Chord Electronics ULTIMA 5
The ULTIMA 5 delivers cut-glass clarity, commanding control and a vast, precisely layered soundstage from its 300W-per-channel platform. What Hi-Fi? highlights its exceptional transparency, agile detail retrieval and composure at serious levels, while hi-fi+ underscores its authority, speed and extension. Add superb aluminium construction, and this is a compellingly revealing high-end power amplifier.
WATT RECOMMENDS
Save your favorites. Compare them anytime.
Create a free HiFi Hub account to save products to your Wishlist and compare your favorites side by side.
Deliciously Crispy
Sound Quality
94/100
Build Quality
94/100
Value for Money
85/100
Pros
Class-leading transparency, clarity and low-level detail resolution.
Remains composed and controlled at high volume, with substantial authority, speed and extension.
Creates a huge, open soundstage with crisply focused, layered images.
Excellent, compact-for-its-power build, including a substantial aircraft-grade aluminium front panel.
Cons
Less muscular in the bass, low-end punch and rhythmic drive than some rivals.
Its taut, analytical balance may not suit listeners seeking a lush, rich or overtly exuberant presentation.
WATT RECOMMENDS
Save your favorites. Compare them anytime.
Create a free HiFi Hub account to save products to your Wishlist and compare your favorites side by side.
What Reviewers Are Saying
SOUND QUALITY PERFORMANCE 94/100
Reviews portray the ULTIMA 5 as an exceptionally clear, controlled and revealing amplifier, with a large, precisely organised soundstage and ample composure at high levels. Its presentation is more analytical than lush, and one reviewer notes that some rivals bring greater low-end punch and rhythmic drive.
Transparency Resolution
97/100
What Hi-Fi calls the ULTIMA 5 a class-leading choice for clarity, agility and detail resolution, praising its ability to expose low-level information and subtle texture. It is described as highly transparent and unusually successful at passing the incoming signal without imposing much character of its own.
Tonal Balance Musicality
91/100
The amplifier is taut, analytical and not overtly lush or rich, but reviewers say it avoids the clinical, cold quality associated with some earlier Chord designs. Instruments retain convincing warmth and body, while the large amount of recovered information is said to remain cohesive and musical.
Dynamics
92/100
The ULTIMA 5 is repeatedly described as effortless, fast and composed under demanding material and high playback levels, with no reported sonic stress. Hi-fi+ likewise says its authority is never in doubt, though What Hi-Fi notes that some rivals sound more muscular, punchy and rhythmically forceful in the bass.
Soundstage Imaging
94/100
What Hi-Fi hears a huge, open stereo image populated by layered, crisply focused sounds. Its ability to separate and follow low-level instrumental strands gives complex recordings strong spatial clarity and organisation.
Assessments of Build Quality, Usability, and Overall Propositions.
Build Quality
94/100
What Hi-Fi finds the construction truly excellent, citing the immaculately made 28mm aircraft-grade aluminium front panel, substantial casework and rear panel that also serves as a heatsink. Balanced XLR and single-ended RCA inputs, chunky speaker terminals, and controlled operating warmth support a purposeful high-power design.
Value for Money
85/100
At an indicated price of roughly $11,500-$17,550, the ULTIMA 5 occupies a demanding high-end segment. The reviews strongly praise its performance and construction but do not directly compare its value with similarly priced rivals or offer a clear verdict on whether the asking price is especially compelling.
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
- Output Power
- 300W RMS per channel into 8Ω 500W RMS per channel into 4Ω
- Power consumption
- Full power – 2000 W Standby – 10 W
- THD
- 0.005%
- Frequency Response
- -1dB – 0.5Hz – 100kHz
- Gain
- 30dB
- Dimensions with included Integra Legs
- 18cm (H) x 48cm (W) x 36cm (D)
- Dimensions with optional Side Blocks
- 15cm (H) x 42cm (W) x 36cm (D)
- Weight
- 22.4kG
Manufacturer's Description — Chord Electronics
ULTIMA 5 is a progression of our most famous stereo power amplifier, the legendary SPM 1200 MK II (widely considered to be the definitive Chord Electronics amplifier).
Now incorporating our latest-generation ULTIMA circuit topology, the new ULTIMA 5 is set to become a future classic. Considered to offer the ideal balance between performance and price, the ULTIMA 5 offers an impressively affordable 300 watts – enough to drive all but the most demanding loudspeakers.
The ULTIMA 5 has built upon the inherent strengths of the SPM 1200 MK II and taken performance to the next level. By implementing our advanced dual-feed-forward error-correction, topology incorporating our own advanced concepts in ultra-high-frequency power supplies, we have been able to deliver supremely fast and powerful performance, with an extraordinarily high peak output current (the speed at which dynamic peaks can be delivered), bringing astonishing dynamics, timing accuracy and, as a result, unrivaled musicality.
Add to that our low-distortion amplifier circuitry with our own proprietary lateral-structure dual-die MOSFETs and the ULTIMA 5 is able to drive loudspeaker loads effortlessly, with clarity and precision. The ULTIMA 5 has an incredible 32 proprietary MOSFET power devices which demand the most advanced and refined drive circuitry, suitably devoid of sound-degrading components.
ULTIMA is a truly unprecedented amplifier topology with exceptional performance and is one of the most advanced amplifier technologies in the world.
Benefiting from a redesigned fascia featuring John Franks’ latest aesthetic, the precision CNC-machined fascia is made from aircraft-grade aluminium and features a reassuringly solid 28-mm thick front panel, enhanced by a recessed spherical polycarbonate power button that illuminates for standby and operation modes; a discreet, hidden front panel switch, located in the vertical split line, enables dimmable lighting.
The amplifier’s rear panels contain both balanced and unbalanced connections, high-quality loudspeaker terminals, a 12 V trigger and a C-19-type IEC.
Other accessories & custom options
Argent silver Integra leg option
Jett black Integra leg option
Gloss black acrylic side block option (can not be stacked)
Inputs:
1x Stereo Pair of Gold Plated Balanced XLR Inputs
1x Stereo Pair of Gold Plated Unbalanced RCA Inputs
1x 12v Trigger Input – Chord Electronics Auto Start
Output:
1x Pair of High Quality, High Current, Gold Plated Type Speaker Terminals
Key Features
Class AB Sliding Bias
Dual feed-forward error correction
HF Switch Mode Power Supply
Proprietary Chord MOSFETs
Fully Balanced Circuitry
Convection Cooled
Balanced XLR Inputs
Unbalanced RCA Inputs
12v Trigger On/Off Input
Dimmable feature lighting
Included Top Light Ring
Solid Aluminium Chassis
Included Accessories
ULTIMA 5 Quickstart guide
Safety instructions
15A Mains IEC cable
Verified Dealers
Online Dealers
All Dealers
Zoom out the map to see more dealers
Authorized dealers for Chord Electronics ULTIMA 5
- 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