Chord Ultima 5

□ Power amplifier

□ £9250

“This is a strikingly capable amplifier. If you’re looking for clarity, agility and detail resolution, it’s class-leading”

Mention Chord Electronics and there’s a strong probability that one of its class-leading digital-to-analogue convertors will come to mind. And rightly so; the company has produced a long string of truly outstanding digital products over the past couple of decades and has a bursting trophy cabinet to prove it.

So successful has Chord been with DACs that it’s easy to overlook the fact that it started off as an amplification brand and has always made some excellent products in this field. Now,