Electrical certification might not sound sexy, but as a customer, it’s more important than you might think. High-end audio has historically either ignored or circumvented import standards imposed in export markets, relying instead on ‘self-certification’. In other words, a company ‘certifies’ that its products meet the expected standards in a given market – which is fine, unless something goes wrong…
While electrical standards might be commercially inconvenient, they exist to ensure the safety of people buying the product – and not just in terms of the risk from electrocution, catastrophic failure or chassis temperature. They also test emissions, energy consumption, engineering integrity and consistency. CB electrical certification helps ensure that the products bought in overseas markets are the same and operate to the same standards as those sold in a manufacturer’s home market. It also gives manufacturers wider access to markets, meaning that customers don’t have to rely on illicit, grey imports if the product isn’t officially distributed in their own country. As an end-user, it’s all about reliability, consistency and serviceability – things that should come as standard in high-end audio, but sadly, all too often, don’t…
As Florian Cossy, CH Precision’s CEO explains, “CH is now one of the very few high-end audio companies whose products are fully certified to CB level”, a fact reflected in the growing number of, and presence in, export markets.
If you’d like to know more about CB certification, its implementation and benefits, you can read the case study on CH Precision, written by Apave Certification, the independent company responsible for carrying out the work.