Power amplifier
well above typical
Among the 25 power amplifiers in the catalogue, this one is well above typical.
A band places a component against its peers and carries no price. It is deliberately the only price indicator on this page: a second one, measured against a different set, would narrow the two together far enough to give the figure away.
NO BRIDGE MODE. Chord monoblock approach is the dedicated ULTIMA 2/3 pair instead.
I/O: accepts both RCA and XLR.
Assessed against 13 rivals across the sixty systems: 4 head-to-heads won, 28 lost.
The dimension the engine names as the weakest link, counted across every head-to-head it lost.
9 lost · Anchored, Characterful, PRaT, Romantic
Against the Anchored brief, the Longdog Audio P6100M Biamp 2x2 (4 units) keeps the slot decisively.
With the Emmae Reginae (custom), the pairing gives up most on bass control.
On its own merits the Chord ULTIMA 5 is the weaker power amplifier for that brief.
coherence of timing... a larger wholeHi-Fi+ (Lucas) 2021
3 lost · Vocals-First
No completion of this shape fits that slot's budget.
3 lost · BBC Sound, Vocals-First
No completion of this shape fits that slot's budget.
2 lost· 1 won · Characterful, PRaT, Romantic
Against the Characterful brief, the Audiolab 9000P keeps the slot decisively.
With the Audiolab 9000Q, the pairing gives up most on vocal presence.
On its own merits the Chord ULTIMA 5 is the stronger power amplifier — but it loses here on fit: the pairing with the Audiolab 9000Q gives up vocal presence under the Characterful weighting.
It sits well above the share of the budget this brief aims at the power amplifier position.
2 lost · Intimate
Against the Intimate brief, the EAR Yoshino 890 keeps the slot decisively.
With the EAR Yoshino 868L (Line), the pairing gives up most on midrange truth.
With the Emmae Reginae (custom), the pairing gains most on bass control.
On its own merits the Chord ULTIMA 5 is the stronger power amplifier — but it loses here on fit: the pairing with the EAR Yoshino 868L (Line) gives up midrange truth under the Intimate weighting.
2 lost · Characterful, Romantic
Against the Characterful brief, the Leema Hydra II keeps the slot clearly.
With the Leema Neutron, the pairing gives up most on vocal presence.
On its own merits the Chord ULTIMA 5 is the stronger power amplifier — but it loses here on fit: the pairing with the Leema Neutron gives up vocal presence under the Characterful weighting.
It sits well above the share of the budget this brief aims at the power amplifier position.
1 lost· 3 won · BBC Sound, Twin Arms
Against the Twin Arms brief, the Chord ULTIMA 5 takes the slot clearly.
1 lost · Anchored
Against the Anchored brief, the Longdog Audio P6100M (pair) keeps the slot by a whisker.
On its own merits the Chord ULTIMA 5 is the weaker power amplifier for that brief.
1 lost · Intimate
Against the Intimate brief, the NVA S300 Stereo (Artisan) keeps the slot clearly.
With the NVA P50SA MKII, the pairing gives up most on vocal presence.
With the ProAc Tablette 10 Signature, the pairing gains most on bass control.
On its own merits the Chord ULTIMA 5 is the stronger power amplifier — but it loses here on fit: the pairing with the NVA P50SA MKII gives up vocal presence under the Intimate weighting.
1 lost · Twin Arms
No completion of this shape fits that slot's budget.
1 lost · BBC Sound
No completion of this shape fits that slot's budget.
1 lost · Intimate
Against the Intimate brief, the Audio Note P1 SE keeps the slot decisively.
With the Audio Note M2 Phono, the pairing gives up most on midrange truth.
With the Emmae Reginae (custom), the pairing gains most on bass control.
On its own merits the Chord ULTIMA 5 is the weaker power amplifier for that brief.
SET 8W/ch tube power amp, classic Audio Note voicingAudio Note P1 SE positioning + Hi-Fi+ reviews
controlled... not boomy or muddyStereo Times (Yan) 2015
1 lost · PRaT
Against the PRaT brief, the Exposure XM9 Biamp 2x2 (4 units) keeps the slot by a whisker.
With the Emmae Reginae (custom), the pairing gives up most on bass control.
On its own merits the Chord ULTIMA 5 is the stronger power amplifier — but it loses here on fit: the pairing with the Emmae Reginae (custom) gives up bass control under the PRaT weighting.
had B&W 800D3 under controlStereo Magazine 2021
Ultima 5 step up from Ultima 6 Chord Ultima 5 stereo positioning· Physical impact
attack and decay... crisply described Hi-Fi+ (Lucas) 2021· Transient attack
coherence of timing... a larger whole Hi-Fi+ (Lucas) 2021· Dynamic coherence
bottomless reserves of power Hi-Fi+ (Lucas) 2021· Physical impact
mastery of tone and timbre Hi-Fi+ (Lucas) 2021· Tonal body
| is monoblock | False |
|---|---|
| is balanced internal | True |
| power class | AB |
| power 8ohm w | 300.0 |
| power 4ohm w | 600.0 |
| damping factor | 200.0 |
| accepts rca | True |
| accepts xlr | True |
| accepts din | False |
| input impedance rca kohm | 100.0 |
| input sensitivity rca mv | 1000.0 |
| speaker terminal type | binding post |
| gain db | 26.0 |
| sold as pair | False |
| notes |