New Classe Delta amps and stereo pre amp

@gallus -- The DSP section of the CP-800 was OK, but not great. I own one, and I have moved it from my main system to a desktop system. In the main system, an Anthem STR Preamp at $4k (and often discounted) gives far more transparent DSP.

With any luck, the DSP of the Delta Pre is better, though it appears that some of its limitations (only 5 filters per channel, only one set of filters storable) were not addressed by Classe in the update. If you’re considering one and interested in streaming (LAN or WAN), check whether they’ve fixed the failure of the streaming input to do gapless playback. That was a major "gotcha" of the CP-800, and really indefensible in a $6000 unit. (I asked for, and received, a discount on that account.)

@gallus - Classe is owned by Sound United, which I think is based in North America. It's the factory assembling the Delta series that is in Japan.

Do I recommend the Anthem STR Preamp? I think it's a great choice if you want its feature set: a stereo DAC-preamp with ARC room correction, digital tone controls and digital crossovers for mono or stereo subs. It is as transparent as any DSP I have used (many, including the Weiss EQ1, a fixture of high-end mastering studios). I think that ARC does a fine job of automatic RC and provides a good deal of flexibility for manual tweaking. The software does have a few minor bugs, but Anthem has been whacking away at those.

The DSP is done at 192 kHz, and finally, we have a consumer preamp with DSP that is truly transparent -- at least in my very quiet room through my Janszen electrostatic speakers.

I have not used the phono stage, and the STR might not be the best preamp for a vinyl fan who wants to keep everything analog. That can be done with the STR, but you lose all the DSP features, which are one of its strengths.

The user interface of ARC is quite good, and the interface of the STR, also. I like that (for calibration) you can connect the mic to a laptop, which connects to the STR through your home network. This greatly reduces the fuss involved in calibration.

I hope that helps.

@gallus - The Anthem also lets you bypass digital conversion of analog sources. From the manual:

CONVERT ANALOG
By default, analog inputs are converted to 32-bit / 192 kHz using a high-quality A/D converter to allow Anthem Room Correction, bass management, distance calibration, bass/treble controls, listening modes, and rumble filter. If this setting is changed to No, signal processing is bypassed and only level adjustment remains.

Since I no longer have analog sources, I haven’t compared the STR to competing units strictly as an analog preamp. It is outstanding as a digital one, controlling two subs and two mains with RC for the bass.

I hope you have fun with your project!

I am curious, too; though I think their pricing has moved out of my bracket.

The amps are not class D. The preamp seems to be a significant update of the CP-800; by which I mean, similar features + phono. The MSRP if $12,000 is twice as much.