequence I need to connect the cables. Should I reinstall the firmware.