Chord Electronics Symphonic
Chord Electronics Symphonic brings exceptional transparency and a dead-silent noise floor to low-output MC cartridges, revealing vivid tone, explosive dynamics and precisely layered soundstages. Enjoy The Music heard striking musical completeness, while Analogholic praised its locked-in imaging, extended bass and airy treble. With up to 85dB gain and balanced operation, it is a seriously convincing analog front-end cornerstone.
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Deliciously Crispy
Sound Quality
95/100
Cartridge Compatibility
85/100
Build Quality
86/100
Value for Money
93/100
Pros
Exceptionally transparent, musically natural presentation with no audible hum, buzz or extraneous noise.
Precise, three-dimensional imaging with convincing depth, scale and image solidity.
High-gain capability accommodates very low-output MC cartridges while retaining a quiet background.
Delivers forceful dynamics, extended bass and airy, detailed treble without sounding strained.
Cons
Moving-coil-only design limits compatibility for listeners using moving-magnet cartridges.
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What Reviewers Are Saying
SOUND QUALITY PERFORMANCE 95/100
Reviewers hear an exceptionally transparent, musically complete presentation that combines very low noise with vivid tone, forceful dynamics and unusually convincing spatial realism. The Symphonic is repeatedly described as getting out of the way of the cartridge and preserving the scale, texture and emotional force of records.
Transparency Noise Floor
95/100
Enjoy The Music heard “nothing added, nothing subtracted” and called transparency the Symphonic's greatest strength. Analogholic reported a dead-silent, low noise floor even at its highest 84dB gain setting, while the Enjoy The Music audition was free of hum, buzz and extraneous noise.
Tonal Balance Musicality
95/100
The presentation is described as natural, emotionally communicative and free of attention-seeking sonic effects. Analogholic praised hauntingly real vocals, a deep and sonorous cello, natural bow-on-string texture, extended bass and airy, unforced treble clarity.
Dynamics
94/100
The Symphonic conveys both large-scale power and fine rhythmic expression. Enjoy The Music found orchestral groups powerful and emotionally charged, while Analogholic singled out enhanced timing, explosive snare rim shots and bass-drum impact that “pounds you [in] the chest.”
Soundstage Imaging
95/100
Spatial performance is a major strength, with Enjoy The Music describing a stage that was convincing from left to right and front to back. Analogholic likewise heard precisely locked images with physical solidity, clear lateral and depth placement, and audible venue ambience.
Assessments of Build Quality, Usability, and Overall Propositions.
Cartridge Compatibility
85/100
This is an MC-focused design with gain available up to 85dB, and the reviewer successfully used 74dB with two very low-output 0.25mV cartridges. Fully balanced circuitry plus balanced and unbalanced inputs and outputs broaden system integration, though the supplied reviews provide little detail on cartridge-loading options or MM support.
Build Quality
86/100
In use, the unit was electrically well behaved: the Enjoy The Music reviewer encountered no hum, buzz or other extraneous noises during the audition. Reviewers also found it visually handsome, but offer limited direct discussion of chassis construction, internal layout or long-term durability.
Value for Money
93/100
At a reviewed price of $4,495, Enjoy The Music considered its musicality and beauty unmatched by components heard anywhere near its price, and concluded that it was well worth the asking price. Audiophilepure also gave an unqualified recommendation to MC-cartridge users.
Reviews & Sources
Professional reviews and sources for this product's Watt'n Potatoes analysis.
Online Reviews & Mentions
YouTube Reviews
Forum Mentions
No forum mentions found yet
Specifications
- Input Noise
- 1.5nV/Hz
- Max Output Voltage RMS
- 10v
- Equalisation Range
- 12Hz to 25kHz
- Equalisation Response
- RIAA Curve
- Equalisation Accuracy
- +/- 0.1dB
- Frequency Response
- 5Hz – 40kHz
- Rumble Filter
- Rausch Slope -24dB per octave below 50Hz
- Output Impedance
- 520Ω (resistive)
- Output Drive
- Can drive 600Ω at 50% output
- Input Power Supply
- 50v AC – 260v AC – auto adjust 50Hz – 60Hz
- Power consumption
- 20W
- Dimensions (including connectors)
- 333.5mm (W) x 59mm (H) x 142mm (D)
- Weight
- 6kg
Manufacturer's Description — Chord Electronics
Nestling in the Choral range, the Symphonic is our flagship MC phono stage, offering a range of advanced features over the entry-level Dual. The high-performance Symphonic uses our latest high-frequency power supply technology to exploit vinyl’s full potential, along with many new key features, to bring the performance levels in line with the Choral range, home of the DAVE DAC/preamp.
The Symphonic offers an almost infinite number of input impedance and gain options as well as balanced and unbalanced input options to the cartridge, making it a highly flexible device for integrating high-quality turntables into Chord systems. The comprehensive settings options are all externally selectable, with selections signified internally with illuminating LEDs.
A rumble filter removes unwanted low-frequency rumble signals appearing on both channels. The Symphonic Phono stage conforms to the RIAA curve without the IEC roll-off when the Rumble filter is set to ‘off’ Preamps: CPA 2500, CPA 3000, CPA 5000, and CPA 8000. Preamps: CPA 2500, CPA 3000, CPA 5000, and CPA 8000.; this is commensurate with the high calibre of Chord amplification. The IEC curve response can be added by setting the Rumble filter to ‘on’. According to the wiring of the tone arm on the turntable used, the Symphonic can be operated in either an unbalanced or balanced mode.
Other accessories & custom options
Precision machined from a solid block of aircraft grade aluminium, a work of art on its own, the Ensemble Stand is irrefutably the most satisfying way to display your Choral system components or stack.
Selectable Impedance:
4.7Ω, 33Ω, 100Ω
Selectable Gain:
40dB – 80dB
Inputs:
1x Stereo Balanced XLR Pair
1x Stereo Unbalanced RCA Pair
Outputs:
1x Stereo Balanced XLR Pair
1x Stereo Unbalanced RCA Pair
Key Features
Moving Coil Cartridge Only
HF Switch Mode Power Supply
Selectable Gain
Selectable Impedance
Rausch Slope Rumble Filter
Balanced XLR Input
Fully Balanced Circuitry
Unbalanced RCA Input
Balanced XLR Output
Unbalanced RCA Output
Solid Aluminium Chassis
Included Accessories
Symphonic Quickstart guide
Safety instructions
10A Mains IEC cable
Verified Dealers
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Authorized dealers for Chord Electronics Symphonic
- Absoulute Audio plus Video — in-store — Aiken, South Carolina, United States (website)
- In Living Stereo — in-store — New York City, New York, United States (website)
- The Music Room — online and in-store — Erie, Colorado, United States (website)
- 110Hz — online and in-store — Kielce, Województwo świętokrzyskie, Poland (website)
- Accent On Music — in-store — Mount Kisco, New York, United States (website)
- Acoustic Designs Inc. — in-store — Scottsdale, Arizona, United States (website)
- Acoustic Sounds — online and in-store — Salina, Kansas, United States (website)
- Acoustic Streams — in-store — Lower Drift, England, United Kingdom (website)
- Acoustica — online and in-store — Chester, England, United Kingdom (website)
- Ajasom — online and in-store — Amadora, Lisboa, Portugal (website)
and 202 more verified dealers