THD+N vs. Frequency showed that, regardless of the sampling, the CDP-502 performed beautifully. Most of the improvement is seen going from 16/44.1 to 24/96. Improvement between 24/96 and 24/192 in the audible band (20 Hz - 20 kHz) is not noticeable.

The frequency response was down 0.5 dB at 20 kHz, regardless of the sampling. But, with 24/192, there is a response far beyond the audible band, and for example, it is about 1 dB down at 30 kHz.

Conclusions

For a player as expensive as it is, the CDP-502 could stand for some improvement in its core video performance.  Its de-interlacer performance is very good though, and the National Semiconductor AVC 2510 chip set handles most material very well, as there were really only a few minor hiccups it experienced in our DVD Player Benchmark™ tests. It would be hard for me to recommend the 502 based on its video performance alone, but people in the market for a player in this price class will undoubtedly be looking at it for its ultra high-end audio performance. That, combined with a robust video feature set and the ability to up-convert any material to various HD resolutions through HDMI, makes the CDP-502 an impressive offering overall.  

Comments (16)

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written by JEJ , April 10, 2008

This is Adrian Wittenberg's first Benchmark review, and he did a superb job. He is now promoted to the status of Senior Editor (and DVD Player Benchmark Guru). You will be able to read about his background in our About section shortly.

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written by Tyler , April 11, 2008

Great job on the review, if maybe a little too politically correct in commenting on the video quality. I find it amazing that a several thousand dollar DVD player is bested in video quality by a $200 Oppo. Even though I realize the audio quality is the sell here, for that much money, I would expect flawless video performance. Even a Denon 5910 is half the price, with outstanding audio (and SACD) and video quality. Oh well, there IS that fancy preview screen.

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written by Waterbug , April 11, 2008

why spend $8,000 on a dvd player when you can get much, much less on a Blu Ray player that can play DVD too? Like the PS3 for instance where it can also play games too. Who cares about the large on-screen display on the player, is still not worth the money.

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written by JEJ , April 11, 2008

The Classe is designed primarily as a great audio player, which it definitely is. You won't get this kind of analog audio performance from an inexpensive DVD player. To get down to the 0.005% THD N across the entire audible spectrum requires very expensive engineering. It all depends on what your focus is.

Logic Mr. Spock
written by NoStrings , April 12, 2008

High end audio is all about high prices and lots of metal. If one is after sound AND video quality, how about an Oppo player (currently ranked the highest in the DVD Benchmark tests), fed into a Benchmark DAC? It doesn't get any better than that; unless, of course, the metal matters.

It's still all about the speakers.

High End is as High End does
written by Gregor Samsa , April 12, 2008

The proof is in the listening. Classe has been making terrific sounding audio devices for decades (especially power amps). Why they can't make a decent video player is a question they would have to answer.

By the way, upconverting a SD DVD signal to 720 and beyond does not result in its having "high definition resolution", even if it does make the picture look a little better. This is the kind of misinformation I expect out of a Best Buy salesman, not "Secrets".

Nice spread sheet
written by Kieran , April 13, 2008

I like the new results format. Can we get some results retro-actively in this format, please? Specifically, the PS2 with the new(er) firmware? Still wondering what the upgraded PS2's total benchmark score is, compared to it's original benchmark score of 61 (IIRC).

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written by JEJ , April 13, 2008

Adrian will do the calculations for the last couple of players and post the scores, but we can't redo the format for previous players. What's in the past has to just stay in the past. We move forward now with the improved format, beginning with the Classe. I am creating a new index that will allow you to compare charts for different players side-by-side, and will publish it with the next Benchmark review.

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written by Kieran , April 13, 2008

That comparison feature sounds excellent! I wouldn't dream of suggesting you spend time to update all or even most of the past benchmark reviews. It's just that some of the intermediate format (with the bar graphs) don't have the total benchmark scores, and also can't be compared to players in the old format, or the new format. So those reviews (if not too many) would seem ripe for an update.

Upcoming benchmark reviews...
written by Praveen , April 15, 2008

What are the upcoming benchmark reviews that we can expect? Thanks!

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written by JEJ , April 15, 2008

Here is the Benchmark chart for the Oppo DV-983H:

http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/cd-dvd-player-product-reviews/dvd-players/oppo-digital-dv-983h-dvd-player---a-secrets-dvd-benchmark-review.html

Copy the entire URL into your browser address window. It does not click forward from this message post.

why bother
written by Gerry , April 16, 2008

With Bluray coming out on top why do high end players now come out without this capability? Who in there right mind would spend 8K for DVD player that does not play tru HD. The Focus is to have both Great Audio and Video not just Great Audio with a marginal Video.

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written by Waterbug , April 17, 2008

about the audio performance, most people prefer the digital connection and let the a/v receiver or the pre/pro does the DAC and processing. So, this $8,000 is unnecessary for many that doesn't want the DACs and processing done on the player.

Its funny that this $8k player take a long time just to boot up and load the disc when many inexpensive dvd players boot up very fast. Even some blu ray players boot up and load pretty fast too and they are 10x to 100x less expensive.

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written by JEJ , April 17, 2008

Most may want to let their SSP do the CD decoding, but some will want to have the exquisite level of decoding that the Classe (and some other players out there) can do. They are the ones willing to shell out $8,000.

Living in the past
written by JA , April 24, 2008

Some Classe engineers or Dept. heads should be fired.If one wants great CD playback,there are many players(Arye,Cary etc..) that play as weel but less expensive.And for video,wake-up smell the roses Classe.

McIntosh MVP 871 review
written by macfan , May 05, 2008

Now that Classè's high-end DVD offering has been reviewed; are there any plans on doing a review of Mac's player?

There haven't been any reviews whatsoever for that product, and it would therefore be very interesting to have it properly reviewed & benchmarked here!