Chord Electronics
East Farleigh, Maidstone, Kent, Kent, England, United Kingdom · founded 1989
Pioneer of FPGA-based DAC design in consumer audio; its Rob Watts-designed WTA filters and Pulse Array conversion are a reference point in the DAC world. Early Chord products were adopted by professional studios including Abbey Road, Sony, Toshiba, and Skywalker Sound before the brand became a personal-audio staple. Products are designed and hand-assembled in Kent at The Pumphouse, a converted 1878 waterworks building.
British high-end audio manufacturer specializing in FPGA-based digital-to-analog converters (DACs), headphone amplifiers, and power amplifiers. Known for proprietary WTA (Watts Transient Aligned) filter technology developed by digital designer Rob Watts, and for a distinctive machined-aluminium industrial design. Its portable and desktop DAC/headphone-amp line (Mojo, Hugo, DAVE) is widely regarded in the personal-audio community, spanning entry-level portables to summit-fi reference converters.
At a glance
- Type
- Manufacturer
- Founder
- John Franks
- Founded
- 1989
- Headquarters
- East Farleigh, Maidstone, Kent, Kent, England, United Kingdom
- Price range
- Budget → flagship
- Makes / sells
- DACs, headphone amplifiers, portable DAC/amps, digital streamers, power amplifiers, preamplifiers, phono stages, digital upscalers
- Known for
- FPGA-based DAC design, WTA (Watts Transient Aligned) tap-length filtering, proprietary digital-to-analog conversion, portable high-resolution DAC/headphone amps, machined-aluminium industrial design, high-frequency switching power supplies
- Website
- chordelectronics.co.uk
Notable products
- Mojo 2 — Portable DAC/headphone amplifier; entry point to the range, successor to the original 2015 Mojo
- Hugo 2 — Transportable reference DAC/headphone amp with FPGA and WTA filtering
- Hugo TT 2 — Desktop 'tabletop' DAC/headphone amplifier, higher-powered sibling to Hugo 2
- DAVE — Flagship summit-fi FPGA DAC, digital preamp, and reference headphone amplifier
- Qutest — Compact desktop pure DAC (no headphone amp), based on Hugo 2 technology
- Mojo (original) — 2015 portable DAC/amp that established the portable line; largely superseded by Mojo 2
- Anni — Desktop integrated/headphone amplifier designed to pair with Qutest
- Hugo M Scaler — Standalone digital upscaler that increases tap-length filtering for Chord DACs
- Poly — Wireless streaming/storage module that pairs with Mojo
Sources: Companies House — Chord Electronics Limited (company no. 02347071) overview · Companies House — Chord Electronics Limited persons with significant control · Chord Electronics — John Franks and how Chord Electronics took flight (official) · Moon Audio — Chord Electronics Product Guide (DACs, Amps & Streamers) · Enjoy the Music — 10 Questions with John Franks, Founder/Owner/Chief Designer of Chord Electronics