Chord Ultima 5 Power Amplifier

Description

My Take: Frankly, this amp was quite a surprise, and a very pleasant one. Great across the board, but the soundstage is amazing with depth that goes on forever - as dimensionally-deep as any amplifier I've heard. Images are rock solid and elements within the stage are spatially precise and exceptionally well delineated. Great amp! - Galen Carol

The Chord Company is well known today for their outstanding digital offerings, but their prowess in the world of analog electronics has been overlooked. The new Ultima Series of products underscores Chord's capability of designing class-leading analog designs.

Innovative clean-power technologies and custom components within our stereo power amplifiers are what have propelled the Chord ULTIMA series to legendary status in and outside the recording studio. Their ability to instantaneously react and deliver sheer power, whilst maintaining transparency and incredibly low distortion leaves you with nothing but a masterpiece.
 

ULTIMA 5 is a progression of our most famous stereo power amplifier, the legendary SPM 1200 MK II (widely considered to be the definitive Chord Electronics amplifier).
 

Now incorporating our latest-generation ULTIMA circuit topology, the new ULTIMA 5 is set to become a future classic. Considered to offer the ideal balance between performance and price, the ULTIMA 5 offers an impressively affordable 350 watts – enough to drive all but the most demanding loudspeakers.
 

The ULTIMA 5 has built upon the inherent strengths of the SPM 1200 MK II and taken performance to the next level. By implementing our advanced dual-feed-forward error-correction, topology incorporating our own advanced concepts in ultra-high-frequency power supplies, we have been able to deliver supremely fast and powerful performance, with an extraordinarily high peak output current (the speed at which dynamic peaks can be delivered), bringing astonishing dynamics, timing accuracy and, as a result, unrivaled musicality.
 

Add to that our low-distortion amplifier circuitry with our own proprietary lateral-structure dual-die MOSFETs and the ULTIMA 5 is able to drive loudspeaker loads effortlessly, with clarity and precision. The ULTIMA 5 has an incredible 32 proprietary MOSFET power devices which demand the most advanced and refined drive circuitry, suitably devoid of sound-degrading components.
 

ULTIMA is a truly unprecedented amplifier topology with exceptional performance and is one of the most advanced amplifier technologies in the world.
 

Benefiting from a redesigned fascia featuring John Franks’ latest aesthetic, the precision CNC-machined fascia is made from aircraft-grade aluminium and features a reassuringly solid 28-mm thick front panel, enhanced by a recessed spherical polycarbonate power button that illuminates for standby and operation modes; a discreet, hidden front panel switch, located in the vertical split line, enables dimmable lighting.
 

The amplifier’s rear panels contain both balanced and unbalanced connections, high-quality loudspeaker terminals, a 12 V trigger and a C-19-type IEC.

KEY FEATURES -

• Class AB Sliding Bias
• Dual feed-forward error correction
• HF Switch Mode Power Supply
• Proprietary Chord MOSFETs
• Fully Balanced Circuitry
• Convection Cooled
• Balanced XLR Inputs
• Unbalanced RCA Inputs
• 12v Trigger On/Off Input
• Dimmable feature lighting
• Included Top Light Ring
• Solid Aluminium Chassis
• Included Accessories
• ULTIMA 5 Quickstart guide
• Safety instructions
• 15A Mains IEC cable
• [Designed and handmade in the UK]
• [5 Years Warranty]

REVIEWS -

The Absolute Sound:

"The Chord Ultima Pre 3 and Ultima 5 is a fantastic combination both in sound and design and build quality. I suspect that the Ultima 5 would shine even brighter with speakers more difficult to drive than mine. The Ultima 5 was unflappable at any volume level and with any kind of music no matter how dynamic or complex.

"This combination of the Ultima Pre 3 and the Ultima 5 is not lush or polite sounding. An impressive characteristic I found was the solidity of the central image and the realism of acoustical instruments. Nearly all types of music play extremely well with the Chord, but large symphonic works were particularly rewarding. The Chord equipment is revealing and uncompromising. You get what is on the recording: compressed recordings sound compressed;
and highly detailed or even enhanced recordings will be revealed. I would characterize the Chord combination as musical while being unapologetically linear and detailed throughout all volume intensities.

"If you are in the market for an amp and preamp in this price range, and particularly if you have difficult speakers to drive, the Chord combo should definitely be on the list for an audition" - Rivas Bird

HiFi+:

"At the risk of stating the obvious, these are turbulent times. Little in life can be confidently relied upon. So, it is, perhaps, more gratifying than it really should be, to find the unflappable Chord Electronics forging serenely ahead on a path unsullied by U-turns, flip-flops or ‘alternative facts’. 

"Lately, of course, Chord Electronics has been making all sorts of disruptive waves with its digital products. Combining giddily high standards of performance with reliably ‘interesting’ product names, Chord Electronics’ range of DACs, streamers and upscalers has given the company plenty of exposure in the audio mainstream. But all this (very successful) activity on the New Digital Frontier has also provided a distinct impression that analogue amplification (Chord Electronics’ core business from the very first) was being somewhat neglected. After all, there seems precious little room for innovation in a sector where even the most recent technological legwork was done decades ago. 

"2018’s Étude stereo power amplifier (part of the company’s relatively compact ‘Choral’ range) indicated that Chord Electronics still fancied itself capable of advancing the art of analogue amplification, though. Building on three decades of research and engineering from Essex University, Bell Labs and some characteristically single-minded development from Chord Electronics’ founder, owner, CEO and chief designer John Franks, it features fearsomely complex and advanced topology. And no less perceptive a soul than Mr Editor Sircom himself noted during his review that “I suspect Étude will unlock several far bigger amps from the brand”. 

"In short, then, the Chord Electronics’ ULTIMA 5 is monumentally capable. It has a reasonably uncommon combination of on-paper promise (all that innovative engineering, all those colossal numbers), visual drama (especially if you’re into the whole steampunk/Alan Moore aesthetic) and implacable performance that makes the asking price look as if entirely reasonable. It certainly doesn’t make any demands of you in terms of the type of music you prefer to listen to; the ULTIMA 5 plays no favourites and is as happy to explain the motivations of a king-sized symphony orchestra in full attack mode, as it is those of a rapper with a sampler and an 808. 

"If you value energy as much as precision in the way your music is described, if you value precision as much as scale, and if you value scale as much as insight, well… the Chord Electronics ULTIMA 5 has you covered. As part of an appropriate system (for which read ‘appropriately expensive and equally capable’), it could conceivably be all the stereo power amplifier you will ever need." - Simon Lucas

WhatHiFi?:

"The Chord Ultima 5 is not an overtly characterful amplifier; it doesn’t try to sound ‘musical’. All it does is attempt to pass on the signal as cleanly as possible. And in that aim, it’s hugely successful."

SCORES

Sound 5
Features 5
Build 5

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS -
 

Type: Class AB sliding bias stereo power amplifier

Analogue inputs: One pair gold-plated unbalanced RCA jacks; one pair gold-plated balanced XLR jacks; one 12v trigger input (Chord Electronics auto‑start)

Analogue outputs: One pair high-current gold-plated speaker terminals

Power output: 350 watts RMS per channel @ 0.005% THD into 8 Ohms

Bandwidth: (-1dB) 0.5Hz–100kHz 

Sensitivity: Not specified

Distortion: As above

Signal to Noise Ratio: -100dB

Damping factor: between 5,000- 12,000

Dimensions (H×W×D): 150 × 420 × 360mm (as reviewed, with optional side blocks)

Weight: 22.4kg