Classe Audio SSP-300 manual

Owner’ s Manual SSP-300 Surround Pr ocessor[...]

NO TICE All of us at Classé take extreme car e to ensure that y our purchase will remain a prized inv estment. W e are pr oud to inform y ou that all Classé components hav e been officially approv ed for the Eur opean Community (CE) mark under CE Certificate Number C401CLA1.MGS granted on 18 July 1996. This means that y our Classé product was [...]

Important Safety Instructions Caution: Please read and obser ve all w arnings and instructions in this o wner’ s manual and all those marked on the unit. Retain this owner’ s manual for future refer ence. 1. Do not attempt to service this product y ourself. Do not open the co ver for any reason. There are no user-serviceable par ts inside. An o[...]

4 Contents W elcome to the Classé family ..........................................................................6 Unpacking and Placement ...............................................................................7 unpacking y our surround processor .......................................................................7 placement .........[...]

5 T he Menu System .......................................................................................... 42 system setup ........................................................................................................ 42 rotary ............................................................................................... 43 input setu[...]

6 W elcome to the Classé famil y Congratulations on your purchase of a Classé product. I t is the result of many years of continuous refinement, and we ar e sure that you will enjo y it for many years to come. W e value our relationship with our customers. Please allow us to stay in touch with you by returning y our warranty card now , before yo[...]

7 Unpac king and Placement unpacking y our surround pr ocessor Carefully unpack your surround pr ocessor according to the supplied instructions, and remov e all accessories from the carton. Important! Keep all pac king materials for future tr ansport of y our Classé product. Shipping y our new component in an ything other than its purpose-designed[...]

8 register y our pur chase! Having found the serial number , now would be a good time to fill out the registration car d. Please register your purchase so w e can advise you of updates and other items of interest. I t will take only a minute or so. Please complete the car d now , before you forget. w arm up/break-in period Y our new Classé surrou[...]

9 Oper ating V oltage The SSP-300 surround processor is set at the factory (internally) for 100V , 120V , 230V , or 240V AC mains operation, as appr opriate for the countr y in which it is to be sold. (230V only in Eur opean U nion countries, in compliance with CE regulations.) The voltage setting may not be changed by the user . Make sure that the[...]

10 A W or d About Installation E very effort has been made to make the Classé SSP-300 simple and straightforward to install and use. S till, we have no way to evaluate other variables such as the size and shape of your room, its acoustics, and the associated equipment you hav e chosen to use with your surround processor . All of these factors in?[...]

11 Special Design F eatures high-bandwidth video cir cuitry M odern high definition video sources pro vide truly stunning picture quality . Ho wever , the technical requirements of passing these r emarkable signals along to the display are quite challenging. In recognition of the degradations that normally occur when passing these pristine signals[...]

12 THX engineers developed patented technologies to accurately translate the sound from the movie theatr e environment into the home, correcting the tonal and spatial errors that occur . W ith your SSP-300, when the THX indicator is on, the following THX features are automatically added: Re-Equalization™ The tonal balance of a standard film soun[...]

13 Ad vanced Surround Arra y™ The people at THX have also found a solution to a problem that dogged high performance multichannel systems for years: the apparent conflict between optimal music and movie setups. Y ou see, movies are mix ed in highly standardized envir onments,with even spaced surround speakers in an array designed to pro vide a d[...]

14 THX Movie Mode As you might expect, the THX Mo vie mode does a similarly terrific job of optimizing the system for accurate reproduction of mo vie soundtracks. When in THX Movie mode, ASA cr eates a diffuse soundfield that emulates the much larger array of surround speakers found in a state of the art commercial theater . Of course, Re-EQ, A d[...]

15 The volume control system on your SSP-300 solv es this problem by responding differently based on the specific circumstances (e.g. ho w quickly you are turning the knob and where in the volume range you ar e). After extensive testing, we feel we have created factory default settings that most people will find intuitive and a real pleasure to u[...]

16 extr aor dinary longe vity Another benefit of having worked with highly refined circuit designs so extensively ov er many years is that we have vast experience in what wor ks well over the long term. By using only the highest quality parts to begin with, and then using them in an informed way as a result of both accelerated aging experiments a[...]

17 Initial Setup W e understand that you may be anxious to begin enjoying your new surround processor . Our best advice: take advantage of the considerable experience your Classé dealer offers to make sure you get all the performance you deserve. Ho wever , if you want to set up your new system yourself , this section is designed to get the system[...]

18 5 Now y ou are r eady to po wer up y our new SSP-300 and its associated amplifiers. N ote that the initial power up takes appro ximately 90 seconds, during which time the blue LED on the standby button will flash. After approximately 45 seconds the L CD screen will display “initializing, please wait….” Once this period is complete the LE[...]

19 7 Sit back and enjo y some music or a movie w hile reading the r est of this manual. I t is important that you become familiar with the full capabilities of your new surround processor if you are to get maximum v alue from your purchase. (Alternatively , you may prefer to have y our dealer perform a comprehensive installation of the system, leav[...]

20      F ront P anel 1 Standb y button & LED indicator The front panel S tandby button will toggle the surround processor between its fully operational status and a standby mode that leaves the surround processor off , yet ready to respond to system commands via any of the suppo[...]

21 2 Menu button P ressing the front panel M enu button will call up the menu system, replacing the normal status display in the LCD touchscr een of the SSP- 300. 3 LCD touchscr een M uch of your interaction with the SSP-300 will be with the LCD touchscreen (and the SSP-300’ s supplied remote control). I t will usually display the various input s[...]

22 6 V olume Knob The large knob on the right side of the front panel of the SSP-300 is used to control the volume of the system. The volume is raised or low ered in precise 1 dB increments thr oughout the range of the control most likely to be used while listening to music. At extremely lo w volumes, the step size is increased somewhat to make it [...]

23 Rear P anel The table below sho ws the three types of inputs of the SSP-300 and which outputs can be used. A ✔ indicates at signal is available, a ✘ indicates a signal is not available. F or example, with a Component Input an S-V ideo signal is available from the M ain output, but not from the Rec 1 or Rec 2 output. S ee the following inform[...]

24 N ote that the three analog video standards offer v ar ying degrees of performance: • Component video offers the highest picture quality • S-Video is second-highest in picture quality • Composite video offers the lowest pictur e quality F or this reason, you ar e advised to use component video connections whenever possible, and S-video con[...]

25 N ote that the three analog video standards offer v ar ying degrees of performance: • Component video offers the highest picture quality • S-Video is second-highest in picture quality • Composite video offers the lowest pictur e quality F or this reason, you ar e advised to use component video connections whever possible, and S-video conne[...]

26 7 Optical Digital Inputs These connectors accept digital audio signals in the EIAJ optical (sometimes called “T oslink™”) digital interface standard from a digital satellite receiver , compact disc, DVD player or other digital source component. Connect the optical digital output of your source component to either of the EIAJ optical inputs[...]

27 11 IR Input: Main and Zone Y our Classé surround processor includes two 1/8th-inch mono mini- jacks to support the infrared (IR) remote controls that ar e ubiquitous today . Infrared commands exist (for example) for toggling the surround processor between oper ate and standby , in addition to discr ete command codes for either oper ate or stand[...]

28 13 Microphone Input The MIC input on the rear of the SSP-300 is used during auto-calibration of the system. F or a quick setup, connect the supplied micr ophone to this input and follow the procedur e outlined in the Initial S etup section of this manual. F or more details, please r efer to The Menu System , later in this manual. 14 Analog Audio[...]

29 18 Component V ideo Inputs and Output The SSP-300 provides thr ee Component video inputs. These are labeled COMPONENT INPUT 1 , 2 , and 3 . Connect the Component video output of your source component to the appropriate Component video input of the SSP-300 using high quality 75 Ω video cable for the best results. Note: Progr essiv e and High De?[...]

30 19 A C Mains P ower Switc h The main power switch for the SSP-300 is adjacent to the r eceptacle for the power cor d. S witching the unit on puts it in standby mode. The surround processor should be in standby before being switched off . Danger! P otentially dangerous v oltages and current capabilities exist within y our surround pr ocessor , ev[...]

31 T he Remote Contr ol Y our new surround processor comes with a versatile remote contr ol which can control both the SSP-300 itself and several aspects of the rest of a Classé-based system. The buttons are arranged in logical groups according to their functions. 1 Basic Functions This section along the top of the remote control groups four funct[...]

32 • Home r eturns you to the start-up screen and offers four buttons ( source , video pr eview , modes , and control ). This provides a quick way to get back to normal operation, regar dless of how deep you might be in the menu system. • M enu enables you to adjust a number of settings within the SSP- 300 to your own pr eference. • U p/Do wn[...]

33 6 V olume K eys V olume U p, V olume Do wn, and M ute do what you would expect them to do. 7 T rim K ey The T rim key takes you dir ectly to the system trims screen in the menu system. U sing the touchscreen or the remote contr ol navigation keys you can adjust the speaker(s) as desired. Adjust the r elative balance of the system by using the En[...]

34 Understanding Surr ound Sound T oday’ s sophisticated surround sound systems seem to spawn a bewildering array of technologies and acronyms. In this section, w e will attempt to give you a basic understanding of what all that jargon means. As a result, you will be better equipped to take advantage of the best that home entertainment has to off[...]

35 The disadvantage of matrix decoding is what you might expect – it is tough to completely and perfectly separate two things that have been mixed together . Once you have baked a cake, it is difficult to get back to the eggs and flour . By contrast, modern soundtracks use discr ete channels of information. That is, each speaker has a distinct [...]

36 Having done so, how ever , it may make sense to provide further processing, after the fact. Hence the notion of post-pr ocessing . F or example: movie soundtracks ar e created in highly-standardiz ed environments, in order to offer ex cellent performance in large, commercial theaters. Acoustically , your home is a radically different environment[...]

37 Note: T he THX Ultr a II modes require the pr esence of rear channels in addition to the side “surround” channels. T hese speakers take adv antage of THX’ s ASA technology to pro vide a higher - performance, particularly fle xible and seamless surround soundfield.[...]

38 Using the SSP-300 Y our SSP-300 includes a versatile touchscreen L CD display which supports most of your day-to-day operations (as well as a flexible menu system for functions you use less often). While the use of this touchscr een is quite intuitive, it is also quite extensive. This section of the owner’ s manual outlines the use of this to[...]

39 T ouching the mode button brings up a scrolling list of the available surround modes. T ouching either of the arrows will cause this list to scroll in the dir ection you indicated. When you see the surr ound mode you want, touch its name in the list. The SSP-300 will immediately change its processing to meet your request. Y ou may then either to[...]

40 system trims The System T rims menu controls several parameters of the SSP-300’ s operation that may occasionally need adjustment to suit a particular recording. • lev el trims are pro vided for L/R balance, center , surround, rear speakers, and subwoofer . As an example, you might bump up the center channel speaker by 2-3 dB if the dialog i[...]

41 position select The SSP-300 supports four different families of settings for various listening positions you may use. The P osition Select menu allo ws you to easily choose among your various listening positions. F or example, you might use position 1 to optimize the sound for the seating arrangement you use when watching a movie, but hav e a di[...]

42 T he Menu System P ressing the front panel M enu button to the left of the LCD touchscr een brings up a comprehensive menu system, that is divided into a further six sections as shown belo w . This menu system provides access to many installation-specific featur es that let you customize ho w the SSP-300 works within the context of your particu[...]

43 Her e, you can: • customize the behavior of your volume contr ol • tailor your inputs to your particular source components • configure and calibrate the system to take best advantage of your loudspeakers • program the behavior of the SSP-300’ s DC triggers • establish a maximum volume setting for your system rotary The rotary knob o[...]

44 The most significant factor in the perceived responsiv eness of the volume control is the speed at which the knob is being turned. W e all naturally tend to move volume knobs more quickly when we need to make a bigger change, and w e tend to slow do wn as we approach our desired volume. Thus, if the SSP-300 sees the knob moving r elatively quic[...]

45 • high speed: determines the responsiveness of the control when the knob is being turned slowly . A setting of 0 will cause the volume to change as slowly as possible at high knob speeds; a setting of 100 will cause the volume to change as quickly as allow ed at high knob speeds. (The menu is the same as the one above ex cept for the indicatio[...]

46 • The + and – buttons change the current character through the available characters. They include all upper and lower case letters of the alphabet, the numbers 0-9, and a variety of punctuation. When done, your main display might look like this (note the change in the top right button): T ouching the audio button gives you control ov er a wi[...]

47 The position button allows you to assign a default position setting (a collection of level and delay settings) to a particular input. (This default setting can be temporarily overridden at any time in the H ome menu.) The video button takes you to a menu in which you can specify what type of video signal (if any) the source being set up will sup[...]

48 speaker setup The Speaker S etup menu (found via the following path: system setup/speakers) allows you to tell the SSP-300 about the speakers with which it is wor king, so it can provide the best and most appr opriate signals to each speaker . • speaker config allows you to customiz e your speaker configuration and set up the bass management[...]

49 • THX setup sends you to a screen in which you can configur e some THX-specific features. S pecifically: • THX2 ultra sub should be engaged if you are using a subwoofer that is certified by the THX Ultra2 standard. S uch subwoofers are essentially flat to 20 Hz under what might be considered worst-case acoustic conditions for bass, and [...]

50 • The name of each position can be specified in the same way that sources are. (S ee input setup earlier in this section.) • autocalibration uses the provided micr ophone to calibrate the system automatically for optimal performance in each of these four positions. Simply plug in the microphone to the mic input on the r ear panel, place the[...]

51 teach IR The SSP-300 pro vides discrete infrared (IR) command codes for all its functions, a list that extends far beyond what is requir ed by normal remote controls. Ho wever , many of these functions are critical if you plan to cr eate a customized remote control with macros that take command of y our entire system. W ithout these discrete cod[...]

52 brightness The brightness setting of the SSP-300 has three possible values: lo w , medium, and high . Select the appropriate setting based on the lev el of ambient light typically found in your listening room while using the system. A high brightness setting usually works best in brightly-lit rooms; you may find that a lo wer setting is less vi[...]

53 temp. displa y The temp. display button leads to a screen on which you may select how long the temporary on-screen display shown on your television lasts when you make a change to the SSP-300. Y our choices are none (effectiv ely turning off these small OSD messages on the television), and 2, 3, 4, or 5 seconds. volume Ther e are two common ways[...]

54 Dolby Pro Logic II Dolby P ro Logic II has three user-adjustable parameters. P anorama is a simple on/off toggle (highlighted means “ on ”) that will present a wider and deeper front soundstage. This effect is somewhat signal-dependant, meaning that it is more pronounced with some r ecordings and less so with others. W ith a good recording, [...]

55 F or example, if you use the balance control fr equently , you may want to consider programming one of the Fkeys to take you straight to that scr een. Doing so will save you having to access the control menu, follo wed by pressing the balance button (which might be hard to see fr om across the room) . The remote Fke y menu has four buttons, one [...]

56 T roubleshooting In general, you should r efer any ser vice problems to your Classé dealer . Befor e contacting your dealer , check to see if the problem is listed here. If it is, try the suggested solutions. If none of these solves the problem, contact y our Classé dealer . 1 Ever ything appears to be on, but there is no sound. ✓ Adjust the[...]

57 ✓ Check the manual levels setting within the associated position, at system setup/speakers/(applicable position)/manual levels/(select the channel) and then use the increase or decrease buttons to adjust the channel in question ✓ If none of these solutions work, please consult your Classé dealer for assistance. N ever attempt to replace an [...]

58 6. T here is a hum coming fr om the unit. ✓ This symptom suggests you have a lot of DC offset or other artifacts on your AC mains line. T r y connecting to another AC circuit (not merely a differ ent plug, but a different circuit). ✓ Check to see if you have any halogen lighting or dimmers on the same circuit as the surround processor , as t[...]

59 Specifications All specifications are accurate at the time of printing. Classé reserves the right to make improv ements without notice. ■ F requenc y response DC – 200kHz ± 0.1dB ■ Distortion (THD + noise ) 0.003% ■ Maximum input voltage (single-ended) 5V rms ■ Maximum input voltage (balanced) 10V rms ■ Maximum output voltage (si[...]

60       Dimensions[...]

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Classé Audio 5070 F rançois Cusson Lachine, Quebec Canada H8T 1B3 +1 (514) 636-6384 +1 (514) 636-1428 (fax) http://www .classeaudio .com email: cservice@classeaudio.com Copyright © 2004 Classé Audio, I nc. Printed in Canada. V 1.5 112304[...]