Chord Electronics has announced that its Alto and Suzi amps will be making their public UK debut at the Bristol Hi-Fi Show next week, letting showgoers get up close and personal with all manner of the Kent-based company’s Hi-Fi goodies.
Launched in November, the £3,000 Alto combines a four-output headphone amp with speaker-driving capabilities in a single unit. Originally developed for recording and mastering studios, it's built around Chord's flagship Ultima amplification technology, which uses a dual feed-forward error correction circuit that monitors and corrects distortion before it reaches the output stage.
The versatile unit can drive four devices simultaneously through its generous selection of front-panel outputs – including a 3.5mm jack, two 6.35mm sockets and, for the first time in a Chord product, a 4.4mm Pentaconn connection for balanced high-end headphones. The rear panel features balanced XLR outputs with bypass functionality for system expansion, alongside RCA inputs and speaker connections that can deliver 25 watts into 8 ohms, doubling to 50 watts into 4 ohms.
The Chord Suzi, designed by company founder John Franks, will also be on static display at the show, ahead of its official spring launch. This modular pre/power amplification system uses Ultima-derived technology from Chord's flagship products – including the Ultima Pre 3, Ultima 5 and 6 power amplifiers, and the Ultima Integrated.
The power amplifier section delivers 30W per channel, while the system's modular design allows for three primary configurations – as an analogue pre/power combination using the Suzi Pre, as a DAC/amplifier setup incorporating Chord's Hugo 2, or as a complete streaming system when paired with both Hugo 2 and 2go units. This compact solution has been specifically designed to match the dimensions of existing Hugo 2 components.
Chord's expanded ground floor Bristol Suite space will also showcase several established products, including the Mojo 2 DAC/headphone amp, Hugo TT 2 DAC/preamp/headphone amp, and systems from the Qutest range. Visitors can also experience the flagship DAVE DAC/preamp/headphone amp paired with a Hugo TT 2, while the main demonstration area in the SS Great Britain 1 Suite will feature the Ultima Integrated amplifier with DAVE DAC, demonstrated through Kerr Acoustic speakers.
The Bristol Hi-Fi Show runs from Friday 21st to Sunday 23rd February at the Delta Hotels Marriott, Bristol City Centre Hotel. Tickets are available now, with adult day passes priced at £17.
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