When it comes to musical integrity, nothing says “walk silently – but carry a big stick!” quite like the new L10. When it comes to high-end electronics, there are fewer top-flight line preamplifiers than any other product category, a fact that reflects just how critical their role is to system performance – and how difficult they are to design. So, when you already build the L1, widely recognized as one of the finest line preamplifiers ever heard, how do you set about improving it? By keeping the recipe and refining the ingredients – something that’s easily said but which has taken all of our accumulated knowledge and experience to achieve. But achieve it we did. The L1 set a new benchmark. The L10 sets an entirely new standard for musical performance. Any line-stage needs to be quiet, transparent and stable. It needs to be seen and not heard – at least until you remove it from your system. Then you should hear exactly what it brings to the party! It must anchor the incoming signals and deliver them onwards, propelled from a firm footing that ensures dynamic and musical authority. It must pass the source signals in your system, without limitation or disturbance, leaving no trace of itself on their passage. It must be all powerful but also invisible… The L10 retains the fully discrete, balanced and complementary design, ultra-short signal paths and heavily regulated and filtered, multi-stage power supplies, wide-bandwidth, high slew-rate and DC coupled topology of the L1. It incorporates the same sophisticated R-2R ladder volume control, sophisticated DC detection and cancellation circuitry and software control. But while the overall topology might seem familiar, the execution takes performance to a completely new level. Signal paths have been further shortened and their routing refined, to reduce induced noise and distortion. Every single discrete component in the signal path has been reassessed and wherever possible upgraded. The external power supply is a dedicated design, specific to and optimized for the L10, with increased regulation and massively increased capacity. Feedback topology can be user selected between local and global settings to suit musical preferences and system requirements. The result is the most musically sophisticated line preamplifier that money can buy: A lower noise-floor, increased transparency, harmonic layers and textures (especially at low frequencies), wider dynamic range, greater dimensionality and a more natural tonal palette. But what really elevates the performance is the sheer sense of human agency, purpose and drama – from the smallest, poised musical nuance to the most shocking orchestral crescendo, the clarity of the most convoluted solo line to the drive and impact of the most powerful rock band. Irrespective of scale or genre, whether it’s a time to reflect or a time to party, the L10 will breathe life into your music, transport you to the original recording. Being a CH Precision component, versatility, upgradability (to full four-chassis, true monaural topology) user configurable operation and a full-function control interface come as standard. Exceptional audio and musical performance comes as standard too – except that in this case, that performance is truly extraordinary.
