That doesn’t mean that there’s no upgrade path. For starters, the modular card cage construction makes the unit future proof (it’s worth remembering that the original C1, launched well over a decade ago, is fully upgradeable to current C1.2 status), while as we shall see, the firmware operation itself makes the product upgradable. Secondly, although the I1 itself cannot be doubled up or expanded, you can add a second power amp, running from the pre-out sockets, in order to bi-amp your speakers. You can integrate it into a 1 Series system involving the D1.5 transport and T1 clock, but that’s pretty much where your external options stop. There’s no route upwards onto the rest of the CH performance ladder. Of course, that’s just another way of saying that I1 owners find themselves in the same boat as other integrated amp users. But it’s a point worth making, given that owners of other 1 Series products enjoy first-class travel come upgrade time.
Original I1s were plenty flexible but notoriously picky when it came to partnering speakers (something that made the bi-amp option particularly appealing): for example, the Stenheim A2 or A5 worked beautifully, while the more recalcitrant A3 was a definite no-no. Even with carefully chosen speakers the amp tended to a clean, polished, restrained and poised performance, rather like a frosty deb wearing a white dress to the prom. If you wanted your ‘date’ to grab you by the tie and haul you onto the dance-floor, you’d be better served looking elsewhere. But all that changed as 2022 transitioned to 2023. CH launched a firmware upgrade for the I1, which resulted in substantially improved musical performance. The ads at the time featured a picture of Muddy Waters, over the tag-line, “Got my mo-jo workin’…” a sentiment which summed up the improvements perfectly. In fact, if I were writing just about that update/upgrade, you’d probably be reading an article entitled, How Stella Got her Groove Back. Best of all, the update was free to all owners, further underlining the benefits of software control. The newly updated I1, all growed up, suddenly gained a significant measure of dynamic, temporal and musical authority – exactly the qualities it needed to add to its impeccable carriage and manners.
Not just heavy metal…
Time then to return to the question of the thinking behind the I1 and the job(s) it’s intended to do. The integrated amplifier’s software control and the functional versatility that results are common features with all CH Precision products. Even an analogue amplifier like the M1.1 features a heavy investment in software. Don’t confuse that with the unit being a ‘digital’ amp. Nothing could be further from the truth. It is in fact a classic, fully differential, fully complementary, ultra-short signal path, Class AB design, built around a massive linear power supply. Where the software comes in is in monitoring and maintaining the amp’s optimum operating conditions, even under load (the patented Exact Bias system) and in allowing the switchable output topology, adjustable gain and global feedback – as well as all of the ergonomic niceties, like display content, brightness and colour. In other words, it wraps the crucial analogue signal path and amplification in a protective cocoon of software – a basic approach that applies to all of the CH analogue components (the P1, L1 and the power amps in the 1 Series and their equivalents in the 10 Series). As an integrated amp you might assume that this is how the I1 is also configured. But as we have seen, that isn’t the case. In fact, in conceptual terms at least, the product the I1 most resembles is the C1.2 DAC/Controller. Maybe, because of the presence of its output stage it might be more useful to think of it as a ‘Power DAC’ – except that this is also misleading, given the standard provision of analogue inputs and the option to convert them to MC phono usage.
