Chord Anni

[jlbrach]

the anni is great and will drive them easily

 

[JanisR]

I got to listen to Anni today. I was shopping for a new pair of closed-backs but got all my headphones and my current headphone amp, the Topping A90 in my backpack just in case. I was the only shopper interested in headphones so I got all the time I wanted. I was surprised how noticeable the difference between the Topping A90 and the Chord Anni is. Whilst both amps are undoubtedly excellent products, giving an energetic, detailed sound with a tight, disciplined base, the Anni in comparison sounds a bit warmer. However, the main and most important difference is something I struggle to describe. There is something about Chord products - musicality, a magical touch that somehow makes you love the music more, a hand that reaches out to embrace your soul - that other brands fail to show with the same consistency. That magical touch, I'm glad to report, is very much present in Anni. If you're a Chord fanboy, like I am, you will love it.

Another thing to not is Anni's remarkable synergy with my HEDD headphones. Anni's gentle warmth and love for music shines with those headphones. Listening to Avi Kaplan's "Change on the Rise" made my jaw drop - the rhythmic beat sounded more confident than ever before, the base so rich, deep and yet disciplined but above it all the vocal - so natural, engaging and rich. Game of Thrones' Main Title track sounded with the familiar energy, however there was more to it now - a sweet lullaby-like melody. Vivaldi's L'inverno, Largo by Gidon Kremer sounded even gentler, mode melodic but the difference was not as dramatic as with the first two tracks. When listening to the guitar solo of AC/DC's Thunderstruck, I thought - yes, this is what an electric guitar should sound like. The sound was that of a (good) valve amp. Depeche Mode's "Sweetest Perfection" sounded like Martin Gore is casting a spell on me - so sinful, so divine.

The closed-back headphones I bought: Focal Radiance Bentley SE. I tested them against the Fostex TH-900 mk2, the headphone I have liked and fancied for a very long time. With Anni, the Fostex sounded way too bright, which is what many reviewers had been saying for ages but I only heard that today. The Radiance, I find, has quite a similar sound signature to the Fostex but with none of the cons. The Radiance Bentley SE sounded really good with the Anni - the base is divine and the rest is excellent.

 

[dbturbo2]

I got to listen to Anni today. I was shopping for a new pair of closed-backs but got all my headphones and my current headphone amp, the Topping A90 in my backpack just in case. I was the only shopper interested in headphones so I got all the time I wanted. I was surprised how noticeable the difference between the Topping A90 and the Chord Anni is. Whilst both amps are undoubtedly excellent products, giving an energetic, detailed sound with a tight, disciplined base, the Anni in comparison sounds a bit warmer. However, the main and most important difference is something I struggle to describe. There is something about Chord products - musicality, a magical touch that somehow makes you love the music more, a hand that reaches out to embrace your soul - that other brands fail to show with the same consistency. That magical touch, I'm glad to report, is very much present in Anni. If you're a Chord fanboy, like I am, you will love it.

Another thing to not is Anni's remarkable synergy with my HEDD headphones. Anni's gentle warmth and love for music shines with those headphones. Listening to Avi Kaplan's "Change on the Rise" made my jaw drop - the rhythmic beat sounded more confident than ever before, the base so rich, deep and yet disciplined but above it all the vocal - so natural, engaging and rich. Game of Thrones' Main Title track sounded with the familiar energy, however there was more to it now - a sweet lullaby-like melody. Vivaldi's L'inverno, Largo by Gidon Kremer sounded even gentler, mode melodic but the difference was not as dramatic as with the first two tracks. When listening to the guitar solo of AC/DC's Thunderstruck, I thought - yes, this is what an electric guitar should sound like. The sound was that of a (good) valve amp. Depeche Mode's "Sweetest Perfection" sounded like Martin Gore is casting a spell on me - so sinful, so divine.

The closed-back headphones I bought: Focal Radiance Bentley SE. I tested them against the Fostex TH-900 mk2, the headphone I have liked and fancied for a very long time. With Anni, the Fostex sounded way too bright, which is what many reviewers had been saying for ages but I only heard that today. The Radiance, I find, has quite a similar sound signature to the Fostex but with none of the cons. The Radiance Bentley SE sounded really good with the Anni - the base is divine and the rest is excellent.

Thanks for the fantastic review of the Anni. Is there any channel imbalance at low volume levels that you noticed? With regards to the Heddphone, at what position on the volume knob are you listening for normal listening? Glad to hear the Anni has enough juice to drive the Heddphone, do you feel the sound quality with the Anni is worth the price difference over the Topping? Thanks

 

[n2413]

I got to listen to Anni today. I was shopping for a new pair of closed-backs but got all my headphones and my current headphone amp, the Topping A90 in my backpack just in case. I was the only shopper interested in headphones so I got all the time I wanted. I was surprised how noticeable the difference between the Topping A90 and the Chord Anni is. Whilst both amps are undoubtedly excellent products, giving an energetic, detailed sound with a tight, disciplined base, the Anni in comparison sounds a bit warmer. However, the main and most important difference is something I struggle to describe. There is something about Chord products - musicality, a magical touch that somehow makes you love the music more, a hand that reaches out to embrace your soul - that other brands fail to show with the same consistency. That magical touch, I'm glad to report, is very much present in Anni. If you're a Chord fanboy, like I am, you will love it.

Another thing to not is Anni's remarkable synergy with my HEDD headphones. Anni's gentle warmth and love for music shines with those headphones. Listening to Avi Kaplan's "Change on the Rise" made my jaw drop - the rhythmic beat sounded more confident than ever before, the base so rich, deep and yet disciplined but above it all the vocal - so natural, engaging and rich. Game of Thrones' Main Title track sounded with the familiar energy, however there was more to it now - a sweet lullaby-like melody. Vivaldi's L'inverno, Largo by Gidon Kremer sounded even gentler, mode melodic but the difference was not as dramatic as with the first two tracks. When listening to the guitar solo of AC/DC's Thunderstruck, I thought - yes, this is what an electric guitar should sound like. The sound was that of a (good) valve amp. Depeche Mode's "Sweetest Perfection" sounded like Martin Gore is casting a spell on me - so sinful, so divine.

The closed-back headphones I bought: Focal Radiance Bentley SE. I tested them against the Fostex TH-900 mk2, the headphone I have liked and fancied for a very long time. With Anni, the Fostex sounded way too bright, which is what many reviewers had been saying for ages but I only heard that today. The Radiance, I find, has quite a similar sound signature to the Fostex but with none of the cons. The Radiance Bentley SE sounded really good with the Anni - the base is divine and the rest is excellent.

Enjoyed this review. Thanks, super hans

 

[JanisR]

Thanks for the fantastic review of the Anni. Is there any channel imbalance at low volume levels that you noticed? With regards to the Heddphone, at what position on the volume knob are you listening for normal listening? Glad to hear the Anni has enough juice to drive the Heddphone, do you feel the sound quality with the Anni is worth the price difference over the Topping? Thanks

The Anni is very powerful. It's a shame the gain switch is inactive for headphones. For the Focal Radiance Bentley SE I kept the volume know at around 9 o'clock. For the HEDD, the knob was at 11 to 12 o'clock, whilst being plenty loud. If you like to fine-adjust your volume and have mostly highly sensitive headphones, it is a consideration. The one thing truly good about the Topping A90 is 3 gain modes: low, medium and high. Channel imbalance at low level - I did not notice any.

The question about price difference is tricky. I think when we go above the price of the A90, we are hitting diminishing returns. Perhaps it depends on the headphone. The HEDD with the Topping sounds impressive, great. With the Anni, it sounds exactly like the hi-end system you remember listening to at a hi-fi show that costs several times as much as your car and that you will never ever own. I won't use the word 'endgame' but I don't think the headphone upgrade ladder has many steps above that sound quality these days.

 

[ardbeg1975]

I’m running some high sensitivity headphones (Rognir, Wodan, Gjallarhorn) on the Anni at ~8-8:30 on the volume knob (I don’t listen very loud). No channel imbalance at all.

 

[u2u2]

The Anni is very powerful. It's a shame the gain switch is inactive for headphones. For the Focal Radiance Bentley SE I kept the volume know at around 9 o'clock. For the HEDD, the knob was at 11 to 12 o'clock, whilst being plenty loud. If you like to fine-adjust your volume and have mostly highly sensitive headphones, it is a consideration. The one thing truly good about the Topping A90 is 3 gain modes: low, medium and high. Channel imbalance at low level - I did not notice any.

The question about price difference is tricky. I think when we go above the price of the A90, we are hitting diminishing returns. Perhaps it depends on the headphone. The HEDD with the Topping sounds impressive, great. With the Anni, it sounds exactly like the hi-end system you remember listening to at a hi-fi show that costs several times as much as your car and that you will never ever own. I won't use the word 'endgame' but I don't think the headphone upgrade ladder has many steps above that sound quality these days.

Spot on when running Anni off a Qutest. Stellia, rated at 35 ohms, are on the line of needing a lower gain setting when playing loud tracks. This is the only flaw I find with Anni. (could lower the Qutest output to 1 volt but the sound suffers, it needs 2 volts) Lower impedance devices would not be a good match unless you use a pre amp which isn't the setup/use scenario Anni is marketed for. Fortunately, in my case, no problem with all my other headphones as they are all higher impedance than Stellia. Even with HD800 or HD820 I never need to exceed 0900. I have pre amped Anni and when doing so set Anni at 1200. Superb. If disaster struck, and I had to cull my amp herd, Anni would be the survivor.

 

[dbturbo2]

The Anni is very powerful. It's a shame the gain switch is inactive for headphones. For the Focal Radiance Bentley SE I kept the volume know at around 9 o'clock. For the HEDD, the knob was at 11 to 12 o'clock, whilst being plenty loud. If you like to fine-adjust your volume and have mostly highly sensitive headphones, it is a consideration. The one thing truly good about the Topping A90 is 3 gain modes: low, medium and high. Channel imbalance at low level - I did not notice any.

The question about price difference is tricky. I think when we go above the price of the A90, we are hitting diminishing returns. Perhaps it depends on the headphone. The HEDD with the Topping sounds impressive, great. With the Anni, it sounds exactly like the hi-end system you remember listening to at a hi-fi show that costs several times as much as your car and that you will never ever own. I won't use the word 'endgame' but I don't think the headphone upgrade ladder has many steps above that sound quality these days.

I have a Monolith THX AAA 887 that I suspect sounds very similar to your Topping given the shared tech. This amp with the HEDD running in balanced mode sounds great though I do wish the bass had a bit more slam. With regards to the bass, are there any significant improvements with the Anni vs the Topping? Thanks again

 

[JanisR]

I have a Monolith THX AAA 887 that I suspect sounds very similar to your Topping given the shared tech. This amp with the HEDD running in balanced mode sounds great though I do wish the bass had a bit more slam. With regards to the bass, are there any significant improvements with the Anni vs the Topping? Thanks again

I would not call those improvements significant, but that is because the base delivered by the A90 is quite powerful. I have never listened to the Monolith AAA 887, I would assume a similar sound signature for the THX and Topping devices but I would not assume the same power.

Talking numbers, Topping A90 is rated at 7.6 watts, whereas the Anni sports 10 watts. But I am not sure it is as simple a comparison as that.

 

[jlbrach]

obviously isn't all about power output or tech ratings or else the topping 90 would be as good as amps selling for 10 times as much which have lower power output...which it isnt and I won the a90 so I have nothing against it...I own the formula s/powerman combo which has a lower power output rating and const more than 10 times as much and is head and shoulders better

 

[JaquesGelee]

Does any Anni owner here has some fan noise issues?

Cheers

 

[chihangs]

Does anyone knows how anni performs on iem?

 

[JanisR]

Does any Anni owner here has some fan noise issues?

Cheers

I tested Anni in a quiet room, where it was unboxed and plugged in for me, to warm it up. After a while I noticed a fan noise - not loud or annoying but certainly audible. And realised the noise comes from the Anni. Whilst testing it with headphones, even open-backs, it was a non-issue. My PC, which is a very quiet build, is about as noisy as the Anni so I am not at all concerned about the fan noise. I am more concerned that there is a moving part in the device - let us hope it is reliable.

 

[u2u2]

I thought my Anni made no noises but with all these reports of fan noise I had to check more closely. Ran Anni for an hour with my home as quiet as can be and there it was… from about 18 inches, or closer, the steady hum of a fan. Can’t be heard with IEMs or headphones being worn. Good to know it is working and you really have to go out of your way to hear it. My audio related gear is all fanless, where possible, but for Anni. Fan noise can’t be tolerated at the listening post. Good job by Chord. Personally not concerned about reliability of the fan.

 

[u2u2]

Does anyone knows how anni performs on iem?

I pretty much retired my Sure SE846 after some horrid performance with my McIntosh amp. Yesterday I tried them with Anni for a few hours. The combination floored me as it was as good as the 846s have ever done (I thought they might be damaged after the McIntosh fail). Problem is the volume had to be near fully off, right where it is either too little or too much so you need a software gain control, pre amp, or other means of control to move the volume up away from that threshold.
Yesterday I was pairing Anni with the wrong device.
Dusted off a couple of Sony IEMs today, XBA-Z5 and XBA-H3, with the right source… no issues with gain being dialed down to 80% so the volume is up to 0800-0900.
My usual IEM device is Mojo but it hasn't seen any IEM use for the past two years or so. All my IEMs are dated but I am guessing most IEM users would find Anni performance to be very good if not excellent at its price point. Certainly worth a demo run if you can arrange one.