CH Precision Retires the P1 and L1 for the $39,500 P1.5 Phono Stage and L1.5 Line Preamp

CH Precision has replaced the two oldest products in its catalogue. On 23 October 2026 the Swiss manufacturer, based in Préverenges, announced the P1.5 phono stage and the L1.5 line preamplifier, successors to the P1 and L1 that have anchored its 1 Series since roughly 2016. Both new units carry a US price of $39,500 (€41,500 / £34,200 / CHF 34,200), and the optional X1 external power supply — an existing accessory rather than a new one — remains $17,500 (€18,500 / £15,300 / CHF 15,300). Sales go through authorised CH Precision retailers. No ship date has been announced.

The headline for existing customers is that neither model orphans its predecessor: CH Precision says P1 owners can have their units upgraded to P1.5 specification, and L1 owners to L1.5. Upgrade pricing is not published and comes from dealers.

Speaking to Part-Time Audiophile, CH Precision's Head of International Sales Kevin Wolff framed the timing simply: the P1 and L1 had been in the line since about 2016 and were the longest-serving products the company still made. In both cases the stated approach is the same — pull circuitry down from the flagship 10 Series, the P10 Reference Phono Stage and the L10 line preamplifier, into the one-box 1 Series chassis.

P1.5: three gain stages, two passive RIAA sections

According to CH Precision, the P1.5's circuit architecture derives from the P10. It uses three active gain stages with the RIAA equalisation split between two passive filter sections. The company makes a point of the topology's granularity: each capacitor in those filters serves a single pole or zero, which means alternative equalisation curves can be implemented largely by changing resistor values rather than swapping capacitance.

That matters because of the optional EQ module. In standard form the P1.5 is an RIAA device; with the module fitted, CH Precision lists EMI, Columbia LP, Decca/London, DGG/Teldec, NARTB/NAB, Capitol/AES and Philips curves. Two further switchable refinements are offered: the Neumann 50kHz pole, and a second-order anti-rumble filter at 7Hz.

Connectivity follows the P1's split personality. There are two dedicated current-sensing moving-coil inputs, which the company describes as presenting the cartridge with a virtual ground, plus one voltage-sensing input for MM or MC use. That voltage input is the flexible one, with more than 400 selectable loads spanning 20 ohms to 70k ohms — a range that applies to that input alone, since current-mode operation does not work the same way.

CH Precision quantifies the generational change in decibels. Equivalent input noise is said to be 6dB lower than the P1 on the current-sensing inputs and 4dB lower on the voltage input, while gain headroom rises by 6dB in current mode and 5dB in voltage mode. Gain itself is adjustable in 3dB steps. Two setup routines carry over and remain central to how the unit is used: a Gain Wizard that sets gain per cartridge and per input, and a Loading Wizard for the voltage input that measures how frequency response changes as loading is varied — turning cartridge loading from guesswork into something you can look at.

Mono listeners are explicitly catered for. The P1.5 offers stereo and mono operation including channel summing, plus modes intended for two-coil and single-coil mono cartridges. The phono stage is designed and built in Switzerland. The Absolute Sound published the P1.5 release the same day.

L1.5: diamond buffers and a 20-bit resistor ladder

The L1.5's borrowed technology comes from the L10. Its discrete "diamond" input buffers are derived from the flagship, and buffer the hot and cold halves of a balanced signal separately. Input selection is by relay, and the RCA connectors are mounted directly to the circuit board; CH Precision's product page notes that the BNC inputs found on the previous model have been removed.

Volume control is done in the analogue domain by a fully differential 20-bit R-2R resistor network, covering -99.5dB to 0dB in 0.5dB steps. Ahead of it sits a discrete Class A gain stage with selectable 0, +6, +12 or +18dB, so system gain can be matched to source and amplifier rather than leaving the attenuator working at the bottom of its range. The signal path is discrete Class A with local feedback and fully DC-coupled, ending in a dual-differential output stage the company says is intended for long cable runs and demanding amplifier inputs.

All the control functions — input, volume, balance, polarity, mono and monitoring — are handled digitally but galvanically isolated from the analogue circuitry. Users reach them through the front-panel dual-concentric knob, an infrared remote, or the CH Control app for iOS and Android.

Power supply arrangements are tiered. Shunt regulators feed the critical stages, with a high-current series regulator for the output stage, and the optional X1 moves the transformer and primary regulation out to a separate chassis. The X1 is not new and is compatible across CH Precision's range.

What is not yet known

Neither release gave a delivery date, and neither the manufacturer's pages nor the trade coverage published dimensions, weight or power consumption. Part-Time Audiophile's writer states he has not heard either unit, so there are no listening impressions in circulation yet — everything above is CH Precision's own description of what it has built. UK dealer The AudioWorks also carried the announcement on launch day. Full specifications are on the company's P1.5 and L1.5 pages.

Dollar figures for non-US prices are converted at the ECB reference rate for 23 October 2026 and are approximate.

This article was written by an AI system from Into The HiFi AI Desk, generated from the following sources, with no human editing pass before publication: The Absolute Sound — CH Precision Introduces the P1.5 Phono Stage, Part-Time Audiophile — CH Precision P1.5 and L1.5 Debuts, CH Precision — P1.5 Phono Preamplifier, CH Precision — L1.5 Line Preamplifier, The AudioWorks — New CH Precision L1.5 / P1.5.