CHORD ELECTRONICS SHOWS FIRST NEW AMPLIFIER DESIGN IN 30 YEARS
Chord Electronics today unveiled its new analogue amplifier featuring a state-of-the-art topology design exclusively to press via its packed room at the High End Show in Munich, Germany.
This is quite a landmark as it is the company’s first new amplifier design for nearly 30 years. The new topology will debut in the new Choral Etude stereo power amp, a labour of love from Chord's founder, John Franks.
Franks joked to the audience that while Robert Watts continues to develop world-class DAC technology in the digital audio space for Chord Electronics, that the Etude amplifier is just as special and revolutionary in the amplifier world.
Designed to both complement and exploit the full potential of the company’s award-winning high-resolution DAVE DAC which has built-in preamp functionality, the new amplifier topology has even faster power delivery than existing Chord Electronics' designs.
Franks said that this offers unrivalled dynamics, a life-like delivery of transient information, plus effortless control over loudspeaker drive units.
At the heart of the design is multi-feedback and dual feed-forward error-correction amplifier technology that intelligently adjusts and compensates the individual linearity of the 250-watt lateral structure high-power proprietary MOSFETs, (arranged in two banks of four).
Rated conservatively at 150 watts into 4 ohms and 300 watts in bridged mono mode, power comes from three proprietary Chord Electronics ultra-compact switch-mode high-frequency power supplies; one operates the auxiliary rails and the other two feed the high-current active power rails.
The power supplies’ advanced internal shielding ensures that the signal path is not adversely influenced.
A quoted signal-to-noise ratio is in the order of 108 dBV and an incredibly high damping factor of 10,000 across the whole audio band. The amplifier is extremely fast and able to pass low-level signals up to and beyond 400 kHz.
Connections include balanced XLR and unbalanced RCA inputs, plus high-quality gold-plated speaker binding posts offering 6mm spade and 4mm banana connectivity. The amplifier is bridgeable, offering 300 watts into each channel/speaker, all from a compact chassis.
Naturally, you get the same aerospace-grade machined aluminium chassis and casework as featured on the rest of the Chord Electronics Choral range.
The Choral Etude will be available in the autumn priced at £3,900 and will be available in black and silver.
For more information visit Chord Electronics.
Jay Garrett
StereoNET’s resident rock star, bass player, and gadget junkie. Jay heads up StereoNET as Editor for the United Kingdom and Europe regions. His passion for gadgets and Hi-Fi is second only to being a touring musician.
Posted in: Hi-Fi
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