Sound quality. Ease of use.

None so far

I bought this unit broken and repaired it for $35. It sounds very good to me. I am running it with an Adcom GFA-555II and a pair of B&W CDM-9NT''s. Very open and dynamic. I think it is a very good value even at a much higher price

Similar Products Used:

Audio Research LS-7

I feel the need to comment on this Classe' product for I owned a CP35for about 1 year.I do not however,own it anymore.I now own Krell.The only
reason why I bought this pre-amp was because I got it super cheap($600.00
used).When I had budget components in my system : NAD214,Marantz CD63se,
Transparent,MIT cables,B&W CDM-1,and B&W Matrix 804 speakers.I also used
this pre-amp to evaluate various different upgrades to my system over that
year including : a B&K amp,an Acurus A150 amp,a Classe' CA100 amp,a Classe'
CA150 amp,and a Krell KSA100s amp.I did really like the sound of the Classe'CP35.I felt as if it almost had a tube-like sound charactor.The pre-amp
had a real sweet sound to it especially in the top-end.This pre-amp probobly
would have stayed in my system for a long time hadn't it had one annoying
trait that I could not get past.I'll explain.When taken out of Mute the
Classe' always created a constant hiss that never went away.this hiss was
even audible when music was playing in quiet passages.I thought that there
was a problem with the unit so I went to my local Classe' dealer with it.
There we tried different power cords,different power conditioners,and 4 other
Classe'CP35 pre-amps.The hiss was audible with every CP35,power cord and
conditioner we tried.Frustrated I left and brought it to another Classe'
dealer.The result was the same with every CP35 we tried.This dealer told me
that every pre-amp creates noise.I somewhat agreed but no pre-amp should
make this much,my Rotel in my other system didn't.This is when I realized
that both Classe' dealers were full of shit.I traded in the Classe' for
a Krell KSL-2 pre-amp and guess what---no noise total silence.When I went
back to my Classe' dealer to tell them he boldly told me to leave the store.
He told me that he would not deal with anyone that owned Krell.This is the
attitude that Classe' dealers have.I have experianced this attitude with
2 other dealers as well.At the mention of the Krell name they either try
to lie to you to sway you're decision from Krell,slam a door in you're face, walk away from you,or simply not talk to you.This just goes to show you that
Classe' dealers are threatened by Krell and will avoid the subject completely.
Classe' has now forever lost a customer too bad because they do make a decent
budget product.I give the CP-35 a 3 1/2 star rating.

A friend of mine bought a CP35 used and was very disappointed with the sound of this unit.I checked it out and heard the same things that he heard.The CP35 has
no soundstage,it has muffled bass,and it destroys the mid-range.The remote and the construction are a class-act though.Confused,we tried different cables and
different cd players to no avail.The CD35 just does bad things.In fact,I could not hear one good thing that this pre-amp did.We took it apart and found out that the sneaky little bastards at Classe even physically scraped off the brand of op-amps that they use in this unit.We were very distrought over this.How can
such a highly regarded company such as Classe get away with this and still stay in buisness?Anyway,you are best off staying away from ANYTHING made by Classe.
Especially the CP35.The CDP.5 is also a piece of crap.I know that there has been
quite a conflict regarding Classe components on this site.I have sat back and
found it quite humorous.This is the first time that I have posted a review of
any sort.I now see why people are so agressively trying to bash Classe.This company needs to get their heads out of their asses and start building good sounding products.To make another point,I also experianced the same treatment
that Scott got from Classe dealers.At the mention of Krell or Levinson the sales people get very arrogant and want you to leve the store.I guess now I have
entered the world of Classe Haters.

I am review the 45, the preamp that replace the 40. Thispreamp has a nice warm but detailed sound. It produce
a deep and articulate, but always smooth, soundstage.

Why do people like George hold Krell in such esteem. Their preamps, in general are grossly over priced, have poor ergonomics and most importantly have mediocre sound quality. Dealers in San Fransisco area had no qualms whatsoever in demonstrating Classe or BAT against the Krells. I found both BAT models and the Classe CP60 to be superior to the sound quality of the more expenive Krells. The CP40 that I also heard was very musical. For the price, they are hard to beat.

The write up produced by Mike is entirely wrong. As I am about to buy a Classe preamp CP35, I visit this web page for ideas and comments. Most of the comments in this review is quite right with the exception of Mike. It is perfectly OK for a listener not to like the sound of a particular amp or pre amp, and I am very happy to hear his view, but it is very disturbing for a person to spread lie about a particular product.In any case, I was very concern about Mike's post. I call up Classe, and ask them about the Opamp things. They explain that the CP35 (the entry level pre amp) is made entirely out of discrete components. There are only two high quality opamps being used at the input as a buffer. This implementation is pefectly acceptable. In fact, high quality opamps (high bandwidth product) are very expensive. I also suspect that the opamp buffer might be used in the balanced mode. As we all know that the Opamp implementation in buffer mode has very high CMMR.
To investigate further, I went to my dealer, and borrow a CP35 for listening and investigation. I open up the unit, and sure enough, the technical rep from Classe is telling the truth.
As far as music is concern, I am very happy with the CP35 (as I can not afford the more expensive model). I did some A/B with some other preamps in the same price range. The Classe preamp is very detail, very warm and smooth. The imaging and depth is excelent. Its only draw back migh be the bass. It is very tight and well control but it does not go very deep. In any case, the CP35 is a very well match for my system.

A friend of mine just purchased this preamp a week ago. The rest of his system consists of a CAL Alpha dac, a CJ MF80 amp, Genesis 8300 speakers, a Parasound cd player (for the transport), and all Purist cables. He replaced a CJ PV2 with the Classe, and it was a night and day difference. More inner detail, more depth, wider soundstage, and better imaging. I like this preamp better than the AR LS-7 and LS-8, they sounded a little hazy to me.

George, do you have any idea what your talking about. ?? I seriously doubt that you or your friends have ever auditioned Classe or Krell products in your own systems (assuming that you even have a system). Classe's preamps use all discrete components. NO OPAMPS !!
What is your beef with Classe? Were you thrown out of "high end" store because you were not considered a serious prospective customer?

Idiots generally don't know what they're talking about. Seems you fill the bill nicely.

I truly do not know what George (see above) is talking about regarding the CP-35. I have an earlier version (CP20) hooked up to a modest system (Allison CDS 9 speakers, SAE 2200 power amp (California made, not Japanese!), NAD 533 and NAD 502 w/Audio Alchemy DDEV3.0) . When I introduced this preamp into my system (replacing an NAD 314), it changed everything I disliked about the NAD. There was no longer the shrill highs. It expanded the dynamics of the system and the bass became tighter and more well-defined. Individual voices came out of the Russian choral music I love and NO excess HISS whatsoever. The only thing that I can agree with George about is the fact that for a Classe dealer to get angry with George for discussing Krell products is not very, how should I say it, Classe? Audiophiles take themselves far too seriously, it's the music that's important. To say that the Classe CP-20/CP-35 is the best pre-amp ever made would be idiotic. But I haven't heard a better one under $2000 Canadian yet. Perhaps the backlash against Classe is rooted in the fact that it's a Canadian product (not British, German or American). Ooops, now I've opened a can of worms.

I own a Classe CP45, and Classe CA300 amp. The 45 is extremely musical, warm and has great depth, the midrange is accurate, timbre of acoustic instruments is realistic, and it is a joy to use. My dealer sells Krell along side of Classe, and ARC, BAT and Ayre. All are different, but not worlds apart. Bashing equipment on this site is for very small minds, and reduces the integrity and joy of this hobby. These companies are run by dedicated music lovers, trying to enable you to have wonderful products to touch and listen to. Why not just relax and leave your brainless rantings for sports. If you have reached any level of maturity in life, you must realize you won't change anyones mind by spouting forth angry rhetoric. Enjoy your music.