So all the equipment that passes through my hands from here on in, will be judged against what I now know to be possible. That doesn’t mean it will automatically be found wanting, or that there’s only one possible ‘answer’. The ‘value’ touchpoint is still highly relevant and cost can’t help but be a defining factor in all this. And it’s reassuring to know that the kit I already have, front end, amplifier and all, isn’t diverging from that path it’s just not as far along as I’d like to think. But I can now ask questions of products that aspire to be high-end that I wouldn’t have asked before. Namely, “are you taking me along the path I have seen?” Even lower-end and budget gear can be examined in that context, albeit making due allowance for the designers’ choices of where they compromise. But this has been so much more than just an academic exercise. The CH amps help redefine the state of the art, but in a musical, visceral, emotionally compelling way; they just get more music off the medium and into the room. It’s been quite a while since I’ve wanted a hi-fi product as badly as I want these CH Precision amplifiers. I don’t quite want them more than I want my second kidney, but I won’t pretend the thought didn’t, however fleetingly, cross my mind…
Prices
L1 £28,000
A1.5 £31,900
A1.5 Mono £60,400 (pr)
(single input card version, requires a second pair of input cards for active bi-amping operation)
CH Precision Sàrl
ZI Le Trési 6B
1028 Préverenges
Switzerland
+41 (0)21 701 9040
info@ch-precision.com
