The shift from the Yvette to the larger, more capable, but more demanding Alexia V, also demanded (at least that’s my story) the opportunity to (re)visit the next rung up the CH amplification ladder. In for a penny, I may as well go for the pound and pushed right up to the limits of what my system would accommodate, cost being no object. Hence the arrival of CH Precision’s largest single chassis amplifier, the M1.1 coupled with the L1 line-stage with an X1 power-supply, a huge step up in price from the other CH combinations that I have auditioned, yet still just about manageable in terms of physical size. The all-important footprint is identical and, if push really comes to shove, they can even be stacked, using their internal mechanical grounding system and the supplied couplers. The line stage and power supply are supplied with a connecting umbilical cord, but to get the full, super-charged, small room CH Precision set-up, I substituted an umbilical cord supplied by Nordost, with an obvious impact on musical substance and dynamics.
The M1.1 amplifier may be manageable in size (440 x 440 x 226mm), but it packs 71kg/165 pounds of weight into that trim exterior. Its output at 4 ohms is 350 watts per channel, beefy compared to its smaller siblings – the A1.5, which delivers 275 watts, the I1’s 175 watts or indeed, the 140 watts of my Audio Research Ref 160 S.
I have spent my life as a vacuum tube devotee, having only once briefly considered, but then reconsidered, straying from the path. Having listened to much of the solid-state gear offered by high-end companies over the past many decades I felt comfortable in my entrenched position. As correct as my views may have originally been, listening to CH Precision equipment at shows, in other systems and in my own home, has forced me to bend my unyielding views to a much more nuanced position. These days, there’s no denying that the CH Precision equipment I’ve lived with possesses and reproduces those positive attributes I treasure in vacuum tube sound, while bringing their own solid-state strengths too.
What are those tube-like characteristics that elude most solid-state gear? Historically, tubes have been generally provided unparalleled imaging, dimensionality and soundstage proportions, better dynamics, and a warmer, richer, more harmonically diverse sound. I’ve heard the CH amps challenge and even exceed tubes in those performance categories, but to achieve that performance, you are going to have to work at it. Simply dropping the M1.1 into the system in place of the Audio Research isn’t going to cut it. To make a serious assessment of just how the L1/X1/ M1.1 fared in these as well as any other attributes when compared to top flight or even my tubed equipment, was going to require some considerable adjustment in the system and particularly the speaker set up.
Heavy lifting…
This is about more than just lifting and connecting – although the pre-plugging set-up does require a fair amount of exertion. At 165 pounds the CH Precision amplifier is the heaviest piece of electronics I have installed in my music room. The truck driver arrived without an electric hand-cart, working lift gate, or helper. Having helped him heave the substantial cartons into my house, I was able to roll the amplifier box, end-over-end into my equipment room, where I could unpack it. There are amplifiers that arrive in wooden crates. Thankfully this isn’t one of them, the double wall cardboard carton making it possible, even practical, to move and un-box the M1.1 single-handed.
