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Classe Audio SSP-800 User Manual
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Classe Audio SSP-800 User Manual

Surround sound processor
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CLASSE SSP-800 SURROUND SOUND PROCESSOR
Introduction
Classé is considered one of the finest audio product manufacturers in North America.
They market preamplifiers, power amplifiers, and surround sound processors (SSPs).
The SSP-800 is their current processor. It's been around for awhile, and they have no
plans to replace it with a new model in the near future, but there have been some
firmware updates along the way. So, I decided that Secrets should have a look and
listen to what I was sure would be a fine product.
SPECIFICATIONS
Design: 7.3 Channel Surround Sound Processor (SSP)
Codecs: All, Including Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD Master Audio
Inputs: 5 x HDMI (v1.4), 2 x Component, 1 x Composite, 4 x Coax, 4 x Toslink, 1
x Analog XLR,
Outputs: 2 x HDMI, 1 x Component, 1 Coax, 1 Toslink, 7.1 Analog XLR and
RCA, 2 x Aux Analog XLR and RCA, DC Trigger, USB, RS-232, CAN Bus
Video Support: 1080p, Deep Color, 3D, xvYCC; Composite and Component can
be Up-converted to HDMI Output
MFR: 20 Hz – 20 kHz ± 0.2 dB
THD+N: 0.001% Digital Source, 0.002% Processed Analog Source
Input Impedance: 100 kOhms
Maximum Output Voltage: 15 Volts XLR, 8 Volts RCA
Dimensions: 6.75" x 17.5" W x 17" D
Weight: 29 pounds
MSRP: $9,500 USD
Classe
Tags: Classe, SSPs, 7.3
The Design

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Summary of Contents for Classe Audio SSP-800

  • Page 1 They market preamplifiers, power amplifiers, and surround sound processors (SSPs). The SSP-800 is their current processor. It’s been around for awhile, and they have no plans to replace it with a new model in the near future, but there have been some firmware updates along the way.
  • Page 2 The Classé SSP-800 is basically designated at 7.1 because it has one XLR/RCA output labelled as SUB. However, there are two XLR/RCA output jacks labelled AUX, which means you can configure the processor with up to three subwoofers (the AUX outputs can be assigned to other tasks as well).
  • Page 3 (or averaged for several listening positions). The SSP-800 allows for frequency response and distance, but it is performed manually, which is to say that there is a five-band parametric EQ for each channel,...
  • Page 4 Below is a series of screen shots illustrating the main menu and sub-menus. The first one is what you see while using the SSP-800. You can select the source (for me that is the Blu-ray player – Input 1, and the HDTV cable box – Input 2). The Mode button accesses the available playback/surround modes.
  • Page 5 When you press the Menu button on the front panel or on the remote control, here is what you see: The next step – when you are first using the SSP-800 – is the System Setup. I selected Configuration from the menu above, and this is what was next.
  • Page 6 Pressing Configuration 1, I now had the ability to rename Configuration 1 to whatever I wanted (I left it as Configuration 1 just to keep myself from getting lost in a maze when I first used the processor). The box on the right says, “In Use” which means it is enabled.
  • Page 7 In this menu set (above), you can choose what you want the two Aux outputs to be connect to – if anything at all – which includes bi-amping (e.g., the front left/right channels), and having up to three subwoofers. All in all, a very flexible and easy to use menu structure.
  • Page 8 “Silicon Labs CP210x USB to UART Bridge Controller (COMx)” Then connect the SSP-800 to your PC with a USB cable, and when it asks for the COM port number, use the one you noted. The installation is guided, and I experienced no problems.
  • Page 9 Detecting the device (the SSP-800 is connected to your computer via USB). Device detected.
  • Page 10 Firmware is being transferred. Firmware has been transferred to the SSP-800.
  • Page 11 It’s like installing updates to computer software, where you have to reboot your computer to compete the installation. The process of firmware update is finished when the blue LED on the front left hand side of the SSP-800 is no longer blinking.
  • Page 12 using them could add so much to the experience). The 100th Universal Pictures Anniversary series release of the 1975 movie, Jaws, had another thing going for it besides being a 100th Anniversary celebration. It is one of a dozen or so Universal films that was not only meticulously restored (as in nearly as much money spent on restoration as it was to make the movie), frame by frame, dust spot by spot, torn frame by frame, sullied color by red, green, and blue, yellow, magenta, and cyan, but the music tracks were re-mixed for 7.1, and I mean real 7.1,...
  • Page 13 The difference in clarity of the smaller pipes with their high frequencies, as well as the mechanical sounds of the pipes as the valves opened and closed, between the SSP- 800 and any processor or receiver I have ever encountered (I have used this SACD for quite a few years) was jaw-dropping, and I don’t like to use platitudes, but I can’t think of anything else that emotes that feeling than, “jaw-dropping”.
  • Page 14 With the signal at – 5 dB, distortion was 0.004%. Note that specifications are usually stated within a 20 Hz – 20 kHz bandwidth, so the reason there is 0.001% more THD+Noise in this test is that the signal is lower, but the noise is not, so the noise is a slightly higher percentage of the total signal, and thus, the THD+N measurement is higher.
  • Page 15 19 kHz and 20 kHz paired input signals showed no visible B-A peak at 1 kHz. Superb. IMD measured 0.005%. Notice the lack of small peaks adjacent to the 7 kHz signal...
  • Page 16 peak. This represents excellent performance, and a listening experience full of fine detail. The measured Frequency Response was 20 Hz – 20 kHz, -0.3 dB.
  • Page 17 Still using the coax digital input, but now with signals at 24/192 sampling, a 1 kHz sine wave produced 0.002% THD+N.
  • Page 18 Using the 19 kHz, 20 kHz paired input signal did not yield any observable B-A peak at 1 kHz. Measured IMD with 24/192 sampling was lower than it was with 16/44.1. The Frequency Response was within 1 dB out to 42 kHz, after which it dropped precipitously at 42 kHz.
  • Page 19 IMD at 24/192 sampling was 0.001%. The left channel (yellow) has a slightly higher noise floor around 35 kHz – 40 kHz, and it is also present at 16/44.1 sampling, so it is something generated in the circuitry. It’s inaudible in any case. I have found that...
  • Page 20 -120 dB can change from day to day. You never know what is going on to cause such artifacts. So, with the HDMI v4.1 fully engaged with the SSP-800, HDMI is finally a true high...
  • Page 21 fidelity input. Lastly, we analyze the analog path. I used the XLR inputs and front left/right XLR outputs on the SSP-800, and generated analog signals with the Audio Precision.
  • Page 22 At 1 kHz, THD+N was 0.002%. Raising the volume control to + 5.0 lowered the input voltage necessary to produce a 2 volt output. (At a volume setting of 0.0, it took about 2.3 volts to produce 2 volts...
  • Page 23 output.) The distortion was insignificantly higher. With analog XLR input, and 19 kHz, 20 kHz sine wave input, there was a B-A peak 110 dB below the fundamentals. This is insignificant, but measurably different than...
  • Page 24 when using the digital inputs. IMD with the XLR connections was 0.002%, which is excellent.
  • Page 25 THD+N vs. Frequency indicated a bit more distortion (and 0.0004% is definitely just a bit) in the left channel. Output voltage, with the volume control set to 0.0, indicated a sharp knee at about 3...
  • Page 26 Conclusions I have never heard better surround sound from movies or music discs than what I experienced with the Classé SSP-800. This is definitely reference quality. Finally, one can have audiophile-grade sound with multi-channel music, as well as with movies that have high definition soundtracks (most Blu-ray movies these days), using the...