A Visit from Chord Company

Pictured: Ian Kemsley, Export Sales Manager from Chord Company, with Graham and Jesse at The Real Music Company Christchurch 

I had the pleasure of meeting Ian Kemsley from Chord Company at our Christchurch store last month. I knew that Chord Company's products noticeably improve a system’s sound, but I never fully understood the technical reasons behind how they achieve this or the specific problems they address. 

During the first demonstration, Ian connected a set of inexpensive analogue interconnects (the type that comes bundled with an unnamed streamer) into an unused input, so it wasn’t even part of the signal path. We listened with and without it, and the difference was immediately noticeable. With the cheap interconnects plugged in, there was a higher noise floor, and the music we heard appeared less clear, slightly muddy, and less engaging.

Naturally, I was curious: how could something that wasn’t in the signal path affect what we were hearing? Ian explained that RF interference impacts the electronics themselves, which in turn affects the signal. The interconnect essentially acted like an antenna, picking up wireless signals that surround us daily. This simple demonstration clearly illustrated the problem of RF interference. If it could occur with a cable not even in use, it was easy to see how other connected equipment could also be affected.

Having identified the issue, we had a problem to solve, and Chord Company was able to provide the solution. We listened to several Chord interconnects. With each cable, the noise floor lowered further, and both Graham and I could clearly notice the difference at every step.

Ian walked us through the engineering and design involved in cable construction, as well as the materials used. How each component of the cable (plugs, alloy, dielectrics, copper, silver, shielding, and Aray technology) all contributes, resulting in extremely high-quality cables with exceptional sonic performance.

The demonstration Ian conducted reinforced the idea that interconnect cables are not merely for signal transfer and should not be overlooked, but are a vital component of a HiFi system. I highly recommend testing this on your own equipment at home to observe the results. Chord Company cables might be the upgrade your system requires.

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