I received a packet from Nicoll Public Relations that had inadvertently found its way under a neglected pile of mail. I opened the large mailer and was confronted with a gorgeous photograph of a beautiful, curvaceous stack of new Classé Delta gear, organically juxtaposed against the interior of the curved ramps of one of my favorite buildings of all time, Frank Lloyd Wright's Guggenheim Museum in New York City. As an architect, it floored me (pun intended) seeing two of my favorite things so beautifully presented; new stereo equipment set against an architectural marvel. The photos grabbed me in a big way and I immediately called John Nicoll, of Nicoll Public Relations (Classe reps), about getting some gear to review.

A little background is in order. Classé is located in Quebec, Canada and has been making high quality products for almost a quarter of a century. When it came out with its all out assault on the high end – the Omega series of components, the designers established themselves in the highest echelons of the audio world. In fact, Canada, in the last several decades, has fostered the growth of many top quality high end companies. Maybe it's the clean air or the friendly atmosphere that promotes creativity. Whatever it is, we neighbors in the south have come to appreciate and look forward to the high level of products entering the US from the fertile minds of Canadian designers.

What, no SACD, or DVD-Audio? Where's the multi-channel surround sound? Why a CD only, two channel player that only plays standard CD, CD-R and the stereo tracks of SACD hybrid discs but not stereo tracks of DVD-Audio? As my publisher Anthony Kershaw explained in his review of the excellent Accustic Arts CD Player, most folks out there have major investments in their standard CD collections and want to realize the best possible sound from these collections (I concur). Along with the fact that the sales of competing formats DVD-Audio and SACD are miniscule and the understanding and technology of standard CD production and playback have improved to a degree approaching the levels promised over 25 years ago. Just when the quality of musical reproduction, via CD, is reaching new heights it is being readied for the graveyard by newer, and yes, again, competing, higher resolution formats: BLU-RAY and DUAL DISC. We'll have to wait and see if sanity will prevail.

After unpacking the front-loading Classé unit from its first class shipping enclosure, I was taken with the weight of the unit and its solid feel. You already know what I think of its aesthetics. Much of what Classé learned from its cost no object OMEGA line was taken and translated into the more affordable DELTA series of components, of which the CDP-100 CD player is pride of place. In fact some refinements to the OMEGA series were realized in producing the DELTA series. Development never stands still. And affordable, in this case, in no way means cheap. You would never know by looking at this unit that this is anything but the highest level of component. The fit and finish are first rate and the remote control has the heft and design that exudes class.

Technically, the CDP-100 is very advanced. It uses the professional grade Philips VAE 1250 transport and modifies it to run in a clock slave mode with the closely positioned, but carefully isolated, Master Clock. According to Classé, the proximity of the low jitter Master Clock (2pcs) to the DACS is critical for high quality performance. Classé uses the Pacific Microphonics PMD200 for both oversampling and HDCD decoding. In the opinion of Classé, and others in the industry, it is one of the best oversampling filters available.

Classé employs, what it calls PDXB (Pure Differential Cross Balance) D/A conversion. They use two (24 bit/352.8kHz) Texas Instrument/Burr Brown's PCM1738's stereo DACS, one per channel, where many manufacturers use only one for both channels. I'm not an engineer or designer but they appear to be taking a lot of care to convert those bits to something that sounds like music. For those of you who need a more complete technical description, read Classé’s white paper on line.

Of course one could not help but be impressed with the TFT touch screen control panel – this in lieu of traditional push buttons or toggle switches. Easy to use, flexible in function, offering various ways to control your CD listening with repeat modes, time and track, shuffle modes elapsed time and much more. Ah, those little 'chips'. Of course, this was all accessible via the very handsome and substantial, backlit remote control, which felt like it was machined from a solid piece of aluminum matching the finish of the player. This unit looks so hi tech, I almost expected retinal scan pattern recognition to open that drawer.

The rear panel offers balanced and single ended outputs as well as an 75 ohm rca digital output. There are also IR input and output, 1/8th inch mini-jacks and DC trigger inputs and outputs, also 1/8th inch mini-jacks. And to allow for future upgrades, an RS-232 control port is provided for any new operating software that is provided by Classé to keep your unit as current as possible (stereo meets the computer). An IEC standard power receptacle is provided as well as a mains power switch. Power cords do make a difference. Read on.

I installed the CDP-100 via Acoustic Zen's Silver Reference II balanced interconnects and Gargantua II power cord which fed my Kora Eclipse preamplifier, followed later by the Innersound i Control linestage (review in the works). My system is now powered by the Innersound i 330 power amp. I'm using Acoustic Zen's Absolute power cord (review should be up when you read this) and their Absolute balanced interconnects, as well as a pair of Wasatch's Ultama balanced interconnects.

According to Classé, the unit needs a full 300 hours of burn-in to settle and optimize performance. Initial listenings, were hard, brittle and the sound compressed, reinforcing the necessity of having patience and allowing the full burn-in to occur. Serious reporting started after the burn in period.

My immediate impression was how smooth and analogue sounding this player was. This occurred whether I used the triode based Kora preamplifier or the solid state Innersound i control line stage in the system. And accompanying this smooth quality, was an openness and transparency that moved my digital reference (Meitner's Museatex CD transport, Acoustic Zen's E=MC squared cable and Birdland's Silver Ag DAC) into the back seat. I truly was caught off guard and duly impressed. Along with all of the already mentioned virtues, a concomitant increase in inner detail and separation was evident providing an overall increase in the clarity of the presentation. Instrumental timbres took another step closer to reality with air and space in abundance. Listening to the Telarc Hybrid SACD (60655) DSD transfer reissue of a 50 Khz Soundstream recording of Slatkin and the Saint Louis Symphony playing Bizet's Carmen Suite No. 1 was revelatory. The sound quality and playing were first rate and this recording really showed off the CDP-100's ability to clearly portray the full three dimensional soundstage of the venue and differentiate all the instrumental parts with air aplenty. This all happened from listening to the stereo track only.

Another delicious listening experience was listening to a Mobile Fidelity (UPSACD 4004) reissue of the Slatkin and the SSO, using their Gain II technology for a hybrid SACD of an Original Master Recording of Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition. I was truly awed at the quality of the sound being produced at chez Appel with this recording. The Classé brought forth the performance with full dynamics and subtle shadings that were chilling. Crescendos were startling in their impact. It did full justice to the orchestra. Separation of instruments was accomplished with ease and provided life like clarity and three dimensionality to the listening experience. Yet again, the smooth and open qualities this CD player demonstrated continued to impress, portraying instrumental timbres accurately with appropriate decay. Was this digital? Was this solid state? Suprisingly and astoundingly, yes.

Changing venues, I pulled out another CD reissue by Mobile Fidelity (UPSACD 2012) using their Gain II technology of an Original Master Recording of Jim Hall's Concierto. Although this was another surround sound hybrid SACD, I did all my listening in two channel stereo. A beautifully recorded classic jazz CD that every jazz fan must have in his collection, with the likes of Paul Desmond, Chet Baker, Ron Carter, Steve Gadd and Roland Hanna adding their brilliance to the legendary guitarist. Their ensemble playing was reproduced with great delicacy. Chet Baker's soulful trumpet playing was portrayed with a level of intimacy and palpability that was heavenly. The trumpet’s timbre was so accurate that I listened for hours without fatigue. Thanks to the reissue, there are additional tracks and alternate takes that never appeared on the original.

Vocals were handled equally well by the Classé CDP-100. Purity of tone, uncolored sound, detail along with openness and an analogue-like smoothness manifested themselves clearly on Frank Sinatra's Capitol CD, Sinatra Sings For Only The Lonely. His presence was in full evidence with an excellent portrayal of the accompanying Nelson Riddle orchestra in the background. The CDP-100 portrayed his voice's velvet qualities as well as the throatiness and chestiness this recording possesses with surety and full body. Frank's presence was palpable.

Earlier in the review I mentioned that power cords made a difference as well as interconnects as to the final character of the sound of the CDP-100. This might actually be a tribute to the CD player since it passes through to the listener the character of the cabling used with it. I did find that in the final analysis, I preferred Acoustic Zen's Absolute power cord over the Gargantua or Wasatch's Ultama. Many of you out there will most assuredly have your favorites and should try different ones if you can. On the other hand, I found that the Ultama interconnects with the CDP-100 was a slight improvement over Acoustic Zen's Silver Reference IIs. But in my amp/preamp hook-up, the Acoustic Zen Absolute was the better performer. Sorry, I don't want to get hung up with cables, but you can empathize as they do have a serious impact on performance.

Every piece of equipment, no matter how good, has a sonic signature. I feel that the CDP-100 would have to be classified as close to neutral across the board without emphasizing any area of the frequency spectrum over another. With this neutrality comes transparency, detail and air, portraying an accurate, three-dimensional soundstage. While doing so much so extraordinarily well, it is not perfect. One area that could be slightly improved would be a sense of impact or weight. If I were to give grades for these parameters, the CDP-100 would get A’s across the board and an A- in the perceived weight department. Just a smidgen, and that may be only personal preference. Or, is it possible that the transparency being so alluring that I think I'm not feeling it? It's a tough call.

After writing this, I played a 24-bit HDCD Reference Recording, Respighi’s Belkis, Queen of Sheba, Oue/Minnesota Orchestra and have to modify even further my statement about weight. This recording had all the weight and impact I could ever want, with clarity and definition in abundance. Obviously, the quality of the recording is critical and from CD to CD you will find substantial differences in the sonic presentation. This CD player presents what it's given and won't obscure what you feed it.

Reviewing equipment is neither simple or precise. As one can see, when you place a source component in your system, it takes power cords, interconnects, and their interplay with the overall system as well as the recordings themselves that determine what you hear. ‘System synergy’ as well as personal preferences come to mind. When one is faced with a CD player of this quality you must take advantage of every nuance of its capabilities that it offers -- optimizing its sonic presentation was a joy.

One small nit to pick with the CDP-100 is that it takes a long time to read a CD before playing (anywhere from 7-10 seconds). I called Dave Nauber and related this info to him and he said that they were working on the problem and upgrade to the programming would be sent to me, via e-mail, to install via the RS-232 port. He also said current units would already have the upgrade. My unit was received back in February and I received the upgrade in mid-June. Unfortunately, I have not installed the new programming yet but I will report back to you when I do. One other ‘small’ thing about the otherwise excellent backlit remote control – for folks like me who use reading glasses, the lettering is just a tad too small. Initial use was a little difficult due to the tiny lettering. After a while, as the learning remote atop my neck absorbed the different functions, it became easier.

In conclusion, the Classé CDP-100 has to be included in the upper echelons of CD players. Some might buy it for its exciting aesthetics alone -- it does look cool. It sounds wonderful and will help you listen to your CD collection with new appreciation. That is the real reason one should invest in this top performer. It is worthy of inclusion in the finest systems and highly recommended. Methinks it might end up in mine.

Keep listening, Martin Appel.

PS. Classé graciously sent a new model to me with the programming upgrade and the CD reading time was bettered by at least half or more. The overall speed of operation improved. The fix was in.