From studio to living space: Chord’s pro-made Alto headphone/monitor amplifier can now be yours

(Image credit: Chord Electronics)

Introduced in January as an illustrious member of Chord Electronics’ Pro range, the Alto headphone/nearfield monitor amplifier is now available outside of the studio for anyone looking for a compact and flexible high-end amplifier for their headphones or nearfield monitors.

A substantially more sophisticated Chord Anni, if you like, the Alto is also a diminutive all-analogue design for driving headphones as well as suitable, smaller speakers – only this time there is greater versatility and power on offer. For one, the Alto can drive four pairs of headphones/speakers simultaneously thanks to its array of front-panel outputs – 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.

At the back you get balanced XLR outputs, too, for bypassing functionality, allowing other devices to be brought into the mix. This can be used in conjunction with headphones or loudspeakers in a joint output mode. Of course, stereo banana plugs also on the rear panel (where else!) accommodate speakers, to which the Alto can deliver 25 watts into 8 ohms (or 50 watts into 4 ohms).

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All outputs are driven by the company’s flagship Ultima amplification, which debuted in the higher-end mono and preamp designs in 2018 and has since been at the core of subsequently released Ultima models such as the all-new five-star Ultima Integrated, whose sound we called “wonderfully spellbinding”. At its heart, Ultima utilises a dual feed-forward error correction circuit that monitors and corrects distortion before it reaches the output stage, in the name of accuracy – accuracy supposedly fit for the demands of critical monitoring in the recording and mastering studio setting.

Inputs, meanwhile, are offered in both balanced XLR and unbalanced RCA flavours.

“Offering levels of performance not yet seen in any headphone/nearfield-monitor amplifier”, according to Chord Electronics owner and chief designer John Franks, the Alto is available now and priced at £3,000.

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Becky is the managing editor of What Hi-Fi? and, since her recent move to Melbourne, also the editor of the brand's sister magazines Down Under – Australian Hi-Fi and Audio Esoterica. During her 11+ years in the hi-fi industry, she has reviewed all manner of audio gear, from budget amplifiers to high-end speakers, and particularly specialises in headphones and head-fi devices. In her spare time, Becky can often be found running, watching Liverpool FC and horror movies, and hunting for gluten-free cake.