build quality
looks
sound

none so far

I must disagree with some of the earlier reviews, not airy enough, top end too bright. WHAT the heck, this unit is heads and shoulders above anything ive heard before. and this price on the used market is great. it sounds like what it should sound like and that is a very good reproduction of the music period.
im running all tube gear and this bad boy really brings out the naturalness of the recording. nothing else just the way the music was recorded. the looks are also very good as it would compliment any setup.

Top. Open and smooth Mid. Richness with good inner detail Low. Very solid and tight Sound Stage. Wide and deep Build. As good as it gets

Problems with Laser unit Lack''s "Air" at the upper registers

Dear Reader My Classe CDP.3 went down, and was fixed by the company in less than two weeks. During this time period I had a chance to listen to some top rated 24-bit machines. These 24-bit machines (1500-2000 US) had more "Air" at the upper registers than the CDP.3, but lacked the excellent tonal balance of the Classe product. The CDP.3 was inserted back into my system upon it''s return. I was very pleased with the overall sound quality. It is very well matched to the CAP-151, which is the foundation to my system. Two weeks may seem like a great deal of time for a player to be down, but I view high-end products as long terms Holds". Great product/support from the Classe and the Stereo Exchange. Thank You Russ PS: In thirty years of Audio, I have seen my AR, Classe, CJ, and ML gear all have minor problems. It is part of the deal.

Similar Products Used:

Arcam, CAL, Denon, and Linn

Tight and clean bass response. Very liquid like midrange. Smooth and extended highs. Build quality and price.

CD tray could have been better and provided more room for insertion of discs.

Overall, I was completely stunned by the quality and sonic presentation of the CDP.3. Build quality is second to none at this price level and even matches most of the cd players I had auditioned at much higher prices. What impressed me the most is how well this machine does with several different types of music. Stringed and acoustical instruments came across very lifelike. Lot's of weight and depth on sysmphonic recordings as well as opera. For classical I was sold immediately. Rock and roll had lot's of lower octave punch without making the highs extreme (as rock recordings can be). Jazz was presented with a very real and believable soundstage (a little back in the soundstage) and Female and male vocals came across with that "I am in the room with you" feel. Sonically splendid on all fronts.
Comparing the Classe' to some of the other players that I had auditioned brought out some interesting results. The Denon DCD-1650 pretty much matched the Classe' on the mids and the highs but the Denon's bass was a little bit uncontrolled and muddy. The CAL-10/15 players were quite decent units but offered nowhere near the sound quality that their price would suggest. On the CAL's the soundstage seemed to suffer here. Imaging was a little unfocused. Bass, mids and highs seemed to be there but there was not much "air" there. The Anthem CD-1 seemed to realy suffer because of it's tube output cicuitry. A lot of line noise from the Anthem. It would have definitely benefitted from a solid state output stage. The YBA Integre' was definitely the closest to the Classe' by far and made it a very tough choice indeed. The YBA matched the Classe' on all fronts except HDCD decoding and maybe just a little bit short of the Classe' in high level resolution. The YBA could sound a little "thin" at times but ultimately the Classe' was close to $1000 dollars cheaper, offered HDCD decoding and was a litlle bit more sonically accurate than the YBA so the choice was clear. The Classe' all the way. Yes, a better tray design would have been nice (sometimes it opens and closes poorly as well as being awkward to load). But to me, this is a minor shortcoming considering the sound you are getting at this price level. Highly recommended.


System used:
- Bryston B-60 integrated w/remote
- Paradigm reference series studio 100 loudspeakers
- MIT terminator 2 bi-wire speaker cables
- MIT terminator 2 interconnect
- 2/MIT Z CORD II AC cables (one for cd player, one for amp)
- Monster HTS 2500 power conditioner.

Similar Products Used:

YBA Integre', Denon DCD-1650, California Audio Labs CL-10/15, Anthem CD-1.

Built like a tank!!!

Can't play cdr's

I have had this player for more than 2 years now. I have never encountered any problems with it except that it can't play cdr's sometimes. I don't use them so no biggie. It's a very clean sounding player and can compete with the big boys also. I have never seen a cd player as the classe for the price, and features, and mostly, sound clarity. The remote is full aluminum similar to the face. It's a real beauty and a pleasure to listen to.

Similar Products Used:

Arcam Alpha 9, Marantz cd-19, cd-17KI

Clean sound, nice mid's and great bass, especially for rock.

Lacks a little when it comes to classical and female vocals.

CD player Unit and remote are of top notch build quality with brushed aluminum. Unit reproduces music very well for the <2k range market.

I had a chance to perform a blind comparison test of the Classe CDP .3 vs a $1600 Sonic Frontiers CD changer and a Rega Planet ($800). System was a Classe CAP-100 integrated amp and Epos ES22 speakers. I spent over an hour comparing these three players, using my three favorite comparison CDs.
The verdict: The CDP .3 was the best of the three. I found it musical, with good high frequency detail while avoiding brightness. I prefered it strongly over the Rega unit - which added coloration to the music in the way of rolling back the highs while adding emphasis in the lower mid-bass region.

A good solid player, worth auditioning if you are looking to spend $1000-$1500.

My Classe cd player sounds great and is built like a tank. The remote controlis extremely well buit,even though a few options are missing (Eject, Power On/Off). I can overlook those minor details because the player sounds so good.
It seems to play all sorts of music equally well and makes you feel like you are
at the concert. The player does a fine job of creating musical depth and imaging.
It has a five year warranty on electronics (transport - 1 year). I had some hesitation when I found out Sanyo makes the transport (WE WILL SEE).
The unit contains the HDCD and 20 bit Burr Brown D/A. I purchased my unit
for $1250 (list is $1395) mail order. I think it is one of the best buys sound and
build wise for under $1500. It has to get a five star rating. Micromega and Rega Planet don't have a leg to stand on as far as quality.

An okay player for $1300. Better than the Adcom GCD-750 or the Marantz and Rotel models. Build quality is superb, except for the Sanyo transport. For another $700 I highly recommend stepping up to the Classe' .5. The .5 player is a huge step up in sound quality and the drawer is better. See my review in the .5 section.

The Classe CDP.3 CD player is really hard to beat.First of all, the build quality is superb. The player is built like a tank. Not to mention the remote control - a nice solid chunk of alloy that could be considered a type of weapon. The styling is minimalist and the player is available in either Satin Black or Silver finishes. The player offers balanced outputs in addition to standard fair. The AC line cord is detachable.
Sound quality is, in one word, superb. Dynamics are available by the truckload, and detail is right on par with more expensive players. But most importantly, this player is excellent as far as listener fatigue is concerned--that is, fatgiue is not a factor. One could listen for hours on end and still want more. An advantage is that this player offers HDCD compatibility.
Concerns about the transport are overrated, as far as I can tell. The only complaint I would have about the transport is the rather snail-like track access times. On the other hand, I have worse experiences with Philips and Sony transports, so let's give the Sanyo a fair chance.
So, all in all, at the price, I would advise that this player be put on the top of every listener's short list. High recommended!

This player does an excellent job of providing the listener with music free of coloration (Planet) which might seem a bit forward to others. Be careful that you're not too happy or used to music coloration that many players, especially those in the sub $1,000 range, do. I urge detractors of the Classe line of players to be careful in equipment pairing. When auditioned through the CAP-150 amp and a pair of ProAc response 1SCs, it was quite a beautiful sound. No digital fatigue (which the ProAcs would be more than happy to show you if it were present) and a wide open feel to the music...... both live and studio performances. Consider using the balanced outputs to avoid impedance mismatches. The Sanyo transport is something that the label conscience often have a problem with. A real examination of construction will unveil the benefits..... the laser tracks on metal rails, not plastic. I'm willing to bet that the longevity of this player beats the warranty............ What is it that the editorials say?????........... "musical."