{"product_id":"chord-quartet","title":"Chord Quartet","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe Chord Electronics Quartet is the most advanced digital upscaler Chord has ever produced and, by the company's own account, the most significant digital audio product in its 37-year history. At its heart is the all-new Blackbird WTA (Watts Transient Aligned) filter, the result of 46 years of research by digital design consultant Rob Watts, running four million taps across five Xilinx FPGAs to reconstruct the timing of a recording with an accuracy that conventional digital technology cannot approach. The new flagship of Chord's Choral system. Made in the UK.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eType and Technology\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eReference-class digital upscaler with a built-in analogue-to-digital converter. The Blackbird WTA filter uses four million taps, implemented directly in hardware across 5x Xilinx FPGAs rather than via FFT convolution, a tenfold increase over the one-million-tap filter of the previous \u003ca href=\"\/products\/chord-hugo-m-scaler\"\u003eHugo M Scaler\u003c\/a\u003e and roughly five times the FPGA processing power of the flagship \u003ca href=\"\/products\/chord-dave\"\u003eDAVE\u003c\/a\u003e. Nearly all of the filter's mathematical coefficients reach the theoretical sinc-function ideal for perfect reconstruction. In a first for a Chord upscaler, a custom Pulse Array ADC brings turntables, tape, and other analogue line-level sources into the upscaling path, using proprietary decimation filters to eliminate aliasing from its 104 MHz noise-shaper output. A 108-bit, ten-shelf lossless digital EQ, first seen in the Mojo 2, offers plus or minus 18 dB of adjustment with no loss of resolution. Designed to partner every Chord Electronics DAC and to unlock the full 768kHz capability of the DAVE. Made in the UK.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eSound Character\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Blackbird WTA filter's effect is described as transformational rather than incremental. Instruments acquire a tangible presence and a more natural sense of timbre, bass pitch becomes cleaner and better defined, and reverberation and spatial depth, the sense of a real acoustic space, are markedly improved. Through the built-in ADC, analogue sources are preserved with the fine timing cues the brain relies on to map a soundstage, so vinyl and master tape are rendered with studio-grade transient accuracy rather than sounding flattened or mechanical.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eBuild and Finish\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA two-box design, pairing the upscaler with a separate Rob Watts-designed power supply whose proprietary pinch-off RF filter architecture delivers the low-noise purity normally associated with battery power from a mains-connected unit. Programmable latency from 10 milliseconds to three seconds simplifies audio-visual integration. Precision-machined aircraft-grade aluminium, available in Argent Silver or Jett Black, and supplied with a five-year warranty. The matching \u003ca href=\"\/products\/choral-ensemble-stand\"\u003eChoral Ensemble Stand System\u003c\/a\u003e is available separately.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eBest For\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe most committed digital listeners, and \u003ca href=\"\/products\/chord-dave\"\u003eDAVE\u003c\/a\u003e owners in particular, who want to extract the last measure of timing accuracy from their system, along with anyone who wants to bring a turntable or tape source into Chord's upscaling domain for the first time.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eWhat's in the Box\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChord Quartet upscaler\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRob Watts-designed external power supply\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePower cable\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDocumentation\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eSpecifications\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003ctable\u003e\n\u003cthead\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003cth\u003eSpecification\u003c\/th\u003e\n\u003cth\u003eValue\u003c\/th\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\u003c\/thead\u003e\n\u003ctbody\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eType\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eReference digital upscaler with built-in ADC\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eFilter\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eBlackbird WTA, 4,000,000 taps across 5x Xilinx FPGAs\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eProcessing\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eApproximately 5x the FPGA power of the DAVE DAC\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eADC\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eCustom Pulse Array ADC, 104 MHz noise-shaper, proprietary anti-aliasing decimation\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eDigital EQ\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e108-bit, 10-shelf lossless, plus or minus 18 dB\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eMax output sample rate\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e768kHz (dual BNC to compatible Chord DACs)\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eDigital inputs\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eGalvanically isolated USB Type-B, optical\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eAnalogue inputs\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eRCA (for built-in ADC)\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eDigital outputs\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eDual BNC (up to 768kHz), optical\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eProgrammable latency\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e10 ms to 3 seconds\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePower\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eSeparate Rob Watts-designed supply with RF rejection\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eFinishes\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eArgent Silver, Jett Black\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eWarranty\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e5 years\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/tbody\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e","brand":"Chord","offers":[{"title":"Black","offer_id":53551627731223,"sku":null,"price":35995.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Silver","offer_id":53551627763991,"sku":null,"price":35995.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0213\/4262\/files\/chord-quartet-upscaler-front-silver.jpg?v=1781818975","url":"https:\/\/www.mimic-audio.com\/products\/chord-quartet","provider":"Mimic-Audio","version":"1.0","type":"link"}