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Chord Company Rumour X (2022) £20/m
We admit that the change of plating on a set of banana plugs isn’t glamorous. But take a listen to the 2022 version of Chord Company’s award-winning RumourX speaker cable using the new ChorAlloy plated banana plugs and it’s hard to do anything but nod in appreciation.
We have a sample of the previous generation to hand, and it doesn’t take long to hear the improvements. Listening through our reference systems, it’s clear that the basic character of the cable hasn’t changed. This is still a detailed and dynamically expressive performer that is unusually surefooted when communicating rhythmic drive. Yet, as we listen to the likes of Ólafur Arnald’s and Hans Zimmer’s OST, it is clear that the latest version of the cable is more balanced with a tauter, more controlled bass performance. There is a greater sense of openness about the sound and a little more subtlety in the way it renders dynamic nuances. At the top end, our system sounds just that touch more refined whereas the last generation cable adds a small degree of previously easily ignored hardness in
