Classe Audio
02/02/2006
Grahams are delighted to announce that we are now dealers of the Classé range of products. C
anada’s Classé Audio has the reputation of being one of the true high-performance manufacturers of quality amplifiers for over 20 years. Started in 1980, Classé has strived to create products to meet the highest possible fidelity. Classé became part of the B&W group in 2001 and the distribution, financial and organisational resources offered by B&W, the leading UK-based loudspeaker manufacturer, have propelled Classé to the forefront of contemporary high-end audio and video design.
Bowers & Wilkins and Classé share a similar philosophy, both growing from humble beginnings that have turned into world class products. The brief of the new Classé Delta range was to produce a modern, contemporary design combining North American strength with European quality and design detail.
The products have a distinctive design, a tactile feel and use built-in LCD touch-screens to simply their ease of use.
Following our evaluation process, the Classé models we now have on demonstration are:
• CDP-300 DVD/CD/DVD-A player with 1080p video output and HDMI output at £4,950 (the CDP-102 is a dedicated CD player, built with the same circuitry as the CDP-300 but without any of the video circuitry and costs £2950)
• CDP-202, a reference CD player (includes DVD and DVD-A playback).
• SSP-600 surround sound processor/pre-amp.
• CA-5200 200-watt 5-channel power amplifier.
• CAP-2100 100-watt integrated power amplifier including remote control.
The CDP-102 and CDP-202 are dedicated CD players, optimised for best performance at different price levels, created especially for music listeners who do not need multi-channel analogue audio or High Definition video features. Both models utilise a TEAC® DVD-ROM slot-loader mechanism for reading discs. Its many advantages include superior disc-handling characteristics, reliability and control flexibility. The CDP-102 and 202 share the beautiful industrial design and elegant control screens found throughout the Delta series. They are the first CD players to offer touch-screen control and video preview on the front panel. The preview feature allows audiophiles the option of enjoying a pure music listening session without video, because DVD-Audio (or DVD-Video) discs may be navigated directly from the front panel.
Following extensive listening tests and technical trials, the famous Abbey Road Studios selected the Classé amplifiers as the ideal tool to derive the utmost accuracy, dynamics, and transparency to partner B&W’s reference monitors. They now have over 30 Classe power amplifiers in use at Abbey Road.
