One of the requests from the members was to take a look at any new offerings from Classé, specifically in their Delta Series. We saw a couple of new products in the line including a pre-amp (the CP-700), a five channel amplifier (the CA-1500) and a remarkable DVD Player (the CDP-300).
Much more information can be seen
here.
Classé is a class act (no pun intended). Their units are not only visual masterpieces but the form and function of these units is top notch (at prices to match.) I was particularly intrigued by their
new DVD Player, the CDP-300. It is a handsome piece of equipment with no visible controls on the front except for two inobtrusive buttons labelled "Menu" and "Eject." The disc player uses a slot-loader mechanism which also contributes to the very clean lines of the device. The only other item on the front of the panel is a very clear video display, as can be seen on the pages linked above.
So how does one operate this unit? A press of the "Menu" button unleashes all the controls on the CDP-300. Suddenly the video display changes from video preview to a touch screen with full function menus for the many control choices available. Very nicely implemented. The video display not only serves as a preview for menus when listening to DVD-A and SACD audio discs without having to deal with the ambient noise of a projector or other display device, but as a control center. And the CDP-300 also contains internal scaling all the way up to 1080p via HDMI output. In summation, this unit is the first on the market to offer
- 1080p video output
- touchscreen control
- video preview
Components and specifications are top rate throughout the unit and, as expected, so is the MSRP. At $6500 this is not a everyday DVD player, but it is certainly one of the best. If I had a large amount of discretionary income it would be on my very short list.
There are two other units planned on based on the CDP-300 chassis. The CDP-300V will add analog video inputs for component and S-video sources. The idea is to route all video sources through the video processor within the CDP-300 for format conversion and scaling all the way up to 1080p HDMI output. A CDT-300 will be a digital disc transport with all analog audio and video removed, leaving only digital audio and video outputs with not scaling for those who require a high quality transport player alone. Pricing on these two items was not available.
If you want to learn more about the Classé Delta Series visit their site (link above). I was very, very impressed with what I saw.
