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Chord Signature Digital Tuned ARAY USB A-B Cable
Free UK Delivery
Key Features
- Super ARAY conductors, a revolutionary way of building audio interconnects that brings new levels of coherence, detail and involvement.
- Precision silver-plated oxygen free copper twisted Bi-data conductors
- Separately shielded data and power conductors
- Composite PE/LDPE/PE Tri layer insulation
- Chord Company custom Signature Super ARAY conductor configuration
- Dual layer precision applied high coverage foil shielding, effective to very high frequencies
- PVC outer jacket minimises signal degradation caused by mechanical noise
- Chord Company custom silver-plated USB plugs
- Lifetime Warranty
Chord's first venture into USB cables was a consequence of having musicians (incl some in bands) working at the Chord Company. After copying a CD master recording to a laptop, we were shocked at the poor performance of the burned copies when compared to the original master CD.
At the time we were using one of the first DACs with a USB input, so we played the master from the laptop. Still not good but better than the burned CD version. After using better spec ripping programs and playback management, we thankfully got big improvements to the burned CD.
Whilst we were happy that we could produce a pretty decent CD copy from the original master, the laptop copy of the master (sent to the DAC via its USB input) sounded clearly worse than the CD copy being fed to the same DAC – so we investigated the construction of the USB cable between laptop and DAC.
After listening to a selection of available (and varying quality) USB cables, we realised this was an area worth exploring. The result was the Chord USB SilverPlus, launched in Sept 2011, with silver-plated conductors and high frequency effective shielding. Chord Signature USB followed in April 2013 and has remained virtually unchanged up till now (Aug 2018)
There are increasing numbers of high quality DACs (with exceptional USB inputs) and several high quality music streamers/servers with USB outputs. This has led us to revisit and improve the original Signature USB design
The original Signature USB featured four separately shielded conductors. We have now refined the effective gauge of the silver-plated copper conductors and uprated the insulation to a high-speed PE/LDPE/PE composite dielectric. The earth shielding connection is further protected from high frequency noise with its own foil tape layer. The ARAY technology has been uprated from Tuned ARAY to Super ARAY using a Signature USB specific ARAY design. We have incorporated refinements with both USB A and B plugs. All connections are soldered and the USB plugs are ChorAlloy™ plated to our specification in the UK. We believe these changes have all contributed to a healthy improvement in performance. It is certainly a little harder (therefore longer) to build, so while the price has crept up from the original Signature USB, we feel it more than justifies the effort when you audition it against the original design.
There are many high-performance storage and streaming devices available and the new Signature Super ARAY USB is an obvious choice to try with these. Also worth trying between your PC/tablet and DAC, particularly if it’s full of decent rips of your own CD collection, high quality downloads or is being used for streaming hi-def music like Tidal etc.
NB. We never recommend the use of Micro USB adaptors with any of our USB cables (if you can avoid it). It is still possible to hear the improvements when upgrading the USB cables. If you are using a really good DAC that uses a micro USB input then it is still worth auditioning a good USB cable with an adaptor.
Who is The Chord Company and what is their Signature range?
The Chord Company (not to be confused with Chord Electronics) are a British manufacturer of high-quality cables and interconnects, designed and engineered specifically for music enthusiasts by music enthusiasts. Chord build award-winning cables for hifi stereo systems, home theatre applications, high definition televisions/gaming, music streamers and for custom installation environments.
The Chord Company's Signature Series is one the highest quality level ranges the company build. Hand-designed, engineered and built at their UK factory in Salisbury, the Signature range comprises premium level analogue, digital, subwoofer and loudspeaker cables that have been constructed with state-of-the-art, Chord-specific technologies and built with premium level materials to offer a no-compromise signal transfer at this dedicated price category.
Conductors | Silver Plated, Twisted Pair Tuned ARAY Technology |
Insulation | High Speed, Low Loss |
Plug & Signal Pins | Gold Plated |
Outer Jacket Features | Vibration Dampening |
UK Delivery
Providing your item is in stock, the order is usually dispatched within 24 hours. Postage and packing is completely free for orders over £99*. Out of stock items will be dispatched as soon as they become available, which can take between 4 to 21 days
UK Delivery orders are sent via our couriers' DPD Local on a next-day-delivery service and usually take between 1 and 3 days.
Local Delivery
Certain manufacturers disallow mail order for their products, however a local delivery may be possible.
We offer a local delivery service for a large number of our products. After your order has been placed, a member of the Hifi Gear team will contact you to arrange a convenient date and time for your local, personal delivery.
Click & Collect
We offer a free ‘Click & Collect’ service on all items. As soon as your order has been completed and is ready for collection a member of our team will be in contact with you. Orders can be collected from our store at 11 King Street, Hereford, HR4 9BW.
Please use this link to find more detailed delivery information or contact us for more details
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Chord Signature XL Speaker Cable£699.00
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Chord SignatureX ARAY Power Cable£1,000.00