Dear reader, this January at NAMM Show in California, Chord introduced the Alto as part of their Chord Electronics Pro range, the Alto was designed especially for recording and mastering studio engineers to help them with critical monitoring. However, Chord had to rethink their strategy since a huge part of the audiophile community requested the Alto for home or showroom use, so Chord succumbed to it and the Alto is now available for everyone, pro audio professionals or home users alike.
First, let’s analyze and see what the Alto is and where does it fit in the Chord lineup. Chord Electronics calls the Alto a “nearfield monitor amplifier”, the Alto being able to power not only four pairs of headphones, but also small desktop monitors. The Alto includes Chord’s signature ULTIMA amplification technology, but also their signature design that we are all so fond of.
The Alto has four headphone outputs on the front panel, two 6.35 mm outputs, one 3.5 mm output, and the novelty, a single 4.4 mm Pentaconn output. As we are used from the mighty Hugo TT 2, the multiple headphone outputs allow more than one person to listen at the same time, favoring A/B comparisons with different kinds of headphones.
As per powering speakers, the Alto delivers 25 watts into 8 ohms (50 watts into 4 ohms). On the rear panel stereo banana plug outputs are provided, accommodating all types of speaker plugs. On the backside you can also find RCA and XLR inputs, but also XLR outputs, in the scenario you want to use the Alto as a preamp only.
Dear reader, the Alto is already available at around 3000 UK pounds. Ultimate desktop power, baby!
