Интегральные усилители — CH Precision I1

The I1 Universal Integrated Amplifier is the one-box system of CH Precision, the Swiss company otherwise known for multi-chassis separates. It combines a line preamplifier, a digital converter with digital inputs and two channels of power amplification inside one chassis, and optional boards add a moving-coil phono stage, USB and network streaming. Pricing at the time of its US launch ran from USD 38,000 to 52,000 depending on the fitted options.

Key specs that matter

Rated output is 2 x 100 W RMS into 8 ohm and 2 x 175 W RMS into 4 ohm, with 45 A of peak current and a minimum load of 2 ohm. For analogue sources there is one XLR pair plus two RCA pairs, with selectable input impedance of 94 kohm or 600 ohm balanced and 47 kohm or 300 ohm single-ended, and they accept up to 8 V RMS balanced or 4 V RMS single-ended. The standard digital board carries CH-Link HD, AES/EBU, coaxial S/PDIF and TOSLINK, accepting PCM from 44.1 to 768 kHz and DSD from 2.82 to 22.58 MHz. THD+N is quoted below 0.0025 percent from 20 Hz to 20 kHz A-weighted, with signal-to-noise above 125 dB. The case measures 440 x 440 x 133 mm and weighs 33 kg.

Engineering and use context

Analogue sources are digitised to DXD at 24 bit and 384 kHz per channel, so every input passes through the same DSP and volume path. Conversion uses one multi-bit delta-sigma DAC per channel with the in-house PEtER filter, a short, low-ringing, time-optimised algorithm, and full MQA decoding. The output stage is fully discrete, dual-mono and symmetrical, class AB, running from a 1000 VA transformer backed by 100,000 uF of custom reservoir capacitance. Gain is +24 dB nominal, and volume spans -96 dB to +24 dB. The optional phono board is a current-sensing moving-coil input with an impedance under 100 milliohm at virtual ground and offers RIAA, eRIAA, Decca, Columbia, EMI and Teldec curves held to plus or minus 0.01 dB. The USB board takes PCM to 384 kHz and DSD to 5.64 MHz via DoP, while the Ethernet board streams the full PCM and DSD range of the digital inputs. A clock sync module is also offered. The panel uses an 800 x 480 AMOLED screen and a dual concentric encoder, alongside an IR handset and an Android app. Silver is standard, with anthracite or champagne optional.

Pairing

A preamp output on XLR, rated at 4 V RMS, allows biamping with a second power amplifier, and the I1 can also run in a pure analogue power amp mode behind an external DAC and preamp. The CH-Link HD input accepts the D1.5 or D10 disc transports of the brand.

Alternatives

The I1 is the only integrated model in the CH Precision catalogue, where all other amplification comes as separate preamplifiers and power amplifiers.