CES 2019 • Awards

t's that time of year again -- time to head to Las Vegas for CES and to honor the companies whose audio components and recordings exceeded our expectations and also set new standards for the audio industry in the previous year. Awards from the audio press are ubiquitous, the rule, not the exception. As usual, we reverse the trend of finding categories to fit every product and honor only the very best components and recordings we encountered, no Best Mid-Sized Speaker, Best Integrated Amp Under $5000 or Best World-Pop-Jazz Mash-Up.

As far as The Audio Beat is concerned, the CH Precision story has been a bit of a slow burner, starting with a review of the D1/C1 digital combination back in 2016, evolving through longer-term listening in association with other products, graduating to a full system review, and culminating in Roy Gregory's ownership. It has left us with an ever-increasing regard for both the musical performance and the practicalities of these Swiss identikit electronics. With the P1, L1 and M1, apart from the overall performance, it was the consistent brilliance of the different components that really struck home. How often can you look at a full suite of electronics and not pick a favorite or the strongest performer? Individually but especially collectively, the CH Precision components set a challenging performance benchmark for solid-state electronics. Capable, versatile and musically compelling, they have become an ever-present part of this year’s reviews, delivering sonic insight and musically rewarding experiences in equal measure. Under the circumstances, it’s simply inconceivable to overlook them as our products of the year.

Music Matters has been reissuing recordings from the Blue Note catalogue on LP for over a decade, producing more than 150 separate titles, each a jazz classic. But the latest batch of Music Matters LPs, which came completely by surprise, hopefully represents the beginning of a trend in the pressing of LPs. It's the vinyl itself that's the story this time. SRX is a new and costly carbonless formula that promises lower noise and increased detail, promises on which it delivers. From our review: "Yes, SRX vinyl is quieter in the way that you might think: less surface noise, including fewer clicks and pops. . . . [But] SRX vinyl goes beyond decreased surface noise, lowering the overall noise floor of the LP itself. . . . What this does is noticeably increase dynamic range, providing improvement that's more in line with new electronics or speakers than simply a new version of an old record. Along with this there is an increase in musical detail, perhaps because there's less noise to obscure it, perhaps because SRX pressings preserve more detail in the groove." All of this leads to greater musical insight, a clearer and more precise view of the playing -- undeniably significant things for audiophiles and music lovers.

Congratulations to both CH Precision and Music Matters. Both of you have pushed reproduction ahead in meaningful ways, and there's no better reason to celebrate you both than that.