Classe builds nice pre- and poweramps, but they seem to have dropped the ball on both the .3 and the .5.
Whereas very nicely built this player does not sound better than many average $500 massmarket players, and its not up to snuff with the the newer breed of rather good sub $ 1000 players, and at $1300 I consider it a rip-off

I listened to this player through a Classe system. Imaging and soundstsge are extremely shallow, bass is limited, midrange is suppressed and treble is tizzy.

Independent of price I would give this player two speakers, but since it costs way more than comparable products I am reducing that to one speaker.

See My review on the Rega Planet

I like the CDP. 3. It has a warm sound and seems to capture the music well. I would buy the unit again.

Strength:Balanced outputs, HDCD, solid build quality, nice remote, unique styling

Weakness:drawer flimsy, no display off feature

This unit replaced my Theta Miles, which was able to present detail in spades but which left me cold, communicating virtually no emotion behind the music. The Classe offers a very good overall compromise, being superbly detailed–if not quite as detailed as the Miles–but also posessing a warm, non-fatiguing sound. The HDCD feature is gravy–I don’t use it but it’s nice to have it if I start buying HDCD encoded discs. The chipset (based on 20-bit processing) may not be state of the art and I don’t think the transport is near as nice as the Theta/Pioneer Stable Platter, but I think this player is pretty well thought out for its price point.

I also considered the Arcam CD72 for about $700, which lacked HDCD but had a 24 bit processor; the Arcam CD92 which was a very nice player but a bit more expensive. The Rega Planet 2000 was a little too cheesy from an operational standpoint and I felt it to be unrefined sonically.

Present system configuration:
Audio Research Classic 30
Krell KSL
Classe CDP .3
Von Schweikert Research VR3
Synergistic cable and interconnect

Similar Products Used:

Theta Miles

Strength:Solid Built,Price,

Weakness:CD Tray,Skipping of tracks

My System
Arcam Alpha 10
B&W 805 Nautilus
Classe CDP.3
Kimber 8TC speaker cable
Kimber Hero Interconects

I enjoy listening to the symphony the Classe delivers when I pop in my Jazz,Clasical or Pink Floyd CDs.

I seem to spend more time in my room after I purchased the Classe.I used to have a Arcam 7SE CDP

Strength:Sonic qualities

Weakness:acceptance of discs, skipping during tracks

During the last 1 1/2 months I tested 3 players in a row. In the end, they all appeared to have the same faults:
1. the player did not accept certain CD’s (more than 15 uptil now). In most cases it concerned CD’s which were also silver on the label side. Cleaning of the CD’s did not help.
2. Occasional skipping during play, mostly during the first tracks of the CD. Cleaning the CD’s sometimes did solve the problem (skipping already occurred when there were only one or two light fingerprints on either side of the disc).
I decided no to try a fourth player and am now looking for a player of another brand (I will test the Arcam FMJ CD23).
I do regret this very much, because the sonic qualities of the CDP.3 were excellent. Especially old jazz and 50’s/60’s music sounded a lot better. No sharpness anymore, better balanced instruments than on the Marantz. It looked like a very solid player too.
As the manual of the CDP.3 indicates, the performance of this player depends heavily on the interconnects you are using. I tried several: Sonic Link Blue (British brand), MIT 2, 2 NBS types, an interconnect made to the specifications of the audio dealer and Pure SilverSound Quattro, which I ordered through the internet.
They all produced a different sound image (I use a NAD 106 pre-amplifier, a NAD 214 amplifier and Rogers LS 3/5a speakers). In the end I chose between the more expensive NBS interconnects and the Pure SilverSound interconnects. I find them almost identical, however the Pure SilverSound cables are less than half the price of the NBS. Therefore I bought the Pure SilverSound.

Value rating: 4 stars for sound
Reliability rating: 1 star

Similar Products Used:

Marantz CD 72, Densen Beat400 (Danish brand).

Strength:HDCD sweet sounding

Weakness:price

this player sounded very musical to my ears and detailed.it sounded much smoother then the other players except the rotel i have been looking for about three months now i think this is the best of the bunch for my ears.the classe is good looking player also . great sound stageing very 3d.

Similar Products Used:

adcom 750 Denon 1650ar arcam 9 rotel 991

I have had a Classe’ .3 CD player for two months now. I find it to be excellent. The sound is very transparent and clear. The bottom end is solid, tight and deep. The midrange is clean and crisp with a smooth silky texture that is a touch forward. The highs are well defined and very open. The soundstage is wide and deep. It handles textures very well and provides a wonderful, easy sound that is satisfying and easy on the ears. They did a particularly nice job on this puppy. The only negative is less that bank vault drawer – ok but nothing like closing the door of a BMW 5 series.

Strength:Detail, Imagining, Harmonic richness & balance, Soundstage size & and 3 dimesionallity

Weakness:Dynamics!!!

With all the positive strengths I’ve listed, I would not have bought this player if I had to pay MSRP. There is a reason for this inconcistancy with the above mentioned strengths. That reason is noted in the “Weaknesses” section of this review.
Dynamiacs!!!!. In my listening experience,the ability to go from soft to load (dynamiacs, both Micro and Macro) is very important in capturing the “feel” of of a live preformance. while the CDP.3 blew away my 8 year old front end in every other area of preformance, the lack of dynamiac contrast was a constant reminder that I was listening to a recording, and not live music. I accepted the trade off,which says alot about the preformance of the CDP.3 in all the other areas I mentioned above.
I beleive this subtractive flaw is the reason so many people find this player “Smooth”
At $900.00 I beleive I got a bargian and am happy with my purchase. listeners who do not find this flaw signifigant
will still be getting a decent value at MSRP. Yes, the player is that good

Strength:Smooth Natural Sound

Weakness:Lack of Detail

Dear

Reader

This is a follow-up on my prior review.

The Classe CDP .3 build quality is state of the art, but its sound quality is not.

It is a fine sounding $1,500 player, but is simply out “Classed” by the 24-bit offerings from AR and Classe. Granted these players are twice the price, but they offer a far better musical experience.

The Classe CDP .3 offers the following.

Top. Smooth and open, but lacks detail.

Mid. Natural. Getz/Gilberto #2 shines in this space.

Low. Solid and tight.

Tone. Spot on.

Sound Stage. Excellent placement, but bettered by the AR and Classe 24-bit offerings.

In a nutshell, do not expect a world beater in the Classe CDP .3 player. The Classe CDP .3 offers outstanding build quality and natual sound. It is a solid value in this space, and I would expect owners of the CAP 101 and CAP 151 to mainly purchase this player. It mates well with other Classe products, but as has always been the case with high-end audio, it may not be the best choice in a “Non-Classe” setup.

I am very pleased with my Classe CDP .3, and highly recommend this player to all CAP 101 and CAP 151 owners. On a final note, it works very well with Monster Cable M1000i (XLR) and Kiber KCAG offerings.

A safe choice for those in the Low-End of the Classe sapce.

Similar Products Used:

AR and Classe 24-bit players