AudioPlus News and Views » AudioPlus — The Marketing and Communications Specialist for the AV Industry

New Chord Company USB SilverPlus

Steve — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 14:48:46 +0000

Responding to demand from computer audiophiles requesting a Chord quality USB cable, the USB SilverPlus launches with no pretensions to technical supremacy through advanced materials or unique construction techniques. It does however benefit from twenty years’ experience in designing cables that make a real difference.

USB SilverPlus is based on the technical understanding and empirical experience that developing successful cables bring.

More information and images

Chord launches new VEE Plug

Steve — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 08:30:45 +0000

Inspired by the hand-turned acrylic plugs fitted to the high-end Sarum, Signature and Indigo interconnects, the new VEE Plug delivers demonstrable improvements in performance to all of the Chord interconnects now supplied as standard with the VEE plug.

More information and images

New Chord ActivePlus High Speed HDMI

Steve — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 14:49:48 +0000

The Chord Company has started to deliver its new high-end HDMI cable to retailers. The new Active SilverPlus High Speed HDMI cable with Ethernet replaces Active SilverPlus.

This new cable, fully certified as High Speed in all lengths – and available in lengths up to 15 metres – includes an audio-optimised audio return and Ethernet capability.

Click here for more information and images

Active SilverPlus includes an updated version of the in-line high-frequency filter used so successfully on the original Active HDMI. The filter removes high-frequency interference ensuring the best possible picture and sound.

New Chord CrimsonPlus

Steve — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 16:42:04 +0000

It has often been said that designing a budget hi-fi product is far harder than a cost no object state-of-the-art gargantuan product.

To design a budget cable that is genuinely a significant improvement over its predecessor is a tough task. To make it better in communication of music as well as traditional hi-fi requirements is doubly tough. Chord CrimsonPlus rises to the challenge, bows and takes the applause.

More information and images

New Chord HDMI Active

Steve — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 12:48:14 +0000

To follow the success of Chord’s award-winning HDMI Silver Plus, and the recently introduced, performance-on-a-budget HDMI SuperShield, was always going to be an interesting challenge. Chord considers that they have ridden the bucking bronco of performance and have produced a refined thoroughbred that will enhance the viewing pleasure of the enthusiast – the new HDMI Active. Interestingly, the most significant improvements with the HDMI Active are the sound quality of the new cable.

HDMI Active

SuperShield – Chord’s new budget HDMI cable available now

Steve — Tue, 19 May 2009 20:05:58 +0000

Chord’s new and extremely pretty SuperShield HDMI is available now.

It’s targeted at the entry-level end of the specialist market where the performance:price ratio is absolutely critical.

But entry-level at Chord is just an expression that means a greater challenge

The SuperShield is HDMI 1.3b certified.

It uses 26awg oxygen free copper conductors for high conductivity, and low density gas filled polyethylene insulation for its excellent dielectric properties.

Each of the pairs of conductors are protected by a dual-foil shield, and the overall cable is additionally shielded by a foil and a high density braid, effective to high frequencies in traditional Chord fashion.

Gold-plated connectors, soldered with Chord’s chosen lead-free solder, help to achieve the best performance and complete the package of an extremely cost effective HDMI cable for the new world economy.

Another DacMagic power supply trial

Steve — Mon, 04 May 2009 14:44:18 +0000

Decided to use Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours, but slightly more unusually, the DVD-A rip so the source is 24/96. Unlike quite a few DVD-As, this one appears to have some content above 22k. Amazing though, that given the total available dynamic range they still needed to ‘clip’ the recording. Still sounds rather good though.
To start I compared the standard power supply with the Maplin L54BR. Pleasant surprise, the Maplin delivers a subtlety of delivery that doesn’t emphasise any particular instruments. The original PS, in comparison, seems to make the bass line and the hi-hat a little more obvious in the mix of Dreams and decreases the importance of Stevie Nick’s voice.

Using track 7 , The Chain, showed the original as having a slightly ‘sharper’ delivery, more detail perhaps but certainly less music. The main difference was in the low end but this changed the overall presentation. The Maplin just delivered more music but in a controlled and balanced manner.

I then dug out the 500VA transformer I’d tried before – now in an aluminium box and with a ferrite on the output – in common with the original Dacmagic’s supply. This PS delivered more power to the presentation, more extension apparently but was slightly slower. It had better separation of instruments, but not really more music.

The more comparisons of power supplies I do with the Dacmagic the more impressed I am of the overall balance of the design.

I will carry on using the Maplin PS. It is easier to hide away, as it isn’t a walwart, and more importantly it improves the performance making it just that little more balanced and even handed.

The music playback system was a HP2133 netbook running Foobar and ASIO drivers connected by USB2 to a M-Audio Transit sound card which was connected with a Chord Optichord to the Cambridge.

HDMI cable silences my listening room

Steve — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 19:44:14 +0000

Having a PC in my listening room was convenient as I have often been experimenting with different audio playback apps, sound cards, and all the various drivers like ASIO and Kernel Streaming.
The problem though was the noise of the PC. All that investment in a great hi-fi system and a signal to noise ratio destroyed by computer fans.
The solution came to me last week and it was simple.
OK, I have an advantage: a cable company as a client. Nigel at Chord was kind enough to send me a 5m HDMI Silver Plus cable and two DVI to HDMI adapters.
The experiment was to move the PC outside my listening room and then to use a 5m Chord HDMI and 5m USB cables to monitor and control the PC.
The worry was running a good monitor at 1920 by 1200 over a 5m HDMI cable. Would the image quality be reduced? The image was absolutely fine and so much so that I temporarily tried a 10 m cable which worked just as well.
Definitely a result. Noise removed from my listening room, the hi-fi sounds significantly better. The computer is no harder to use. I’ll use a USB DVD drive near the monitor for normal stuff but walk the few metres to use the Plextor Premium CD drive for serious ripping.

Ideal for dinner parties: the Wadia 170iTransport?

Steve — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 23:35:01 +0000

I was very lucky a few days ago to listen to a Wadia 170iTansport.
I knew I was going to be able to listen to it for a few hours so I chose a few wav rips of CDs and imported them into iTunes.

I restored my second generation 8Gb Nano so I would have “uncontaminated” storage. It’s now loaded with all the wav rips.

I listened to the digital output of the Wadia connected to the Behringer SRC2496 via a Chord Signature Digital Cable.

Performance using the Behringer was absolutely ideal for dinner parties and background music. There was absolutely no chance of anyone being dstracted by any emotion from the music. The best results were with the Behringer upsampling to 24Bit 88.2k before doing it’s D to A conversion.
I was a bit concerned that the results I heard were so far from what I have read in some magazines’ reviews so I connected the same digital cable to the Naim HDX as a source and using the same rips all the passion and feeling of the music was restored.

Well, what does that mean? I guess it says that the 170iTransport works in some systems and not in others.

Chord SuperScreen Mains Cable

Steve — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 14:39:38 +0000

As designers will often say, designing a product with a strict budget in mind is very often far harder than designing something state of the art.

Chord set out to achieve superb performance at a very affordable price. The SuperScreen mains cable delivers wonderful value for money at £65 for a one metre cable.

SuperScreen Mains

Chord Company HDMI Switching Matrix

Steve — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 16:23:12 +0000

In response to calls from frustrated customers, The Chord Company is supplying its first ever electronic component. Many owners of flat screens and projectors have benefited from connecting their components with Chord’s award winning HDMI Silver Plus cable but this hasn’t solved an increasing problem: the lack of available HDMI inputs. The solution is an HDMI Switching Matrix

HDMI Switching Matrix

Chord Signature AES/EBU Digital Cable

Steve — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 12:48:53 +0000

Chord has spent many months experimenting, with what has often been a frustratingly difficult connection, and believes that the new Chord Signature AES/EBU is the right answer.

One of the real challenges with the AES/EBU connection is that audiophiles have often found that, despite the technical advantages that the AES/EBU connection offers, a high quality S/PDIF connection will produce the better quality sound.

More information and images

Chord launches Indigo Plus Digital Cable

Steve — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 13:48:49 +0000

The Chord Company has added a new digital cable to their range of Indigo interconnects. The Indigo Plus Digital features the same precision-machined resonance-damping acrylic plug surrounds and secondary signal return conductor configuration as used on the Indigo Plus analogue cable. There however, other than the indigo sleeve, the similarities end. The Indigo Plus Digital features specially treated high-purity, oxygen-free, solid-core copper conductors, a gas foamed polyethylene dielectric and a unique combination shielding system designed to protect the signal from high-frequency interference.

Information and Images here

The Thumbnails are back

Steve — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 12:46:00 +0000

Still don’t quite understand why but some of my thumbnails files were thumbs-filename and some were thumbs_filename.
Now I’ve renamed them all to thumbs_filename they all seem to work again.
I can move on to more important things like getting the next Chord press release out.

Cambridge Audio Dacmagic

Steve — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 18:07:58 +0000

I’ve had a the new Cambridge Audio Dacmagic for maybe a couple of months now and its not disappointed. For two hundred pounds it’s fabulous value.

I started off running it in and using it connected via a Chord Prodac Prodigital coax cable from my Squeezebox 3. It’s a great match for the SB3, delivering increased clarity and drive over the SB3′s line out. Sort of seems in the right price range for an upgrade to the SB3 as well.

Next was connecting it via USB to my HP Note 2133 to play internet radio. Using Radio Paradise’s 128AAC stream as the primary source – a great souce of quality music with great sound – it sounded flat and boring. What was surprising was just how easily it connected and Win XP recognised it straight away. Really plug and play.

Adding a M-Audio Transit sound card connected via USB and then feeding the output from the Transit via a Chord Optichord optical cable into the Cambridge changed the sound quality completely: dynamics returned, life and energy returned and music was fun to listen to again. Internet radio can sound surprisingly good.

I do have an even better internet radio player but I’m not free to talk about that yet.

Two or more things to try with the Dacmagic yet: a larger power transformer and changing to ASIO drivers as these are supported by the Transit. Might even try the three filters sometime. I reckon that there is loads more to get out of it if only I had enough time to experiment.