Note: for the full suite of measurements from the SoundStage! Audio-Electronics Lab, click here.
The British audio manufacturer Chord Electronics Ltd. produces some of the most distinctive-looking audio products on the market today. Chord has imbued its products with a unique aesthetic—a fusion of nautical, steampunk, and classic sci-fi themes, wrapped in organic stylism. The design elements of their products include rounded eye-like buttons, colored lights, porthole windows, domes, and gentle contours, which together deliver visual impact and generate curiosity. Chord’s new Ultima Integrated is a ground-up design that continues in this tradition.
Priced at $11,250 (all prices in USD), the Ultima Integrated is Chord’s first new full-width integrated amplifier release in seven years. It debuted at the 2023 High End show in Munich and entered production in February 2024. The Ultima Integrated joins several existing preamplifiers and power amplifiers within Chord’s present Ultima range, including the Ultima Pre 3 preamp and Ultima 6 power amp, both of which Jonathan Gorse reviewed last year on SoundStage! Ultra.
Chord Electronics was founded by John Franks in 1989. Franks was trained as an electrical engineer and previously worked for Marconi Avionics developing state-of-the-art power supplies for fighter aircraft. He applied his knowledge, insight, and innovative ideas to Chord’s inaugural products. Just imagine that—audio products with engineering derived from fighter-jet design—this gives new meaning to “high-end audio.”
Chord’s first major break came when an opportunity arose to design a 200W power amplifier for the BBC. Long story short, the BBC engineers were so impressed, Chord not only won the opportunity to supply the amp, but the approval was fast-tracked. This endorsement directly led to Chord being awarded several other studio contracts, including ones with EMI, Abbey Road, Sony (New York), Windmill Lane, and George Martin’s AIR Studios. This solidification in the professional market led to Chord’s subsequent expansion within the consumer market, where today it offers not only amplifiers, but has become just as well known for its DACs, upscalers, streamers, phono stages, and preamplifiers.
Outside
The Chord Ultima Integrated is a full-sized audio component that measures 5.1″H × 18.9″W × 15″D and weighs 32.5 pounds. Specified power output is 125Wpc into 8 ohms. Tom Vaughan, professional audio and production supervisor at Chord Electronics, informed me that the Ultima Integrated will just about double down into lower-impedance loads, producing 240Wpc into 4 ohms and more than 900Wpc into 1 ohm. Chord rates channel separation of the Ultima Integrated at 100dB and signal-to-noise ratio at 90dB on all inputs. Specified frequency range is 10Hz–200kHz, ±3dB, and THD is 0.01% from 20Hz to 20kHz.
In addition to the left and right five-way speaker binding posts and three-pin IEC power inlet, rear-panel connections include one stereo balanced (XLR) input, one stereo balanced (XLR) A/V bypass input, three stereo unbalanced (RCA) inputs, one stereo balanced (XLR) pre-out, and one 12V trigger input/output.
The build quality is top-notch. Constructed from aircraft-grade aluminum of generous gauge, the overbuilt main chassis hosts an incredibly thick 1.1″ front panel and robust 0.3″ top panel. This main chassis is suspended on four footer columns 2.25″ in diameter, each tiptoeing on a triad of vibration-absorbing footpads. Generous heat sinks span across the back of the Ultima Integrated, while more modest heatsinks are incorporated into the sides of the main chassis.
The top of the Ultima Integrated is stunning: spacecraft-like, with a large circular opening that hosts a domed grille purposed for venting but equally appreciated for providing a fishnet-stocking peek into the internals. A triad of dimples atop each footer column serves for stacking Chord models, matching the vibration-absorbing footpads.
The front panel hosts a Chord nameplate poised above a domed, lighted power button that may have you thinking Tony Stark but was more directly influenced by the cyclops eye of HAL 9000 (a little insight Vaughan shared with me). Flanking that power dome are knobs for volume / input selector (left) and balance / A/V bypass selector (right).
The party doesn’t start until you plug this machine in—then comes the light show! The light surrounding the volume knob is red on start-up for input 1, changes to yellow for input 2, to green for input 3, and to blue for input 4. Input (and color) switching is achieved with a push of the volume knob or a press from the supplied IR remote. The light surrounding the balance control is white-lavender by default; a push enables the A/V bypass feature and changes the light to magenta. The lighted dome in the middle of the power switch in the center is red in standby mode, but turns turquoise when the amp is powered on. Through the top fishnet dome the innards can be seen lit up like a cityscape by what looks to be about a dozen (green and blue) LEDs. Is all this extroverted? For sure. Tasteful? You bet—this thing would be at home at the Met Gala.
The Ultima Integrated comes with a full-function aluminum IR remote control that is well sized, easy to use, and ergonomic. However, the remote is rather conservative in its design. I would have been blown away if some of the amplifier’s colorful, sci-fi-inspired styling carried over to the remote buttons. I’m sure that if Chord offered a more stylish remote as an optional upgrade, many buyers of the Ultima Integrated would opt to purchase it. Also included in the box are a quick-start guide (a full manual is available online), a 10A IEC power cable, and two AAA batteries.
My review sample came in full silver; however, there is an option for black side panels and feet. Much the way I feel about Anya Taylor-Joy, I found the Ultima Integrated very attractive, almost seductive in its unique style, an impression only reinforced by its finish and high-quality materials and build.
In use, I found the Ultima Integrated a delight. It’s simple to operate. The chassis only gets moderately warm regardless of how hard the amp is pushed. My nitpicks are that the volume is loud when the volume knob is at the nine o’clock position, and it’s very loud by ten o’clock. So there’s not much usable sweep on the volume control, and it’s not stepped. The balance control has no center detent or marked position. But Vaughan reassured me the control has some leeway—balance will be centered if the control is within one or two degrees of the 12 o’clock position. The shrouded speaker terminals, with openings on their undersides, made it difficult for me to insert my speaker cable spades. I resorted to positioning the amp so that the posts overhung my rack, and removed the power cord for an unobstructed view. I expect most users will consider this a non-issue, because you plug in once and then you’re done, but audio reviewers have a fetish for plugging and unplugging.
Inside
The Chord Ultima Integrated incorporates technology that is as innovative as its industrial design.
Switch-mode power supply: Most modern high-end amplifiers utilize linear power supplies with large, heavy, inefficient transformers and voltage regulators. These PSUs produce significant heat that must be dissipated with large heatsinks. Increased power output requires larger and heavier linear PSUs that require larger heatsinks, and generally a larger chassis.
Chord eschews linear PSUs in favor of its own switch-mode power supply technology, which was originally developed for aerospace, telecommunications, and data-processing applications requiring its high-quality power, efficiency, and advantageous size and weight. It took Franks a decade to adapt this “high-frequency” PSU for Chord’s audio products, which called for compact, robust, efficient, quick, quiet, and stiff power delivery. The first offering was in 1989 with the launch of Chord’s SPM900 stereo power amplifier. To quote Chord: “The Chord power supply is a self-contained, self-monitoring module, which is common to all Chord amplifiers, and is fundamental to their exceptional performance.”
The design involves passing the wall-fed AC through a filter before rectification to create 300V to 350V DC, which is stored in high-voltage capacitors before being “chopped” at 80kHz (on Ultima-range components) by high-voltage MOSFETs (metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors). The output is passed through a ceramic-cored 80kHz transformer and rectified again. The size of that transformer is related to its operating frequency. Since Chord’s Ultima transformer operates at 80kHz, rather than 50Hz or 60Hz (the frequency of household AC), it can be much smaller. Next, the power passes into Chord’s “Dynamic Coupling” system, in which positive and negative rails are coupled with a strong magnetic flux to keep the amplifier dynamically balanced. Finally, the power moves from the PSU to a high-voltage capacitor bank, where small capacitors are used to ensure quick response, given that they will charge and discharge quicker than larger ones. Chord informed me that the Ultima Integrated has 127,600µF of total capacitance.
Chord purports that electrical noise is not an issue with their PSU, with any high-frequency noise being negligible in both measured and subjective listening tests. Chord manufactures three ranges of PSUs, rated at 600W, 2kW, and 4kW, to meet any amplifier application. However, for the Ultima Integrated, Chord uses an externally sourced medical-grade PSU, which is modified for audio use. That PSU can provide 4 × 200W.
Thanks to the Dynamic Coupling system and protection circuits built into their PSUs, “it is essentially impossible to make a Chord amplifier clip and distort,” the company claims.
Dual feed-forward error correction: All Ultima amplifiers use two additional amplifier circuits to monitor and correct differences between the reference input and both MOSFET inputs, as well as the output of the power MOSFETs. A difference signal is applied to the input of the MOSFETs when discrepancies are detected, ensuring accurate output. The corrected output is fed back, as part of the global feedback.
Class-AB sliding bias: All Chord amplifiers are class-AB designs. Their amplifiers all operate exclusively in class-A for the first 4 to 5% of their rated power output, and then begin to slide into class-B as power demands increase. That means the Ultima Integrated, which is rated at 125Wpc into 8 ohms, operates in pure class-A mode for the first 5 to 6W. The output stage consists of Chord’s proprietary MOSFETs, which are dual-die packaged, meaning two silicon chips in parallel within a single T0247-style case. Chord claims this ensures perfect thermal matching and eliminates the need for temperature-balancing resistors in the output stage, thus improving efficiency and stability.
Setup
For my evaluation, the Chord Ultima Integrated was seated on my Quadraspire SV3T rack. I used a Pangea AC-9 power cable at first but soon moved to my Audio Sensibility Statement power cord, as it yielded greater definition and high-frequency presence. I used my Audio Sensibility Statement speaker cables to connect the Ultima Integrated to my Dynaudio Confidence C2 Signature loudspeakers. The digital source was primarily a Roon Nucleus server streaming to my Roon Ready Bryston BR-20, which here was serving as digital streamer and DAC. I connected the BR-20’s balanced output to the Ultima Integrated’s balanced input with Zavfino Fusion XLR interconnects.
Listening
It’s been some time since I’ve had a Diana Krall album on repeat play. But knowing how dependable her recordings are, I thought I’d give in to my hidden desires and listen to “Dancing in the Dark” from The Look of Love (24-bit/96kHz FLAC, Verve Records / Tidal). This choice was rewarded, as the Chord Ultima Integrated bathed me in a smooth, sweet, and detailed presentation that felt effortless. The rasp of the shaker positioned to the right sounded distinct and present, yet had a velvety texture. Krall’s unmistakable voice was ever so real, her expressive intonations and varied tone beautifully rendered by the Chord amplifier. Double-bass plucks were full and tuneful, well endowed with instrumental timbre. I was most impressed with the realism of the woody strikes on the slit drum. The Ultima Integrated laid out the images across a dark, elegantly lit soundstage. The images possessed soft contours—no cookie-cutter outlines here. These images appeared on a black backdrop, with nothing in between to detract attention from them. The soundstage width remained within the outer edges of my loudspeakers, though it stretched out more deeply than my front wall.
I continued my audition with “Lovesong” from Marie Spaemann’s album Gap (16/44.1 FLAC, Anthropoet / Tidal). Spaemann’s unique cover of this 1989 hit by the Cure is one of my go-to tracks. I was taken by the corporeal portrayal of her voice through the Chord Ultima Integrated. The midrange was intoxicating—warm, silky, and impressively lifelike. When the bass strings come in, this expression of aural beauty continued. The sound was full, bold, and resonant, each pluck distinct and tight, with the instrument body having visceral presence. With its sinfully luscious tone and authentic timbre, Spaemann’s cello added to my engagement. I took note of how the Ultima Integrated handled her louder vocal expressions, which made the echo within the recording more evident, expanding the soundstage in height and width, as if pulling away the walls of my room. It was clear that the Ultima Integrated didn’t unduly call attention to reverb, echo, and ambiance, but instead brought these characteristics to the foreground only when they assumed a place of prominence in the recording.
I thought “Keep The Wolves Away” from Uncle Lucius’s 2012 album And You Are Me (16/44.1 FLAC, eOne Music / Tidal) might provide me with some additional insight on the capabilities of the Ultima Integrated. Boy was I right! The bass-drum beats at the opening of the track were cavernous, each strike sounding deep, articulate, and unrestrained. Kevin Galloway’s voice was embodied in flesh and bone with liquid-like smoothness. At the same time, the Ultima Integrated capably rendered the tone of the acoustic guitars, with the resonances of their sound boxes soulfully integrated with their impactful strums. When an electric guitar enters halfway into the track, the Chord Integrated stepped things up, portraying the instrument with an entrancing harmonic richness and euphonic sweetness.
Microdynamics, speed, timbre, and tone—as well as clarity—were characteristics that the Chord Ultima Integrated exemplified, as demonstrated on the track “Fluid” by the Japanese sound designer Yosi Horikawa from his 2019 album Spaces (24/96 FLAC, Borrowed Scenery / Tidal). The track opens with sounds of water dripping within a cave-like soundscape. These localized splashes and their cascading echoes were conveyed by the Chord Ultima Integrated in truly lucid fashion. The ensuing tabla strikes possessed a smack that was both heard and felt, while the sound of the rainstick was immaculately revealing of the seeds slipping through their internal channels. Within this cornucopia of detail, the Chord never overwhelmed, but rather set out details in an orderly and very convincing manner.
Comparisons
I compared the Chord Ultima Integrated with my much more modestly priced Rega Elex-R Mk3 integrated. Through the Elex-R, Kandace Springs’s rendition of “Don’t Need The Real Thing” from her 2018 album Indigo (24/44.1 MQA, Blue Note / Tidal) was quick and clean. There was a tightness to the guitar notes and a grittiness to the shaker, with controlled kick-drum hits. Through the Chord, the shaker acquired a greater sense of dimensionality, with a physical and holographic presence that let it stand apart from the rest of the mix. Percussion was less forward, more rounded, smoother, and more dynamic through the Chord; vocals had greater smoothness, giving them a lifelike quality that the Elex-R could not match. As amazing as the Elex-R Mk3 is at its price point, the Chord Ultima Integrated delivered undeniably elevated sound in all respects.
Rated at 600W into 8 ohms, my Bryston 7B3 monoblocks are much larger, heavier, and more powerful than the Chord Ultima Integrated. At $7495 each, they’re also more expensive. But I was astounded that the Chord Integrated’s delivery of “Norbu,” composed by Bruno Coulais, from the soundtrack to Himalaya: The Rearing of a Chief (16/44.1 FLAC, Peermusic France / Qobuz), was weightier and more thunderous than the Bryston monoblocks. Midrange, especially with vocals, was more lifelike through the Ultima Integrated—smoother and more liquid, if not quite as revealing of microdetail. There was also a greater sense of inner warmth in tone through the Ultima Integrated, while the Bryston 7B3 amplifiers provided a somewhat more delicate, incisive, and detailed portrayal. Reverb, echo, and air, with their resulting expansiveness, were all stronger with the 7B3 amplifiers. While the Bryston amps were not as smooth, rich, full, or weighty as the Chord Ultima Integrated, they delivered greater texture on the lowest audible frequencies, as well as more crunch and bite when called for.
The wrap
To sum up, I found the Chord Ultima Integrated both thrilling and soothing to listen to. It provided an abundance of organic detail and made music sound lucid. Instruments were recreated with incredible physicality, while vocalists were nothing less than embodied. The British amplifier excelled with touch and timbre and enthralled with melodious tone. As refined as the Ultima Integrated could sound, it could also be grandiose, delivering thunderous dynamics with sledgehammer-like weight and scale. No one amplifier can be everything to everyone, but the Chord Ultima Integrated is nothing less than sublime.
. . . George de Sa
george@soundstage.com
Note: for the full suite of measurements from the SoundStage! Audio-Electronics Lab, click here.
Associated Equipment
- Loudspeakers: Dynaudio Confidence C2 Signature.
- Rack: Quadraspire SV3T.
- Streaming DAC–preamplifier: Bryston BR-20.
- Server: Roon Nucleus.
- Cables: Audio Sensibility Statement speaker, interconnects, and power cables; Pangea AC-9 power cables; Zavfino Fusion balanced (XLR) interconnects.
- Integrated amplifier: Rega Elex-R Mk3.
- Power amplifiers: Bryston 7B3 (monoblocks).
- CD player: Rega Apollo.
- Headphones: Grado SR325e.
- Network: Netgear wireless modem.
Chord Ultima Integrated Amplifier
Price: $11,250.
Warranty: Five years, parts and labor, transferable.
Chord Electronics Ltd.
The Pumphouse
Farleigh Lane
East Farleigh
Maidstone ME16 9NB
United Kingdom
Phone: +44 1622 721444
Website: www.chordelectronics.co.uk
US distributor:
The Sound Organisation
1009 Oakmead Drive
Arlington, TX 76011
Phone: (972) 234-0182
Email: support@soundorg.com
Website: www.soundorg.com
Canadian distributor:
Erikson Consumer—An Exertis | JAM business
Baie-D’Urfé, QC H9X 4B7
Phone: 1-800-567-3275
Website: www.eriksonconsumer.com
