The greatest integrated amplifier I’ve ever heard? Secondhand Exotica with the CH Precision I1

This may be an unusual way to start a post but I am in need a favour. I’ve been given an immaculate CH Precision integrated amplifier and quite reasonably asked to have a listen to it, share my thoughts and then to find a good new home for said amp. Now if I had either the money or talent to do so, I would be filming a Battersea Dogs Home-esque advert to try and convince one of you to let this amplifier into your music room. Unfortunately all that I have at my disposal is a keyboard, a website and Facebook so I’m going to have to convince you the old-fashioned way that missing out on this amplifier would become on of those regrets that follows you to the grave. Here I go then, it’s perfect.

I fear this will be a tricky one to write, as the things that make articles interesting are finding and discussing the faults and foibles that somehow give a kit of kit either a personality or eccentricity. Normally, I would accuse something without fault to be boring or lacking in character but I have been transfixed by the CH. I’m not sure about what I see as a slight lack of sensitivity on the volume control but this would be like calling Emily Ratajkowski ugly because you don’t like the shape of her fingernails – its not something that matters in the slightest. For any of you other mere mortals who, like myself, were not entirely familiar with the CH Precision brand perhaps an introduction would be of use. CH Precision exist at a Mesospheric level of the hobby, a level of both price and performance that simply is mind boggling to most – to this end, I have only encountered a handful of CH systems in the wild in my brief time in Hi-Fi.

CH Precision have existed for a little over a decade designing uniquely modular components with a design philosophy based around keeping signal paths as short as possible, circuit designs elegant and casework that is mechanically silent. The modular aspect of the design comes in the form of the “card cage construction” which allows the features and functions of the device in question to be expanded or improved upon – For example, the standard I1 (which retails at £31,100) that I have here has been fully decked out with the Network, Phono Clocking and USB modules installed; Transforming it into a Roon-enabled, turntable-ready and jitter-free masterpiece at a bottom-clenching £43,000. This particular unit rested in it’s box for almost a year after its purchase and it wasn’t even turned on until I was able to supply some long-overdue speakers! Now needing a new home, this particular I1 could be yours for £23,000.

Now that the refit at Oxford Audio has finally lumbered to a close it was finally time to get a feel for how the CH Precision performs. Removing the amplifier from it’s packaging, I am met with an incredibly solid piece of Swiss finery that tips the scales at a reassuringly hefty 33kg – this weight no doubt due to the size of the transformer required to satisfy it’s 100WPC output. The fascia is exceptionally clean, with just a display and a single volume control to break up the lines. The Volume control is very clever, serving for all of the controls on the amplifier thanks to a collar that rotates halfway down it’s stem. Once levelled on its spikes, it was time to get it powered up and see what it was made of!

In order to get the best idea of what the amplifier sounded like, I decided to opt for a source familiar to me over the internal streaming capabilities of the I1 in the form of the impeccably neutral Aurender N200. I settled upon Fink Team’s enthralling Kim standmount (with it’s astonishingly realistic AMT tweeter) as my loudspeaker of choice and finally nestled myself into the sofa to get acquainted with the amplifier. Queuing up Rhye’s “Feel your weight” the I1 immediately impresses as it starts to flex its muscles; the way that notes decay and fade is exceptional, the guitar on the right channel has a verve and snap that I hadn’t noticed before and Mike Milosh’s delicate vocals are resolved exquisitely. These traits were equally noticeable with Raury’s “Devils Whisper” with the decay and general feel of the presentation making me feel that I had been put into a completely different listening room. The CH showed a rare talent in unravelling the various vocal tracks and giving each a solid and tangible position in side of the sound stage.

So far the CH Precision had been idiosyncratically precise in reproducing my choices so I decided to be a little more eclectic in my taste and tried the Skream remix of La Roux’s hit “going in for the Kill”. Here the CH Precision demonstrated some traits that I have long associated with Swiss amplifiers; with a snap and alacrity that would get any foot tapping. The characteristics of the amplifier seemed to be not dissimilar to the Devialet range in that, owing largely to a complete absence of any discernible noise, distortion or hardness, I found myself turning the amp up and up. Despite it’s “meagre” 100WPC, even at high levels the amplifier seemed totally unflappable. I finished my afternoon with the CH Precision I1 with David Elias’ beautiful “Vision of her”. This allowed the I1 to demonstrate all of its myriad strengths; the bass guitar is rich and full with a bounce and rhythm that gets the foot tapping. The acoustic guitars on the left and right are expertly resolved and David’s voice is hauntingly real. As I began this post, writing about the CH Precision has been surprisingly difficult as, for almost all of the time, its just perfect.

Buy it… buy it before it’s gone.

The post The greatest integrated amplifier I’ve ever heard? Secondhand Exotica with the CH Precision I1 first appeared on Oxford Audio.

This may be an unusual way to start a post but I am in need a favour. I’ve been given an immaculate CH Precision integrated amplifier and quite reasonably asked […]

The post The greatest integrated amplifier I’ve ever heard? Secondhand Exotica with the CH Precision I1 first appeared on Oxford Audio.