Chord Electronics

Alto

Alto is the one Chord box that drives four pairs of headphones and a pair of bookshelf speakers from the same volume knob. The ULTIMA dual-feed-forward error correction comes down from the big power amplifiers — the same idea that makes a BerTTi transparent, in a case barely larger than a sheet of A5. Four front outputs, including the 4.4 mm balanced jack the current high-end headphones use, so an A/B comparison is a button press instead of a re-plug. 50 watts into 4 ohms for speakers, 2250 mW into 100 ohms for headphones, XLR and RCA in, XLR through for a power amplifier later. Just under two kilos, mains supply built in, 80–250 V. Chord's professional range, on a desk.

Specifications

Inputs	1x set of XLR inputs; 1x set of RCA inputs
Outputs	4x headphone outputs (1x 3.5mm, 1x 4.4mm balanced jack, 2x 1/4"); 1x pair of banana sockets for speakers; 1x pair of XLR for additional volume control or signal passthrough; 1x 12V DC jack output for use with other products
THD	0.003 % into 4 Ω (speakers); 0.001 % into 100 Ω (headphones)
Signal-to-noise ratio	120 dB
Channel separation	-95 dB
Frequency response	6 Hz – 60 kHz
Output voltage	15 V RMS into 8 Ω
Output power, speakers	50 W into 4 Ω
Output power, headphones	2250 mW into 100 Ω
Output stage	ULTIMA dual-feed-forward error correction, fully balanced, HF switch-mode power supply
Maximum input voltage	6 V RMS
Operating voltage	80-250 V AC auto-switching
Dimensions	Length 215 mm, Width 200 mm, Height 57 mm
Weight	1946 g