Chord Alto Headphone Amp Review: Power Without Compromise
Read Time: Approx. 12 min.
Chord's Latest Amp Brings Studio-Grade Sound to Your Living Room
Chord Electronics is highly regarded in the audiophile community for producing premium DACs and Amplifiers from the popular Chord Mojo 2 and Hugo TT2 to the higher-end Hugo 2. While home audio is the company's bread and butter, Chord is establishing its professional audio line with the Chord Alto Professional Headphone and Speaker Amplifier. Don't let the "Pro Audio" status of the Chord Alto deter you, this headphone amplifier has a lot to offer for audiophiles.
At $4,320, the Chord Alto is a first-class, leading-edge headphone amplifier with a comprehensive suite of technology and connectivity options for your headphones and speakers. It's the first Chord product to feature a balanced (technically pseudo-balanced) 4.4mm headphone output, and while it might look small, its power is mighty. You'll enjoy an accurate, dynamic sound that you can only get from a Chord component.
Chord Alto Unboxing: Their First 4.4mm Headphone, Speaker Amp
PROS
- Incredible accuracy. Unreal ability to reflect your headphone's sound quality
- Small form factor, sturdy build quality
- Pro-audio piece at an affordable price
CONS
- No XLR headphone output
Design
Like all brands, Chord Electronics components have a signature look. The Alto takes design cues from products we've seen in the past with its matte black chassis, rounded corners, and minimalist, almost industrial look. One of the most exciting, and unexpected design aspects of the Chord Alto is its size. It's hard to do it justice when it's not sitting right in front of you, but if I had to put it into words, the Alto is no bigger than a sheet of paper or a family-size pack of Oreos. Can you tell it's close to lunchtime?
The Alto's compact form makes it perfect for use at your desk, on a shelf or a mantle, and really any situation where space is limited. In fact, it's specifically designed for a 19-inch rack. It also comes with four removable feet on the bottom that raise it about an inch or so off the ground, and overall the height of the entire component is no more than 2 inches.
So what about functionality? Inputs? Output? It's got plenty of that. The front panel is adorned with three glowing marble-esque control buttons. Chord's got a thing for illuminating features and I don't have a single problem with it. In the middle sits the power control button which although it rotates when you roll your finger across it, it's only for looks. To power on/off the Alto, you must push the button.
And it wouldn't be a Chord Electronics product without an LED light indicator key to decode all of the different colors. When the power is off, the middle button will illuminate red. When it's initially turned on it illuminates green and changes again once playback is in progress. On the far left of the front panel, you'll find the mechanical volume control with a handy little indentation for your finger. To the right of the volume is the input selector button. Press the button to cycle between XLR or RCA.
On the right side of the front panel is the output selector button and four headphone outputs. Press the output button to select your outputs: Headphone, XLR, speaker, headphones with XLR, and speaker with XLR.
What may have brought you to this review is the revolutionary milestone for Chord Electronics: A 4.4mm headphone output. Yes, this is THE first Chord product to feature a 4.4MM OUTPUT!! Did you ever think this day would come? This is a pseudo-balanced 4.4mm jack, as the amplifier itself is not a balanced design, but nonetheless, it's a 4.4mm and I'm jumping for joy. Alongside that, you'll find two 6.35mm jacks and one single-ended 3.5mm jack. Did I mention you can power four headphones simultaneously? That's a lot of power!
Now for the back! On the rear panel, you'll find your 12V output, 12V DC power input, one pair of 4mm banana speaker outputs, one pair of RCA inputs, one pair of balanced XLR inputs, and one pair of balanced XLR outputs. Included with the Alto is a remote control allowing you to control the component's basic functionality from the comfort of your couch. This remote control is heavy-duty and made of metal (I think) so it shouldn't break easily. And a tiny, but neat feature is that the volume control is mechanical, meaning it will move each time you increase or decrease the volume using the remote.
Between the Alto's low-profile size and connectivity options, it's incredibly versatile and easy to use. Configuring it was painless, taking less than 10 minutes to set it up with the Chord Mojo 2 as my DAC and start streaming via Roon. The Alto is a ninja doubling as a headphone amplifier and speaker amplifier. It's got enough power to drive some of your most demanding headphones and handle any monitoring you need to do. And speaking of monitoring, the Alto sends 25 watts into 8 ohms (50 watts into 4 ohms) to passive speakers for nearfield monitoring. So if you've got a pair of speakers you love and a few headphones you rotate, this is a great unit for you.
Sound
Keeping it in the family I created a quick desktop setup at my workstation with the Chord Mojo 2 DAC/Amp and the Alto. With the Chord Mojo 2 in low gain mode, I connected it via a Silver Dragon USB-C to USB-A Cable to my PC and ran a 3.5mm to RCA Cable from the Mojo 2 to the Alto. This allowed me to bypass the Mojo 2's internal headphone amplifier and use it as a DAC, control the volume via the Alto, and use the Mojo 2 as a Roon endpoint for playback via Roon.
Chord components have a reputation for delivering an exceptional level of clarity, precision, and accuracy, and the Alto is no different. Given its professional-grade status, I anticipated a level of clarity, neutrality, and technical precision that's above some of their home audio products. And to no one's surprise, it delivered just that.
I've been selfishly hoarding two new headphones at my desk–the Meze Audio POET Headphones and the Grado Signature S950 Headphones. Two high-end headphones with two distinctly different sounds. The POET is neutral-warm leaning with an emotive, rich, lush sound quality. The Signature S950 is neutral and natural with amazing detail retrieval and acoustic character–you know–that signature Grado sound.
I quickly found myself toe-tapping and bopping along to Tate Mcrae's So Close to What album, relating to the woes of a girl in her 20s. Mcrae has this rich, lush, almost sultry voice; she's one of those artists that you can feel the emotion behind their words. The Alto's dynamic range handled the varying paces of the songs on her album beautifully, bringing fine details and nuances to the front, while leaving enough room in the midrange to separate instruments from vocals. The Alto flexes its power muscle with its sense of immediacy and fast attack. If the song came in hot and in your face, that's what you got. If the song is slow, soft, and calm, so is the Alto.
The Alto's superpower? Its ability to accurately reflect the sound quality of your headphones. It's like a mirror, reflecting the sound quality of your headphones to you with speed and accuracy. Whether your headphones are warm-sounding, forward, or linear, you'll experience them as they are with the Alto. I mean, isn't that essentially what you want a professional-grade amplifier to do? Reproduce the sound without any added coloration or noise that negatively impacts the quality. And as audiophiles, we chase that level of sound quality. The Alto delivers that at an affordable price.
For the price point, you're getting a professional-grade amplifier that's uncomplicated and easy to use. You don't have to be an audio pro to reap the benefits of this amp–and it doesn't silo its intended audience. If you only listen to headphones, the Alto is for you. If you only listen to speakers, the Alto is for you too. And well, if you listen to both, then you're skating away with a sweet setup.
I'm Not In Love
By Tate Mcrae
(So Close to What)
Younger and Hotter Than Me
By Selena Gomez & Benny Blanco
(I Said I Love You First)
Bed Chem
By Selena Carpenter
(Short N' Sweet)
Party 4 U
By Charli XCX
(How I'm Feeling Now)
Features
- Can be used as a preamplifier when connecting the balanced outputs directly to a suitable power amplifier
- Proprietary ULTIMA amplification technology
- Powers up to 4 pairs of headphones simultaneously
- Delivers 50W per channel for nearfield monitors
- Ideal for recording and mastering engineers seeking uncompromising monitor quality
- 3.5mm single-ended, 4.4mm balanced jack, two 6.35mm outputs
Line Level Bypass
The Chord Alto is equipped with a line-level bypass allowing you to bypass the volume control on the front of the unit via the XLR outputs. This function allows you to connect the Alto to an existing signal chain. It's worth noting that line-level bypass only works on the XLR outputs and that it's full volume without attenuation, so be sure to check connections before activating.
Here's how to enable line-level bypass:
- Press and hold the input button
- It will illuminate either cyan for XLR input or purple when RCA input is selected
ULTIMA Amplification Technology
At the heart of the Chord Alto sits Chord's renowned ULTIMA technology. This technology has been well-loved and used by Chord for a while now, implemented into many of their amplifiers and there's even a full-fledged ULTIMA line. To put it simply, the ULTIMA topology uses a dual-feed-forward-error-correction technology that monitors and then immediately corrects signals before the output stage.
The ULTIMA design uses Chord's proprietary MOSFET's operating in Class A/B, giving the Alto high-energy power levels and fast transient power that Chord products are known for. You'll enjoy 50W into 4 ohms or 25W into 8 ohms per channel into loudspeakers, nearfield monitors, or bookshelf speakers. Audio professionals and engineers should have no trouble finding the Alto adequate for nearfield monitoring.
And just when you think it can't get any sweeter, the Alto's performance as a headphone amplifier is equally as impressive. The only caveat worth noting is that the four headphone outputs all operate at the same level so you can't adjust the volume for each individually. It's something to keep in mind if you plan to listen with others or rotate between pairs. It has no problem balancing the demands of your headphones with varying impedances and power needs.
"ULTIMA's technology is based on a technical paper by Dr. Malcolm J Hawksford (emeritus professor at Essex University) which was taken up and refined by Bob Cordell of Bell Labs. Chord Electronics' owner and Chief Designer, John Franks, then took the theory and developed it to a much higher level - a progression of Cordell's advanced dual-feed-forward error-correction topology incorporating Franks' own advanced concepts in ultra-high-frequency power supplies, which have been a cornerstone of the company's proprietary-technology amplifiers since its inception in 1989."
"Chord Electronics' proprietary amplifier technology has seen numerous refinements and updates over the past 30 years, however, ULTIMA receives John Franks' all-new circuit topology, the first completely new design since the company supplied its first customer, The BBC, in 1989. Chord Electronics looked at Bob Cordell's aforementioned work from the 1980s before developing an initial design that incorporated both his topology as well as John Franks' award-winning, time-proven amplifier tech - the nested feed-forward and global feedback allowed for Chord Electronics' custom-designed dual silicon die MOS-FET output transistors to perform uniquely well."
– Chord Electronics
Dragon Cables
[Silver Dragon Interconnect Cable]
We recommend pairing the Chord Electronics Alto with the Silver Dragon Interconnect Cable. Choose from RCA or XLR connectors to integrate the Alto with other audio devices in your setup. Sold in Pairs, the Silver Dragon V2 is our top-of-the-line silver conductor-based interconnect. With a braided geometry and amazing shielding, this interconnect is a remarkable solution where noise isolation is key. The braided geometry itself acts as a noise rejection and the shield aso adds more durability to the cable for runs on a studio floor.
Verdict
The Chord Electronics Alto Professional Headphone Amplifier is one of those units that only comes around so often. It's not every day that you get a professional-grade amplifier catering to audio pros, audiophiles, and music lovers. You don't have to be a skilled engineer to use the Alto and you don't have to pay upward of $10,000 to enjoy reference-level sound quality at home. That in itself makes the Alto worth it.
Who is the Chord Alto for? The Chord Alto is the perfect unit for audiophiles seeking clarity, precision, and accuracy from a headphone amplifier. With its uncanny ability to accurately reflect the sound quality of your headphones and loudspeakers, you're one step closer to experiencing music just the way the artist intended. Headphone lovers and speaker fans will reap the benefits of a single unit that can power both. From your demanding headphones to your favorite pair of bookshelf speakers, you can bounce back and forth effortlessly.
The Alto's low profile, flexible connectivity options, and accurate, yet dynamic sound quality make it a component worthy of a seat in your hi-fi setup. Pair it with our Silver Dragon Interconnect Cable for easy integration with your existing audio components and rest assured that you're receiving a stable connection with zero interference–so nothing gets in the way of you and your music.
Don't let the size of the Alto or its "pro audio" status fool you, it's a powerhouse, a force to be reckoned with, and a high-end amplifier worth considering for 2025.
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What's in the Box
- Chord Alto Professional Headphone Amplifier
- Remote Control
- Power Cord
Specifications
Dimensions: 200mm (W) x 44.45mm (H) x 215mm (D)
Frequency Response: 6Hz-60kHz
Output Power (Speakers): 50 W into 4 Ω
Output Power (Headphones): 2250mW into 100 Ω
Signal-to-noise Ratio: -119.6dB
THD (Speakers): 0.03% into 4 Ω
THD (Headphones): 0.001% into 100 Ω
Input Maximum Voltage: 6 VRMS
Output Maximum Voltage: 15 VRMS
Operation Voltage: 80-250 V AC auto-switching
Crosstalk: -95dB
