The Classe CDP.3 is a well built machine, with a high quality remote. HDCD is a plus when there is more source material in that format. The player sounds great, but did not "blow me away" as I expected it to when compared to what I am currently listening to.

The Sanyo transport seems a little "cheap" feeling and operating when compared to the overall build qaulity of the unit itself. I listen to all types of music, and this unit did not impress over my current cd combo regardless of the material, including HDCD.

I am looking to upgrade my current combination of a 9 year old Forte Model 50 dac used with a Marantz CD-75 as a transport. When I A/B'd the Classe and the Forte/Marantz combo, I was not impressed. While I did notice some subtle sonic differences, I have concluded that what I heard is not worth spending $1,400.

Associated equipment:
Apogee Duetta speakers
2 Forte Model 6 amps
Forte Model 40 Preamp
Symo speaker cable
XLO interconnects

mid/high details, very clean

lack of attack, power, bass

Same review as for the NAD S500...
I took home a Classe .3 and NAD S500 to do an A/B comparison with my Citation equipment...Needless to say, the results were surprising..Head to head, the classe sounded slightly better with crisper details on the mids/highs and the soundstage was bigger. Not a bad player at all, but a bit pricey for what you get ($1500). The NAD player was an average player it sounded like in my system. The entire spectrum of music really just didn't open up at all and sounded like most of the time it was recorded in a tunnel with the NAD. The Classe sounded fine overall, but overall I didn't feel it was nearly worth the $1500 pricetag. For those who are curious, I was using Cardas Cross interconnects between the players and my pre-amp. Now...here is the biggest surprise of the day!!!
The best sound came from using my Sony 7700 DVD as transport with a digital out to my citation for the DAC stage. Without doubt, it sounded the best. Mids/Highs were open and the ambient detail lost in the others was back. I had my brother and a friend listen to the same combos and got the same feedback from them as well. My advice to those who are looking for a good CD player is to look at upgrading and getting a solid pre-amp instead and use the digital output on your CD player (make sure it is a decent transport). A good A/V pre-amp can do more and provide better sound than any CD player I have tested under 4k (of course the Wadia sounds better). Just my two cents..but I strongly, strongly encourage anyone who is thinking about shelling out big bucks to consider my advice instead. You may get more enjoyment/features and save cash too. Overall, not a bad player, but again...$1500 is way too much for this.

My system:
Citation pre-amp/7.1 amp
Cardas Cross interconnects
Cardas Microtwin interconnects
Sony 7700 DVD
Panamax 1000 Power Conditioner
Infinity reference center and rears
Tara Labs RCS Prime 1000 Speaker (fronts)

Similar Products Used:

NAD S500, Sony 7700 w/ Citation DAC

Build quality and smooth sound

Midrange bloom

Dear

Reader


I may be biased becuase I work for TD Waterhouse, but the fact is that the Classe CDP .3 is a fine offering from Canada.

This player must be broken in for at least one-hundred hours before it sounds musical. Below are my findings.

Top. A little bright. Rating B+

Mid. Open and smooth. No Koestu Rosewood. Rating B

Low. Good solid bass, which is on par with the Proceed. Rating B+

Tone. Natural. Rating B

Sound Stage. Wide and deep. Rating B

In a nutshell, this player is a great match for my Classe CAP 151. Listed below is my current set-up.

Classe CDP .3
Monster Cable M1000i
Classe CAP 151
Monster Cable M2.2s
Vienna Mozarts

My review is based on a player that costs $1,600 US Dollars, and is meant to be used with low-end Classe gear. An honest niche review. The ARCAM gear was excellent, but the .CDP leverages off my CAP 151. Hence, my purchase of the CDP .3 player from Classe.

Similar Products Used:

ARCAM, Denon, Proceed, and Yamaha

I just posted on the CAP 80, which I had the opportunity to demo in home for a day last weeks. I also had a CDP .3 on hand so I thought I'd post my comments.
First, I don't feel this is a one star product by any means. I've given a good listen to Rega (Planet), Rotel (971 and 991), and Adcom (GCD 750). All of these are fine players at what i consider to be a reasonable price point. In all honsty, I preffered the CDP .3 to all of them except the 991, and i would call them close to even. The Rotel 971 is the steal of the group for its price. The Adcom made my ears bleed, but it was coupled with an Adcom 5802 and Martin Logan speakers, so I'm not sure I can atrribute the harshness to the 750 entirely. Listen for yourself :-)

I found the sound to be very detailed, but never harsh or shrill. There is a warmth associated with this player that I appreciate but others may find troubling. I think the player strikes an excellent balance between analytical and musical, "erring" on the side of musical, which I feel is a good thing. The HDCD feature is nice, and I played a couple HDCDs through it. I don't think the format will ever catch fire, but its nice to have and there is SOME good stuff out there.

NOTE: I listen to jazz and some classical. I liked it on both, but your millage may vary if your tastes tend towards all classical or all rock. Again, I like the overall balance.

Typical of Classe, build quality is among the best in the industry. I think the price is fair. I ended up ordering a CDP .5, but only because i got a killer deal on it. The sound between the two is close enough that unless you get a great deal, save the money and get the .3. I've heard this won't be an issue soon because Classe is discontinuing the .5 in favor of a new model that combines the .5 and the CDP 1. the ,3 should continue on for some time.

I think four stars is appropriate for this piece. I also feel that 4 starts represents a great piece of hardware, with 5 reserved for the best of the best (price performance considered).

4 speakers. Highly recommended.


Associated gear:

Classe CAP 80 Integrated Amp
NAD 214 Amp
NAD 116 Pre-amp
Sonus Faber Concertino Speakers
Magneplaner MMG Speakers
Straightwaire Quartet Speaker Cables
Audioquest Jade and Turquoise Interconnects.

smooth sounding

poor CD tray

I bought this unit in 10/1999 before even listening to it (for the price). Yes, my fault. Lucikly it didn't disappoint me. Sounds really smooth and easy listening. While I was auditioning the B&W N805 with this CDP-.3 and Classe CAP-80, I managed to compared it against the Adcom GCD-750 and I almost traded it in for the Adcom. Adcom has a better bass. This idea stuck in my head fro quite a while until I tried some isolation tweak for this CDP-.3. Reducing external vibration does help the CDP-.3 in producing better bass and little more detail.

This combo produces a very nice sound stage, imaging is very nice. At low volume, the vocal is very sweet.

My system:
Classe CDP-.3
Classe CAP-80
B&W Nautilus 805
AudioTruth Forest speaker cable
AudioTruth Lapis x3 balanced interconnect.

Similar Products Used:

Adcom GCD 750

sound, design

cost - I wish it were less

I just purchased the .3 after comparing it to the Rega Planet, Rega Planet 2000 and the California Audio Labs CL-10 and came to conclude that none of the later are in the same league as the Classe.

Without doing an A/B comparison, they all sounded much better than the Nak. I've owned for some time. Also, my judgement was somewhat biased .... not wanting to spend $500 more for the .3 versus the Planet 2000. However, during the A/B the sound differences became immediately noticeable enough to warrant the cost difference.