What Tube Preamps Synergize Well with CH Precision?

[zbub]

I've got to say, bringing home dates is a situation wherein Digital has analog beat. An LP is not what you want to be turning over LOL

Uh-oh I hope I haven't triggered green font LOL

The same argument can be made about SS vs. tubes... For me guilty as charged on both accounts... So the million-dollar-question at that time was whether the date was vinyl/tube worthy LOL

 

[JimmyS]

To the original question : Awhile back, I was able to audition the CH M1.1, L1, and DAC in my system. Once I had a baseline of the full CH sound, I began to replace the CH pieces with my system pieces. The REF10 paired nicely with the M1.1 in my system.

 

[heihei]

I know many will be sold on the "CH is a System" thing. God Bless those people.

But for those who want to inject tube magic into their system, which tube preamps work great?

IMHO the L1 is the star of the CH show, esp with the P1 attached, so I'm not sure why you'd want to do this.

 

[LL21]

IMHO the L1 is the star of the CH show, esp with the P1 attached, so I'm not sure why you'd want to do this.

Interesting, I have spoken with someone who has heard L1+Power supply, M1.1 monos and the L10 and M10 monos. Conclusion is the same as yours...the CH preamp is the star of the entire show for those so far who love CH.

 

[PeterA]

The same argument can be made about SS vs. tubes... For me guilty as charged on both accounts... So the million-dollar-question at that time was whether the date was vinyl/tube worthy LOL

that would be Sophia Loren. The digital solid-state version would be Pamela Anderson.

 

[TDX]

Interesting, I have spoken with someone who has heard L1+Power supply, M1.1 monos and the L10 and M10 monos. Conclusion is the same as yours...the CH preamp is the star of the entire show for those so far who love CH.

Me was told the same thing too

 

[heihei]

Interesting, I have spoken with someone who has heard L1+Power supply, M1.1 monos and the L10 and M10 monos. Conclusion is the same as yours...the CH preamp is the star of the entire show for those so far who love CH.

FWIW Roy Gregory has the same view.

I compared the L1 / X1(not sure why I typed P1 above) with AR Ref 10, VTL 7.5, Bespoke, Audionet Stern, Mayer 10Y Silver, Ypsilon PST100, and probably some I've forgotten, and the L1 / X1 stood out (although it is the most expensive). Of these, the Stern is slightly ahead of the L1 without the X1 due to lower noise floor.

However, Audionet Stern / Heisenberg > CH L1 / X1 / M1 monos IMHO, leading me to conclude the Heisenbergs are the star of the Scientist series for Audionet.

 

[LL21]

Most interesting Heihei...direct experience always good to read. I have spoken with Roy about CH in the past, and he was effusive about both the CH 1.1 series as well as the 10 series (prior to his formal review at the time).

 

[John C]

I just recently made the change to CH from Audio Research. The Ref 40 pre was the centerpiece of my system. The more research and listening that I did the more I realized that my best move was to replace the Ref 40 with the L1. The whole system is incredible, but the L1 really is a game changer. From my experience a person making the move the CH should audition the L1. Many of us have heard over the years that "you need to have tubes in the chain 'somewhere'". I don't miss the tubes at all! I have more weight and detail, which I expected- but I expected those changes to come "at a cost". I did not lose any musicality or texture. I own Zellaton speakers and they are singing like never before.

 

[LL21]

I just recently made the change to CH from Audio Research. The Ref 40 pre was the centerpiece of my system. The more research and listening that I did the more I realized that my best move was to replace the Ref 40 with the L1. The whole system is incredible, but the L1 really is a game changer. From my experience a person making the move the CH should audition the L1. Many of us have heard over the years that "you need to have tubes in the chain 'somewhere'". I don't miss the tubes at all! I have more weight and detail, which I expected- but I expected those changes to come "at a cost". I did not lose any musicality or texture. I own Zellaton speakers and they are singing like never before.

I have to say, with this latest generation of SS, it certainly seems a number of super-tube-fans have moved across and not just for something different (Gian60 is a great example having it appears spent the vast majority of his time with ultra-rare, high end tubes).

Dartzeel's references, Audionet Scientist series, CH 1.1 and 10 series and (I would say this) Robert Koda have made big converts of people who moved to them from tubes (Mike Lavigne, Arnie, JackD201, Gian60, MadFloyd, LL21 and no doubt more)...speaking for myself, we had tubes in the amplification for 21 consecutive years until only a few months ago...CJ preamps for that entire period of time. And as much as the CJ GAT 2 is a stellar work of art, I am even happier with the Robert Koda K15EX (and substantially more so).

 

[microstrip]

I have to say, with this latest generation of SS, it certainly seems a number of super-tube-fans have moved across and not just for something different (Gian60 is a great example having it appears spent the vast majority of his time with ultra-rare, high end tubes).

Dartzeel's references, Audionet Scientist series, CH 1.1 and 10 series (and I would say this) Robert Koda have made big converts of people who moved to them from tubes (Mike Lavigne, Gian60, MadFloyd, JackD201, LL21 and no doubt more)...speaking for myself, we had tubes in the amplification for 21 consecutive years until only a few months ago...CJ preamps for that entire period of time. And as much as the CJ GAT 2 is a stellar work of art, I am even happier with the Robert Koda K15EX (and substantially more so).

You are forgetting the D'Agostino Relentless Preamplifier ...

 

[LL21]

You are forgetting the D'Agostino Relentless Preamplifier ...

Is that in the works? Wow...

 

[PeterA]

I have to say, with this latest generation of SS, it certainly seems a number of super-tube-fans have moved across and not just for something different (Gian60 is a great example having it appears spent the vast majority of his time with ultra-rare, high end tubes).

Dartzeel's references, Audionet Scientist series, CH 1.1 and 10 series (and I would say this) Robert Koda have made big converts of people who moved to them from tubes (Mike Lavigne, Gian60, MadFloyd, JackD201, LL21 and no doubt more)...speaking for myself, we had tubes in the amplification for 21 consecutive years until only a few months ago...CJ preamps for that entire period of time. And as much as the CJ GAT 2 is a stellar work of art, I am even happier with the Robert Koda K15EX (and substantially more so).

it is an interesting observation. Similarly, many people have moved from vinyl to streaming.

 

[Bonesy Jonesy]

IMO CH is a product that works incredibly well as a system, as it was designed to be. This does hold true for most high end companies as if you want to hear what their gear was designed to sound like then I believe listen to it as it was intended. This does not mean you can't mix and match but mix and match usually leads to being dissatisfied . I don't say this lightly it is my experience over 40 plus years. Products that are designed to be used together , work properly and will show the end result of the designs. CH is a product that I feel really strongly with this as I have had three clients buy the amps and run their digital straight through and a few others that mixed some other preamp and ALL of them within one year of buying the amp tried and PURCHASED a CH preamp. It just completes the system.
If the amp and preamp you have doesn't sound good together it should be telling you something. A word to the wise!

Synergy of individual components is everything. Staying with one company to build your system should give 100% synergy.

 

[Atmasphere]

IME doing synergy gets you into trouble- pairing a bright amplifier with a dull speaker usually results in more distortion (usually the brightness in an amplifier is caused by higher ordered harmonic distortion).

Better that all the bits of the system stand on their merits rather than their weaknesses.

 

[MadFloyd]

I've tried Al M's Octave preamp with my CH M1.1s. I LOVED it.

 

[Elliot G.]

I have owned both the L1 and X-1 and the M1.1, I now own the M10 and L10. The combo's work and they work very well together. The new 10 series is a significant jump and improvement in overall sound. I received the M10 first and used it for a while with my L1 and then later on got an M10 that can stay in my showroom. ( all ten series was hard to obtain for a while and that now has dramatically improved) The TEN series together is something IMO that is very special and needs to be experienced when talking about what pieces should go with other pieces. They are just magic together and it is not subtle nor hard to hear. IMO this is the place to start to understand what the brand is capable of. It is obvious that not everyone likes or is even looking for the same thing here on WBF. I will say that with the speakers I own and represent, with the cables I own and represent these items form CH work and sound great.

If you have one of the ten series pieces you owe it to yourself to get the other, with that as they say a word to the wise

 

[caesar]

Then why are you asking this at all? If you don't care for the CH sound, why would you be interested in how it pairs up with another brand?

I totally get that you like tubes and there's nothing wrong with that. But this post just comes across as an opportunity to stir up the pot, as if you really wanted to start a thread titled "I can't believe people actually LIKE CH Precision".

I like the CH resolution. But I think the tone is lacking. it‘s too lean, not realistic- in many systems.

high end is a hobby. Some times it’s fun to match things up , break through the group-think, and come up with better or more satisfying sound that the audio herd and the so called experts…

also, it’s interesting to note , that many of the CH dealers have given up the CH digital and are going with wadax in all CH systems…

kind of contradictory on the part of the “experts” to whine about hobbyists wanting to “break” the ch system approach because someone wants the tone and texture of tubes to meet Their personAl needs, but then - for all to see - throw out CH digital out of the CH “system” in favor of wadax dac - because it matches their taste . So systems approach is just BS to suit one’s taste or marketing narrative. No wonder no one trusts experts these days

 

[Phantom-Audio]

I like the CH resolution. But I think the tone is lacking. it‘s too lean, not realistic- in many systems.

high end is a hobby. Some times it’s fun to match things up , break through the group-think, and come up with better or more satisfying sound that the audio herd and the so called experts…

also, it’s interesting to note , that many of the CH dealers have given up the CH digital and are going with wadax in all CH systems…

kind of contradictory on the part of the “experts” to whine about hobbyists wanting to “break” the ch system approach because someone wants the tone and texture of tubes to meet Their personAl needs, but then - for all to see - throw out CH digital out of the CH “system” in favor of wadax dac - because it matches their taste . So systems approach is just BS to suit one’s taste or marketing narrative. No wonder no one trusts experts these days

I am of the opinion that CH amplifiers are among the finest in terms of resolution, transparency, and flexibility of gain controls. They produce a robust sound stage and are generally easy to operate, eliminating the inconvenience of constant tube maintenance. These are superb amplifiers, especially suitable for large or difficult-to-drive speakers. My experience listening to them in Munich solidified this belief.

Before anyone assumed the role of CH's Indonesian distributor, I had aspirations to undertake this responsibility myself, which involved extensive travel and opportunities to listen to various CH systems alongside friends and acquaintances. On the whole, these are impressive amplifiers, though they struck me as somewhat flat and less emotionally engaging or can I say less musical?, bordering on sterile. While the dynamics were excellent, I have experienced superior dynamics with horn-based systems that utilise tubes, hence the importance of power and efficiency.

Our preferences are inherently diverse, but I was hoping to find a solid-state amplifier that could render tubes obsolete for me. However, in the end, I decided to align with a different company. I discovered their amplifiers performed exceptionally well in both areas, offering the advantages of both designs in one package, thus circumventing the need for tube upkeep.

 

[andromedaaudio]

I m sure my CAT SL 1 legend will be a match in heaven .
If gold goes to 2900 / ounce at the end of the year i ll take some money of the table and "invest" in audio.
Most likely a M 1.1 or M10 stereo version