There's some wonderful design work going on in the world of high-end audio and AV right now. Not only have we recently been treated to a stunner of a receiver from Marantz in the form of the Cinema 30, but British brand Chord Electronics has unleashed a beast of a Ultima Integrated stereo amplifier that's rather pretty, too.
Previously debuted in 2023, the amp is now available globally, priced at £8,500 in the UK.
It is capable of a total power output of 125W and has been designed by Chord Electronics' founder John Franks himself. There is dual-feed forward error-correction technology on board, and it features advanced low-distortion power supplies to keep noise down to a minimum.
There are four inputs on the rear – one set of stereo balanced XLR inputs and three stereo unbalanced RCA connections. A stereo balanced XLR AV bypass input is on offer too.
There's a single stereo XLR output.
The chassis is made from precision-machined aircraft-grade aluminium and is available in silver or black. The front features a spherical on/off power control with polychromatic lighting. Volume and balance dials sit either side.
The top of the unit can also light up, while also providing heat dissipation through its grille. And the system comes with an infra-red remote control.
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Chord has been making audiophile-standard Hi-Fi kit since the 1980s and its products are used in many renowned studios around the world, including Abbey Road, Metropolis Studios and Sony Music Studios in New York.
The Chord Electronics Ultima Integrated stereo amplifier is available to order now from specialist retailers. You can head to the company's own website to find your nearest dealer.
There are other products in its Ultima range to check out too, that also share the neat, aluminium-cased styling of the latest amp, including a mighty Ultima power amplifier that could drive pretty much any speaker set you could possibly imagine.
Rik is T3’s news editor, which means he looks after the news team and the up-to-the-minute coverage of all the hottest gadgets and products you’ll definitely want to read about. And, with more than 35 years of experience in tech and entertainment journalism, including editing and writing for numerous websites, magazines, and newspapers, he’s always got an eye on the next big thing.
Rik also has extensive knowledge of AV, TV streaming and smart home kit, plus just about everything to do with games since the late 80s. Prior to T3, he spent 13 years at Pocket-lint heading up its news team, and was a TV producer and presenter on such shows as Channel 4's GamesMaster, plus Sky's Games World, Game Over, and Virtual World of Sport.
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