Classe Audio SSP-800 manual

O w ner ’ s M a nu al SSP-800 Surround Sound Processor[...]

2 Classé marks the “CE” symbol indicating compliance of this device with the EMC (Electr omagnetic Compatibility) and L VD (Low V oltage Directiv e) standards of the E uropean Community . Classé complies with the European P arliament and Council Dir ective 2002/96/EC concerning W aste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE).  is product[...]

3 Important Safety Instructions 1. Read these instructions. 2. Keep these instructions. 3. Heed all warnings. 4. F ollow all instructions. 5. Do not use this apparatus near water . 6. Clean only with dry cloth. 7. Do not block any ventilation openings. I nstall in accordance with the manufacturer’ s instructions. 8. Do not install near any heat s[...]

4 Contents Introduction ...................................................................................................... 6 Exceptional Design Features ............................................................................. 7 versatile connectivity ................................................................................ 7 upgrada[...]

5 configuration ....................................................................................... 41 in use .................................................................................................. 42 video ................................................................................................... 42 next input ..............[...]

6 Introduction Welcome to the Classé family! Congratulations on your purchase of the Classé SSP-800 S urround Sound P rocessor , a next generation processor with reference-quality performance. W e are sure that y ou will enjoy it for many years to come. Classe values the relationships with our customers and intend on supplying the highest level o[...]

7 Exceptional Design Features  e SSP-800 is a next-generation surround sound preamp/processor , conceived with pure performance as its raison d’êtr e. I t seamlessly unites a multitude of disparate audio and video signal formats to faithfully reproduce your music and movies as the artist intended. versatile connectivity  e SSP-800 is a ten[...]

8 room equalization and speaker control All home theater sound systems are aff ected by room characteristics. Sound refl ections and sound absorption can create dramatic variations in the performance of your system, particularly in the lower frequencies.  e SSP-800 features a system of fi lters which can correct many room eff ects and provid[...]

9 Unpacking and Placement W e have taken all precautions, and made every eff ort to make the SSP-800 simple and straightforward to install and use. Still, w e recommend that you take a few minutes to review this manual. E ven if you are having the processor professionally installed, you will want to kno w how to effi ciently operate it to full pot[...]

10 placement considerations Before installing your SSP-800 into the system, be sur e to read the following placement suggestions. • Do not place the SSP-800 directly on the top surface of a po wer amplifi er or any other heat source. Also keep the processor out of direct sunlight. • Place the SSP-800 so that the IR window on the fr ont panel i[...]

11 11 operating voltage  e operating voltage of your SSP-800 has been factory confi gured to 100V , 120V , 220V , 230V , or 240V AC, depending on the country in which you purchased it (in E uropean U nion countries, CE regulations specify 230V).  is voltage setting is not user selectable. E nsure that the voltage r ating on the rear panel of[...]

12 voltage protection  e SSP-800 S urround Sound P rocessor contains protection features that prevent the processor fr om operating at dangerously high or low voltages.  ese features are incorporated to help pr otect the processor from dangerous po wer surges and other power irr egularities that could cause extensive damage to the processor .[...]

13 MENU SSP-800 MUTE 1 2 5 6 4 3 Front Panel  e front panel of the SSP-800 is shown abo ve.  e numbers in the drawing refer to the descriptions that follow . 1 Standby/On Switch P ressing the Standby button puts the SSP-800 into standb y mode – a low-po wer state which leaves the S urround Sound P rocessor and outputs inactive but still all[...]

14 14 3 Touchscreen  e front panel touchscreen has two main functions: • N avigation of the SSP-800 menus and controls by simply touching the screen to make your selections. • Viewing incoming video from the selected source. 4 Audio Mute Control  e M ute button reduces the SSP-800’ s volume by a pre-determined amount. P ressing it a sec[...]

15 HDMI OUT HDMI IN COMPONENT IN Y Pb Pr Y Pb Pr Y Pb Pr S-VID1 S-VID2 1 2 1234 12 1 2 COMPONENT OUT VIDEO IN CAN IN USB 7.1 AUDIO IN ANALOG AUDIO IN R1 L1 L2 R2 L3 R3 RL RR CEN SUB SL SR FL FR OPT1 OPT2 OPT3 OPT4 COAX1 COAX3 COAX4 COAX2 IN OUT RS-232 TRIGGER IR DIGIT AL INPUT CONTROL DIGIT AL OUTPUT COAX OPT OUT2 OUT1 CAN OUT A1 A2 AUX 2 AUX 1 R L[...]

16 16 2 Composite Video Inputs  e SSP-800 supports two composite video inputs, with R CA connectors labeled 1 and 2. U se these inputs when the output of your source component is composite. A composite video signal (also called “baseband video ” or “NTSC video ”) combines the black & white and the color components of a video signal a[...]

17 available.  e HDMI standard also incorporates HDCP (High Defi nition Content P rotection); a separate content-protection technology to prevent unauthorized distribution or duplication of copyrighted material. 5 HDMI Outputs  e SSP-800 supports two HDMI outputs, labeled 1 and 2.  e SSP- 800 HDMI outputs support HDMI V .1.3b featuring De[...]

18 9 Digital Audio Output - Coaxial  e SSP-800 supports one digital audio coaxial output, with SPDIF connector labeled CO AX.  is output can pass PCM data streams up to 24-bits long and up to 96kHz sampling frequency . 10 Digital Audio Output - Optical  ese digital outputs carry only digital audio data, excluding any sub- code information [...]

19 14 IR Input U se the IR input when the front panel IR window does not have a clear line-of-sight with the remote control, for instance, when the SSP-800 is installed in a cabinet or closet. Attach this input to an infrared r epeater system to route signals from the remote contr ol to the SSP-800 via a mono mini-jack (3.5mm phono).  e list of [...]

20 19 CAN-Bus Input and Output CAN-Bus (Controller Ar ea Network) allo ws several Classé components to be connected together for simultaneous operation, such as switching from On to Standb y . U sing the CAN-Bus Input and Output connectors, the Classé components can be daisy chained together and controlled via the CAN-Bus interface. NO TE:  e [...]

21 21 Main Power On/Off Switch  is switch connects and disconnects the SSP-800 from AC. NO TE: Changes to settings are stor ed whenever the SSP-800 is put into Standby . T urning off power to the unit befor e fi rst entering Standby mode er ases any setting changes that have been made since the unit was last placed in S tandby mode. 22 AC Powe[...]

22 The Remote Control Y our SSP-800 Surr ound Sound P rocessor includes a versatile remote control for both the processor itself and several aspects of the rest of a Classé-based system.  e buttons are arranged in logical groups accor ding to their functions.  e remote control of the SSP-800 is sho wn on the left.  e numbers in the drawin[...]

23 4 Preset Config (Configuration) Button  is button steps through the confi gurations set to “in use ”. If there is already a confi guration active (due to being a default) for a particular input it will be overridden until the input is selected again, or the user selects that default confi guration. 5 Volume Control & Mute Buttons ?[...]

24 Initial Setup Y our SSP-800 Surr ound Sound P rocessor is delivered with default factory settings to facilitate initial setup. B ut we highly recommend that you work with your Classé dealer for the fi nal setup of the SSP-800 processor . Y our dealer’ s knowledge and experience with Classé products will ensur e that your surround system is [...]

25 Step 3 Connect all source components to the SSP-800 rear panel. Source devices that y ou may want to integrate into your surround system might include audio and video devices, such as CD and DVD play ers, and your main display , such as a fl at-panel display or projection system. If necessary , refer to the Rear P anel section in this manual fo[...]

26 Connect the Main Analog A udio Outputs, either RCA or XLR, fr om the rear panel of the SSP-800 to the corresponding inputs on y our amplifi er(s) as follows: • Connect the SSP-800 F ront Left and F ront Right outputs to the inputs of the amplifi er(s) designated for the F ront Left and Fr ont Right speakers, respectively . • Connect the SS[...]

27 Step 6 Power up the system! N ow you are ready to po wer up your SSP-800 and your surround system. • T urn the rear panel po wer switch of the SSP-800 to ON . •  e initial power-up cy cle of the SSP-800 takes approximately 90 seconds. During this time, the blue LED on the standby button fl ashes. • When the power-up cy cle is complete,[...]

28 Understanding Surround Sound T oday’ s sophisticated surround sound systems have spawned a bewildering array of technologies and acronyms. In this section, w e ’ll give you a basic understanding of what all that jargon means. As a result, you ’ll be better equipped to take advantage of the best that home entertainment has to off er . how [...]

29 By contrast, modern soundtracks use discr ete channels of information.  at is, each speaker has a distinct signal that is completely independent of every other channel.  is approach is clearly more desirable, since it gives the mo vie-makers more creativ e control o ver the quality of your experience. M usicians also prefer discrete format[...]

30 Dolby D igital Plus 1.0 - 7.1+ Discrete Audio codec which allo ws for higher bitrates, 7.1 channels or more (currently limited by HD D VD, Blu-ray disc ™ standards), while still remaining compatible with older 5.1 systems.  e codec was designed based on Dolby D igital but provides the necessary versatility going into the future. Dolby T rue[...]

31 Using the SSP-800 Y our SSP-800’ s versatile touchscreen L CD suppor ts most of your day-to-day operations and provides access to a fl exible menu system for setup functions that aren ’ t accessed as often as others. Although using the touchscreen is quite intuitive, the menu system is extensive.  is section of the owner’ s manual outl[...]

32 mode selection While you can specify default surround processing modes for each input, there are times when y ou may wish to select a diff erent mode for a particular recor ding. F or example, when watching a classic movie from the 1940s, you may prefer to hear it in mono using only the centre channel speaker . T ouch the Mo d e option on the H[...]

33 Dolby PLIIx M ovie  e M ovie mode routes the special eff ects signals to the surround channels for a fuller , dramatic impact while viewing movies and fi lms. Dolby PLIIx M atrix  e Matrix mode provides a sound fi eld similar to the M usic mode, but does not have the additional adjustment options. Dolby PLIIx Game  e Game mode also r[...]

34 controls T ouching the Controls option opens a new menu, as shown below .  e Controls page allows y ou to adjust a variety of processor functions, such as audio levels and delays, as well as selecting listening confi gurations.  ese adjustments are temporary; when a new input is selected, the adjustments are deleted and replaced with the [...]

35 configuration select T ouching the Confi guration option opens the Confi guration Select menu, which allows you to select the curr ent confi guration you want to activate. Confi gurations, which refl ect the speaker setup of your system, are defi ned and may be renamed in the Setup M enu.  e Confi guration Selection menu allows you to [...]

36 The Menu System  e comprehensive menu system pro vides setup and confi guration controls for the SSP-800 S urround Sound P rocessor .  ese installation-specifi c features let you customize ho w the SSP-800 works within the context of your particular system. P ressing the Menu button on the front panel opens the main M enu page, which is [...]

37 system setup T ouching the System Setup option from the main M enu page opens the System Setup page, which contains six setup options as sho wn below . F rom the System Setup menu, you can: • tailor your inputs to your particular source components • confi gure and calibrate the system to take best advantage of your loudspeakers • create s[...]

38 max volume  e Max V olume page allows you to establish a maximum v olume setting for your system.  is scale r uns from 0 to 100, with 100 indicating that you do not want any artifi cial limit placed on the maximum gain your Surr ound Sound P rocessor can provide.  is setting is interactive. Y ou can set the value to something less than[...]

39 automation T ouching the Automation option displays the A utomation volume speed setup page, shown belo w .  is volume control is specifi cally for use with automation control systems. Such control systems can vary in how quickly they repeat ramped volume commands. By fi rst selecting a suitable volume control speed on the SSP-800 S urround[...]

40 input setup Each of the 20 inputs supported by your SSP-800 S urround Sound P rocessor can be customized in several ways to enhance system performance or to simplify controls.  e Input Setup menu always opens to the setup page for Input 1.  e menu contains six buttons that completely defi ne each input – N ame , Audio , Confi guration [...]

41 audio  e Audio I nput menu allows you to select the off set, delay , and favorite processing settings, aff ecting how the audio from this input sour ce is handled. • off set is used to ensur e that all analog source playback is at comparable levels.  ere can be signifi cant diff erences in output levels among analog sources (this is[...]

42 in use  is button identifi es active inputs. If the In Use button is highlighted, then the Input is active. I f the In U se button is NOT highlighted, then the input is considered inactive and is r emov ed from the source selection list. Deselecting the In Use button for unused inputs is a good way to simplify source selection.  e Source [...]

43 profiles A Pr o fi le allows you to cr eate a number of shortcuts to various functions of your surround sound processor . T wo separate profi les can be customized with up to six commands each. Any defi ned profi le has a named button available on the home page, as shown abo ve. NO TE: By default both profi les are inactive, ther efore the [...]

44 room EQ  e SSP-800 Room EQ capability allo ws you to build very precise digital audio fi lters to help correct for fi xed sonic irregularities in y our room.  ese fi lters should be constructed based upon audio measurements made by a well-qualifi ed acoustical engineer .  ese powerful fi lters are made available in a completely man[...]

45 name  e N ame button provides a way to customize the names of the speaker confi gurations. Each name can be up to 14 characters long. T o change a confi guration name to something more specifi c to your system, use the four buttons along the bottom of the Confi guration N ame menu.  e buttons provide the follo wing functions: •  e[...]

46 levels  e Lev els menu allows you to adjust the output levels of the speakers. An SPL meter should be used from the primary seating position to ensure that each speaker delivers the same sound pressur e from a given test noise audio signal. T ouch the Noise S eq button to activate the noise generator; the top of the menu now states “Levels [...]

47 Each speaker opens the same menu with two buttons – size and crosso ver . T o modify the crossov er for the selected speaker , touch the Crossov er button and then adjust the setting using the increase and decr ease buttons.  e crossov er setting applies a high pass fi lter to the speakers set on crossed over , and a low pass fi lter to r[...]

48 auxiliary channels N ow that the main speakers have been confi gured, we ’ll discuss the Auxiliary Channel confi gurations. On the S peaker setup page, touch the Aux Channels button to open the Auxiliary Channels menu.  e SSP-800 has two auxiliary channels that can be utilized as additional subwoofers, assigned as a 2-channel down-mix of [...]

49 black level  e more button on the S ystem Setup screen accesses the Black Lev el setting.  e “ video setup ” in North America assumes that black is repr oduced at a video level of 7.5 IRE units, while most of the rest of the world assumes that video black is represented b y a video level of 0 IRE units.  e SSP-800 can operate either[...]

50 display setup  e Display S etup menu page, shown belo w , allows you to confi gure the brightness, display timeout, and language used in the front panel and menu system. I t also determines the format and color of the OSD (on-screen display), and how volume settings ar e displayed on your system. brightness  e Brightness setting of the SS[...]

51 language  e Language menu off ers a choice between six diff erent languages supported by the SSP-800.  e language selected is then used for all touchscreen and menu system text. Classé has also provided our international distributors with a software tool that makes it possible for them to customize the translations to suit their local c[...]

52 Dolby/DTS  e SSP-800 incorporates both Dolby P ro Logic II and DTS N eo:6 technologies for converting a two-channel signal into an enjoyable multi- channel listening experience.  e Dolby/DT S Setup menu allows you to modify the Dolby PLIIx M usic or DTS N eo:6 M usic processing settings to best suit your personal prefer ences. While they d[...]

53 remote Fkeys  e remote control supplied with the SSP-800 has four function keys (Fkeys) , each of which gives you instant access to a specifi c system function that might otherwise be buried in the menu system. F or example, if you use the balance control frequently , you may want to consider programming one of the Fkeys to directly access t[...]

54 status  e S tatus screen pro vides several items of information on the currently playing disc, as well as access to information on the software used in and the internal sensors of the SSP-800. While on this page, pr essing the more key will access the CAN-Bus features. version info  e v ersion info button on the status screen takes you to [...]

55 hardware setup 1 Classé Delta Series Products T wo or more Classé Delta series pr oducts are requir ed, at least one of which must have a touchscreen display . 2 Category 5 Network Cables  ese are or dinary network cables, commonly used for broadband Internet connections.  ey should be typical “ straight through ” cables not the “ [...]

56 using CAN-Bus CAN-Bus is controlled via the touchscr een of any Delta series component.  ere is no master component, so Delta series systems where two or mor e units have a touchscreen can be controlled through any of the touchscr eens. Howev er , it is probably easiest to start using CAN-Bus through just one. CAN-Bus is accessed by pr essing[...]

57 CAN-Bus shared features  e following CAN-B us features are shar ed by all models. configuration Selecting confi guration will pr esent the CAN-Bus confi guration scr een allowing access to name, global brightness, and global standby featur es.. • name enables you to set the name that this component will be listed under in the CAN-Bus devi[...]

58 CAN-Bus model specific features  e following CAN-B us features are model specifi c. PlayLink  is feature is exclusiv e to Delta series disc players and will only function if the disc player is connected to a CAN-Bus enabled pr eamp or surround sound processor . When PlayLink is active, pressing play on the disc play er will also automatic[...]

59 amp info A vailable for amplifi ers only , this screen displays the data pro vided by the heatsink and AC M odule temperature sensors. NO TE:  is featur e is only accessible when the target amplifi er is on. event log Reserved for amplifi ers, this feature is a protection circuitry ev ent log which can only be accessed when the target ampl[...]

60 Troubleshooting Always refer any service problems to your Classé dealer . How ever , if you run into a problem, we recommend r eferring to this section fi rst as sometimes an error is not a malfunctioning product, but simply an ov ersight in the proper setup of the component.  is section provides suggested solutions to potential pr oblems. [...]

61 3 Only one speaker seems to be playing. 3 If the problem occurs with all inputs, check the interconnecting cables between the preamp and the po wer amp. Also check the speaker wires for secure connections. 3 If the problem occurs with only one input, check the input balance control setting of that input: select the problem input, then access the[...]

62 3 If there is a pr eview image but no output image, check the display connection. Ensure the YPrPb cables are pr operly connected if using a component video TV . Some display devices may not display the source ’ s output resolution (for example, component 720p going into a standard defi nition display or an HDMI source which is preset to an u[...]

63 Care & Maintenance T o remov e dust from the cabinet of your S urround Sound P rocessor , use a feather duster or a lint-free soft cloth. T o remo ve dir t and fi ngerprints, we recommend isopropyl alcohol and a soft cloth. Dampen the cloth with alcohol fi rst and then lightly clean the surface of the S urround Sound P rocessor with the cl[...]

64 Specifications All specifi cations are accurate at the time of printing. Classé reserves the right to make improv ements without notice.  Frequency response 20Hz - 200kHz < 0.1dB, stereo analog bypass 20Hz - 20kHz < 0.2dB, all other sources  Distortion (THD+noise) 0.001%, digital source/bypassed analog source .002%, processed analo[...]

65 Dimensions 17.50" [ 444.5mm ] 6.00" [ 152.4mm ] .78" [ 19.7mm 6.78" [1 7 2 . 1 MUTE MENU SSP - 800 2.42" [ 61.5mm ] 2.20" [ 55.9mm ] 13.09" [ 332.6mm ] 17.50" [ 444.5mm ] 12.66" [ 321.6mm ] 17.30" [ 439.3mm 2.42" [ 61.5mm ] 12.40" [ 315.1mm ] 1.65" [ 41.9mm ] 16.48" [ 418.5mm [...]

66 Installation Worksheet Source : ______________________________________________________________ Audio Connector:______________________________________________________ Video Connector:______________________________________________________ Input:_______________________________________________________________ Source : _______________________________[...]

[...]

Copyright © 2008 Classé Audio, I nc. Printed in Canada. V 3.1 091908 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 N or th America: 1 800 370 3740 email: classe@bwgroupusa.com Eur ope: 44 (0) 1903 221 700 email: classe@bwgro[...]