Description
The CDP-202 is designed to provide maximum resolution and enjoyment from a wide variety of music sources. When used together with other high quality system components, the CDP-202 delivers amazing sound, serving up the music in true reference-component fashion.
Believe it or not, the...
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Description
The CDP-202 is designed to provide maximum resolution and enjoyment from a wide variety of music sources. When used together with other high quality system components, the CDP-202 delivers amazing sound, serving up the music in true reference-component fashion.
Believe it or not, the market for high-end CD players is alive and well. Despite the introduction of new high-end formats such as DVD-Audio, SACD and now HD-DVD and Blu-ray, the fact remains that there is more music available on CD than on all the new high-resolution formats combined. The music lovers who have a large collection of music on CD still need high-quality players in order to fully enjoy the music that they have spent so many years amassing.
The CDP-202 is the latest and greatest of the stereo-only “CD player” options in Classé’s Delta series of products. The Delta Series is the first new product series from Classé Audio since Classé became part of the B&W group. I place CD player in quotes when describing the CDP-202, as it will actually play just about any non-high-definition disc format other than SACD.
The new Delta Series CD player screamed “well-made high-end audio component” from the moment it arrived. Once I removed the player from its well-packaged wrappings, I was impressed with the industrial design and build quality of the CDP-202. The industrial design of the CDP-202 is virtually identical to the previously reviewed CDP-300, but is worth going over again. The design is the brainchild of Morton Warren and Native Design Studios.
The front and side panels feature a “U” shape extrusion. The aluminum panel features a fine brush finish and large radius corners. There is a large black aluminum bezel toward the left side of the front panel that surrounds a three-by-two-inch LCD touch screen. The bezel runs the full height of the unit and is consistent in appearance with the rest of the Delta Series. Another piece of black aluminum approximately half an inch high bisects the height of the CDP-202’s front panel. The aluminum accent line extends to the left of the bezel by approximately one inch. This portion forms a standby button with a small status LED. The line extends to the right of the bezel across the front of the unit and contains a slot for disc loading. The slot glows with a blue light when empty and ready for a disc. The bezel itself has two discrete black aluminum buttons, one on each side of the touchscreen, a menu button on the left and an eject button on the right. “Classé” is laser engraved above the panel and “CDP-202” below. The overall effect is unique and stunning.
The advanced industrial design is not limited to the player’s good looks. The top panel is vibration-dampened black anodized aluminum. The solid black back panel is busier than one would expect for a CD player, with single-ended and balanced analog audio outputs, digital outputs both AES/EBU, optical and coaxial varieties, composite and s-video outputs, trigger inputs/outputs, IR input/output, CAN Bus in/out, IEC power plug and, lastly, a power switch.
Opening up the CDP-202 reveals an interior that is as gorgeous as the exterior. In the front left corner is a transformer for the audio board. To the right of that is the transport power supply. The TEAC DVD-Rom drive fills out the front of the player. The entire right rear portion of the player is filled with a circuit board that contains a 24-bit/192 kHz upsampling chip, and triple Burr-Brown PCM1792 digital to analog converters. Miscellaneous other daughter boards fill out the remainder. The entire package measures 17-and-a-half inches wide by four-and three-quarters inches high and 16-and-a-half inches deep. The CDP-202 weighs a respectable 26 pounds and rests upon shock-absorbing feet.
The remote itself is worth a mention: it is made out of heavy gauge aluminum, flat across the top and semi-circular on the bottom, so it fits nicely in your hand. The front panel allows the transmission of IR signals and the back piece is black anodized aluminum. A special screwdriver is provided to remove the back piece to change batteries. The keys are well laid out and illuminated with a soft blue light. All in all, it is an excellent remote that is an appropriate interface for a player of this caliber.
The video section of the CDP-202 is somewhat limited and is primarily meant to be used as a control interface for the both the player’s functions and navigating menus on a DVD-Audio disc. While the S-video and composite video outputs are completely satisfactory for what they are, in order to get video that matches the level of the audio quality, one should explore the Classé CDP-300.
Classé has long recognized timing accuracy or jitter as a substantial factor in the sound quality of digital audio systems. Classé works hard to maximize timing accuracy by routing the digital signal through what they call CPLD, (Complex Programmable Logic Device) and sample rate converter, which converts the signal to 24 bit/192 kHz and re-clocks the signal before it goes to the D to A converters.
The stereo DACs contain 8x oversampling filters. There are separate DACs for both the single-ended and balanced circuits. The single-ended circuits are topnotch, but the balanced circuits take it to the next level by operating in a true “double balanced” mode, wherein each half of the balanced signal is treated differentially.
In addition to the plethora of high-technology features to achieve optimum sound quality, the CDP-202 is replete with numerous convenience and control features including, but definitely not limited to, variable channel outputs, two-channel mix-down of multi-channel recordings, numerous control modes and easy to navigate menus.
Set-up
I placed the CDP-202 in my two-channel system, which consists primarily of a Krell FBI driving Martin Logan Summits, with Cardas’ Golden Presence balanced interconnects and bi-wired speaker cables. I also used the CDP-202 with the new McIntosh Laboratories C-220 pre-amplifier (review forthcoming) and Halcro MC-50 amplifier, driving Krell Lat-2000s with Monster Sigma Retro speaker cables.
The menu system was direct and easy to navigate. I quickly went through all the options for triggers, displays and outputs. While my system was very simple, it would be quick and easy to configure the unit to integrate into any system.
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Specifications
Frequency response 8Hz – 20kHz balanced +0dB/-0.4dB
8Hz – 20kHz single ended +0dB/-0.4dB
THD + Noise 0.001% ref 1KHz
0.001% ref 10Hz- 20kHz
Signal to Noise ratio >107 dB (unweighted)
Channel Separation 126dB @ 1kHz
115dB 16Hz – 20kHz
D/A converter 3 x Burr Brown PCM1792
Audio Sample rate 192 KHz
Output level balanced
4 Vrms
Output level single ended 2 Vrms
Power consumption 55w
Formats Supported CD, CD-R, CD-RW
DVD Audio & Video, VCD, SVCD, MP3,
WMA, DVD-R, DVD+R,
DVD-RW, DVD+RW
Outputs 2 x RCA
2 x XLR
Coax S/PDIF 1 x RCA
AES/EBU 1 x XLR
Optical 1 x Toslink
S Video
Composite
Dimensions Width: 17.5” (445mm)
Depth (excluding connectors): 16.5” (419mm)
Height: 4.75” (121mm)
Weight Gross weight: 35lbs (16 kg)
Net weight: 26lbs (12 kg)
Mains voltage Specified on rear panel
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