Price Paid:  $2000.00 from audiogon

Summary:
Classe' is known for it's 2 channel stereo music. There are many great sound processors out there (like this one!), but it has been hard to find a great HT processor that does music well. Well, my search is over!

In the past there has always been trade offs between HT and 2 channel music. But with Classe' products you get it all! Balanced analog inputs with XLR main speaker outputs for fully balanced sound when you want fine music. The sound of the Classe SSP-25 just blows away the Lexicon and Yamaha pieces I've heard on music. There is no just no comparison, period. And this piece sounds as good as most preamps I've heard! When I listen to my CDs, they sound like....just music. No harsh high ends, no listener fatigue! And the build quality of the Classe is second to none. The remote is made out of solid black metal, not plastic!

I won't go on and on...but if you can find one of these on the used market...I would NOT hessitate!

I just have to go turn mine on now just talking about it!

Strengths:
Best musical sound processor on the market.

Weaknesses:
None

Similar Products Used:
Lexicon DC-1, MC-1, Yamaha DSP-A1

Price Paid:  $2000.00 from Bay Area Audio

Summary:
This is one sweet preamp, it sounds better, or more correctly is more natural than my Classe cp35, on movies and DTS, 5.1 it is clear and true to the sorce. Great sound tracks sound just that, great but it will not hide bad sounding data or music.
If you can find one now it is a great investment at $2000

Weaknesses:
remote non-programable

Similar Products Used:
parasound
parasound

Summary:
This has to be a five star value: less than $3K for the best sounding preamp among a field of mediocre sounding $6K pieces. Add the processor capabilities and I get something to keep for a very long time. Opened her up and the build quality and design are downright sweet. If I ever want 24/192 I could add an outboard DAC.

The negatives listed below are accurate but not significant to me. I want a processor that is easy to use, whether it has ultimate flexibility or not. Auto select of the proper mode works well and the switching pause is less than a second. The menu is straight-forward and the setup was quite simple. Didn't need a microphone (a la Parasound) and didn't need on-screen. Got to listening and watching quickly.

The amount of what sounds like discrete information in Pro-Logic recordings is surprising. Don't know if it is the implementation or just lucky, but old movies sound great on LD. The analog pass-through is very nice, but I am beginning to like the surround modes on music. The ambience is very addicting and the quality of the D/A must be excellent (using Toslink in). I would add another Toslink for future possibilities. All paths can be S-video including the front speakers. Using this with CAV500, from Classe, that I keep on all the time anyway (as all SS should be).

I had heard of trouble with service with Classe but I got prompt answers immediately from their service manager (in English and French). He said they could turn a fix in two days, depending. I don't know what unit could compete with this at this price. I'm done searching.

Strengths:
Sound, build quality, performance, appearance.

Weaknesses:
None significant.

Similar Products Used:
Sunfire, Lexicon, Proceed, Bryston

Summary:
This is a very excellent pre-amp with great sound. It has a lot of inputs as well balanced inputs and outputs. Balanced outputs only for front stereo speakers. Lack of on-screen programming is a negative. Also no trigger output to start up the amp with power on is a big negative.
Other than that the unit has very good sound. Pretty smooth and laid back. Plenty of sound fields. Very nice display. Full THX.
Overall a great unit.

Strengths:
Good features. Smooth sound. Loads of connections.

Weaknesses:
Remote is nice, but non-programmable. No on-screen programming. RCA connections on back can be pulled off with tight interconnects.

Summary:
Have owned the SSP-25 for six months. It has performed flawlessly. When I decided to purchase a pre/pro, I auditioned the SSP-25, B&K Ref 20, EAD Encore, and the Sunfire Theater Grand. For watching movies, I found these four units to be excellent and not too dissimilar, although I have a definite preference for the SSP-25's presentation of the center channel's information (voices are very clear and natural sounding) and the surround channels' information. However, when it comes to two-channel stereo, the SSP-25 blows away the others. In fact, in my opinion, the SSP-25 can practically stand alone as a stereo pre-amp.