Chord Company Signature Series

Launched in 1998 and their first interconnect to use seriously effective shielding. Chord Signature was the result of intensive research into high frequency interference.

 

Chord Signature Series

Discontinued replaced with SignatureX Tuned ARAY

Launched in 1998 and their first interconnect to use seriously effective shielding.

Chord Signature was the result of intensive research into high frequency interference.

It has influenced every cable that they have developed since.

Then Tuned ARAY arrived.

The most profound advance in cable design Chord have ever made.

No reviews, no adverts and not even a press release, Sarum Tuned ARAY flew on its own.

As the Sarum and Signature cables are assembled by hand, they could now (with a conductor redesign) produce a Signature Tuned ARAY cable range.

The result was a revelation in musical coherence, putting the performance first. Hear the music before the recording and mastering.

Signature Super ARAY streaming cable

If you’re using Tidal or you’ve invested time ripping your music collection, try using this between your switch and streamer.

It isn’t an Ethernet cable, it’s a hand assembled interconnect using Super ARAY conductor geometry and it’s built to make the music you stream sound more musically involving.

Signature Super ARAY Digital

Latest improved design with greater flexibility. Signature Digital cables have been updated with our revised Super ARAY conductor geometry, that can dramatically improve detail and coherence.

Signature Super ARAY USB digital audio interconnect

With a music orientated laptop and USB DAC, this cable can form an important part of a remarkable alternative music source.  It’s designed and built to carry the digital signal between a laptop and DAC extremely accurately. The only commonality between this and a USB cable are the plugs.

Chord Signature Series AES/ EBU

At some point in the very late nineties a particularly well thought of DAC and CD transport began to appear with an XLR socket alongside the coaxial and Toslink sockets. It was we think, the first appearance of a pro-audio digital connection called AES/EBU on domestic equipment.

Signature Tuned ARAY Analogue RCA

Chord Signature Series RCA

A perfect example of why Tuned ARAY cables are so special. Hugely revealing, with wonderful musical transparency.  It can transform players that cost little more than the cable.  Combine any decent mid-price player with Signature Tuned ARAY to produce a thrilling musical performance.

The Latest RCA version is fitted with PTFE plug surrounds. While not as strikingly beautiful as the previous acrylic versions, they produce a markedly better performance. There’s a degree of extra clarity and a reduction in mechanical noise.  Enough of an improvement for customers with older cables with acrylic plug surrounds to return their cables to be fitted with the PTFE version.

Signature Tuned ARAY Analogue DIN

Producing the Signature Tuned ARAY meant redesigning the internal conductors. Given how popular Sarum cables were with Naim owners, the new Signature conductors had to be suitable for DIN plugs. Signature Tuned ARAY DIN cables bring smaller Naim systems alive in the same way Sarum transforms their bigger systems.

Signature Tuned ARAY Analogue XLR

Chord Signature Series XLR

Using identical conductors for signal and return is a very easy was of improving the performance of an audio cable – something we’ve been doing for many years. With many XLR cables, the two signal wires end up being used to carry the hot (in phase) and the cold (out of phase) signals, while the earth/return connection is made with the shield.

We think there’s a better way, so we add a third identical conductor to carry the earth/return signal. It takes the shield out of the circuit and by doing so we can seriously reduce unwanted interference. All of our XLR analogue cables are built this way.

We also fit the Tuned ARAY conductor geometry, protective black braiding and silver-plated Neutrik XLR plugs.

By using separate shielding on all three conductors and the Tuned ARAY conductor geometry, we have been able to produce a neutral and musically transparent XLR cable.

 

Additional information

Version

Din – Din 1mtr, Din – XLR (Naim NAP 250) 1mtr, RCA to RCA 1m, Super Aray Digital BNC – BNC 1 mtr, Super Aray Digital RCA – BNC 1 mtr, Super Aray Digital RCA – RCA 1 mtr, Super Aray Digital XLR AES/ EBU 1 mtr, Super Aray Power 1 mtr, Super Aray Streamimg 1mtr, Super Aray USB 1mtr, XLR to XLR 1m

Brand

Chord Company

Chord Company

THE CHORD COMPANY BEGAN

The Chord Company was formed in 1984. It all started over dinner one night in Salisbury, when a group of visiting Naim Audio USA retailers asked Naim Audio UK for a good-quality DIN-to-RCA interconnect. At the table, was one Sally Gibb, then married to a Naim Audio executive, who made the (historic) suggestion that she make the cables and start a business. With the blessing of Naim Audio, the journey to make cables for America began. With USA referring to cables as ‘cords’, the name The Chord Company, with its obvious musical connotations, seemed perfect and it quickly stuck. Sally drew a logo, designed the packaging and started testing prototypes. Completely British design and construction, although difficult to source at the time, was paramount and days of searching eventually led to suppliers of sufficient quality. Friends at Naim Audio provided expertise and advice, with many of them helping to build the cables. The first prototype was named “Chrysalis Cable” and the Americans swiftly returned with an initial order of 250! Cables were built, tested, packed and taken along to the Post Office.  Invoices were typed on a typewriter! After two steady years, The Chord Company got its first press review (by Malcolm Steward) and then the phone started to ring…

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