Specs & Pricing

Equipment
Report
Chapter Electronics
Précis Integrated Amplifier
The genuine article in Class D amplification
Neil Gader
In our last issue we featured
a special report on the
current crop of Class D
amplifiers. Most of us are aware that this
technology is already available in a variety
of applications—from active loudspeakers
and subwoofers to receivers and other
multichannel components. Now, Chapter’s
Class D Précis enters the premium division
of integrated amplifiers.
The Précis (a précis is a summary of
the main points of a theory or argument)
outputs 130Wpc, doubling that into 4
ohms, and features proprietary Class D
power modules. The linestage elements
come from the company’s Preface Plus
preamp, while the output stage is borrowed
from its Couplet amplifier. With its stylish
bead-blasted aluminum-alloy casework, the
Précis also makes a strong impression as a
design statement. A “standby” touch-sensor
illuminates from red to blue when the amp
powers up, and a blue-lit multifunction
front knob controls volume as well as input,
display, and preamp functions. With its
circular wire-mesh vents and top-mounted
glass portal, which allows a view of its
tidy internal layout, the Précis conveys a
Jules Verne meets Steve Jobs impression.
72 December 2006 The Absolute Sound
(Speaking of Mr. Jobs, the mini input jack
on the front panel is designed for iPod use.)
The single knob elegance of the front
panel belies the complexity of the Chapter’s
smart software control. Simply punch
the knob’s center button to cycle through
functions, and give it a forward or backward
twist for the preferred setting. Release it and
it returns the display to the previous volume
setting. The volume control is speed sensitive
to the user’s input and employs ultraprecision
Melf-style surface-mount resistors
for dead-on accuracy at any level. Chapter’s
software “vectors” the controller speed
between 0.1dB and 1dB steps depending on
knob speed or how long the remote-control
button has been depressed.
Prior to any intensive listening, I noticed
how quiet the Précis was. At least part of
the credit should go to Chapter’s efforts to
shield components against RF—an issue
that has grown in significance in the age of
home wireless communications. Chapter also
addresses chassis resonance control by using
a novel base-plate system in which three
sheets of aluminum are bonded together
with an elastic polymer agent. Chapter calls
this Acousteel Vibration Control.
Sonically, it didn’t take a substantial
amount of listening to realize that the Précis
competes against a small fraternity of highquality
integrated amps, irrespective of class
or type. And it does so not by accenting
personality disorders but by hewing to
honest reproduction, top to bottom. First
and foremost, it gets the meat of the
tonal spectrum spot on. The midrange is
as rich and satisfying as a Kobe steak; the
lower midrange and midbass resolution
are striking in their tonal density, with
just a hint of warmth yet an overriding
sense of evenness throughout. Channel
separation—an area that normally isn’t a
strength of integrated amps—is excellent.
At its frequency extremes, the Précis doesn’t
quite have the brute force to drag the lower
depths or the subtlety to elicit a whisper of
harmonic bloom at the treble’s summit, but
I never felt short-changed, either.
What the Précis does do is grip low-level
information with the kind of punch and
energy that emerge from real instruments
played in an acoustic space. During Sinatra’s
“Angel Eyes” from Only The Lonely [Capitol],
it unearthed the deep bass line and a gang
of other musical treasures to a degree that
I didn’t think possible. Not the least of
which was Sinatra’s vibrato—an element of
his delivery that he used sparingly. Even the
delicate harp accompaniment was followed
so precisely that I found myself leaning
slightly forward in order to hear deeper
into the mix. And even if it didn’t play back
the bass of Claire Martin’s “Black Coffee”
from Linn’s Too Damn Hot CD as well as
the Conrad Johnson CA200 or the MBL
7008, the depth from the snare drum and
the natural timbre and growl of a sliding
bass string was more than enough to send a
couple of shivers down my spine.
Transient response is a strong suit
with the Précis. During Arturo Delmoni’s