advertisement


Anyone heard the new Chord Etude?

N

Nikola Krivorov

pfm Member
I am very interested in the Chord Etude and I was wondering if anyone has heard it? I am still in love with my Resolution Audio C50.2 which is the best solidstate amp I have heard to date but my speakers could be a bit better with 150W... T be honest I have never liked any Chord amp as I prefer just a touch of warmth but since this is a new path for Chord I would appreciate a few words from someone who has actually heard it.

I read the reviews, nice words and that is what bothers me - just nice. Some rising distortion at 10kHz according to HifiWorld, hm...
 
They rarely show up for sale... I missed a pair in the US at a ridiculously low price, still hurts. But if the Etude is so good as they say( being the DAVE of amps) why not try it. Of course it would be easier if someone has done a comparison against another amp, I heard it at Munich but it was the usual show condition and I found it quite sterile with the Raidho speakers. Would not judge the sound in such conditions though.
 
Nikola Krivorov said:
They rarely show up for sale... I missed a pair in the US at a ridiculously low price, still hurts. But if the Etude is so good as they say( being the DAVE of amps) why not try it. Of course it would be easier if someone has done a comparison against another amp, I heard it at Munich but it was the usual show condition and I found it quite sterile with the Raidho speakers. Would not judge the sound in such conditions though.
Click to expand...

Yes they do seem quite rare.
Best thing to do is home demo the Chord amp as it might be a different flavour to the resolution Audio.
 
Resolution audio used to be very popular with the Opus range which was more affordable, the Cantata is quite more expensive though it is one of the best DACs and a real SOTA(DAC, preamp, music center). THe price is on the high side for the amps as well and it means few on the second hand market. Even if I buy a new amp I will keep the C50.2 as it is small, extremely beautiful and sounds magnificent, I guess the DNM genes are what I like in it ;) I am in Bulgaria which means I cannot audition anything at home, that is why I was hoping someone with a first hand experience can share a few words.
 
The Suesskind brand is the best kept secret in the Audio Universe :) After years of buying/selling/building speakers I found the Progress and I am done. Joachim Gerhard is the guy that started Audio Physic, then Sonics by Joachim Gerhard and now Suesskind audio, he is one of the true Masters. The Progress is simply stunning - recently it destroyed a Harbeth 40.2 Anniversary and I am not saying that because I have it, these are the words of the 40.2 owner :) One of these stories you might say but that made me buy the Beo LX which unfortunately overloads the room with bass so badly it is sad :( Check this link, nice pictures of the speakers as well: http://zero-distortion.org/analog-shoot-anamighty-sound/

The biamping with another C50.2 is actually a great idea!!! The Cantata 3.0 has two ports for the Link connections to two amps and it might work, I will ask Jeff Kalt about it! But that means another pair of Studio Connections Black Star speaker cables and interconnects, gets expensive pretty fast.

And the Etude is small, I have a Chord DAVE plus M scaler now and it would like very tidy, the only thing that my wife would like more than the extremely beautiful C50.2 would be something smaller :)
 
Nikola Krivorov said:
.....I read the reviews, nice words and that is what bothers me - just nice. Some rising distortion at 10kHz according to HifiWorld, hm...
Click to expand...
The HF distortion was so poor that I wonder if it was faulty. Not meeting quoted power output when smps power supplies are used is also very odd - low mains voltage should not be a possible cause.
 
Nikola Krivorov said:
The Suesskind brand is the best kept secret in the Audio Universe :) After years of buying/selling/building speakers I found the Progress and I am done. Joachim Gerhard is the guy that started Audio Physic, then Sonics by Joachim Gerhard and now Suesskind audio, he is one of the true Masters. The Progress is simply stunning - recently it destroyed a Harbeth 40.2 Anniversary and I am not saying that because I have it, these are the words of the 40.2 owner :) One of these stories you might say but that made me buy the Beo LX which unfortunately overloads the room with bass so badly it is sad :( Check this link, nice pictures of the speakers as well: http://zero-distortion.org/analog-shoot-anamighty-sound/

The biamping with another C50.2 is actually a great idea!!! The Cantata 3.0 has two ports for the Link connections to two amps and it might work, I will ask Jeff Kalt about it! But that means another pair of Studio Connections Black Star speaker cables and interconnects, gets expensive pretty fast.

And the Etude is small, I have a Chord DAVE plus M scaler now and it would like very tidy, the only thing that my wife would like more than the extremely beautiful C50.2 would be something smaller :)
Click to expand...

Joachim Is certainly a genius when it comes to loudspeaker design. He designed a bookshelf speaker around SB Acoustics Satori drivers a number of years ago, which I read about on a diy forum. This made me buy Satori mid/bass drivers for my speakers.

Could you see if there is an option for a good trade in deal of your C50 for a pair of m100’s?
 
I don't want to part with the C50.2 :) It is the first amp that gave me the feeling it just amplifies the signal, nothing added, nothing taken. I have a very well respected Class A amp that I enjoyed quite a lot but the C50.2 simply sounds natural when the Class A would be called neutal. Subtle but the C50.2 stays... No question that the m100s are highly desired even more as they will not have the PGA volume control chip on the signal path.

Joachim is indeed one of the few who know enough what to measure but way more about the magic. If you look at his site he has several types of speakers, like an artist who can paint with a pencil, a brush and whatever you give him.
 
I am really hoping that the Etude will be something like the C50.2 but more powerful. I would like to keep the Beo LX which is the single passive speaker that has the natural tone and effortless of the Geithein 901K and if I find the suitable amp for it I will be really happy.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.


advertisement


Back
Top