[Christer]

Hey you're absolutely correct.

Stars Pickers Audio in Damansara, Malaysia witnessed a packed house yesterday as the founder of Chord Electronics, John Franks, and their product designer, Rob Watts, took centre stage. The occasion not only served as a platform to unveil their new Chord ULTIMA integrated amplifier but also provided a unique opportunity for the audience to gain insights into the company's future product plans.

Previously, Chord had hinted at a modular product known as the Suzi but had not disclosed any additional details. Yesterday, John Franks finally presented us with 3D renders of the product, revealing that the Chord Suzi will be a modular power amplifier designed to connect seamlessly with the Chord Hugo2. Additionally, he introduced another upcoming phono pre-amplifier, the Chord Suzi Pre, which will also be compatible with this modular system.



John Franks has this to say about the inspiration and design of the Suzi, “The kids have building block toys and I thought that’s a good idea for a modular product. And the shape itself is based on my kid’s shoe box. By making it modular we can make it a standalone product and at the same time provide a stackable form factor with compatible devices.”



The upcoming Suzi Pre will serve as a phono stage for both moving magnet (MM) and moving coil (MC) cartridges. It will also have various loading and impedance settings to better match it with your phono system. It can also be used as a standalone phono stage using a small attachment that converts the RCA output from the side to the rear. When paired with the Suzi power amplifier, it will receive power from the Suzi.

Unlike other audio companies that focus a lot on linear power supplies, Chord has been firm on their stand that a good SMPS power supply is better than a linear power supply. “Linear power supplies are very transparent,” John Franks explained, “So there’s a lot of electronic interference beyond the human frequency range that can pass through. Even if it is within the megahertz range, it can introduce modulated interference in the audible range.”

“With a properly made SMPS there are filters on the input and output so we can reduce the interference drastically.” he added.

I asked them why they use colours to show bitrate, inputs, and volume instead of position or text indicators for most of their products, “Well think of it this way, you’re standing from across the room and you look at the amp. You will know exactly what is going on based on the colours on it,” Rob Watts answered with that end note.

Hmm, Stars Pickers in KL, that's where I bought both my Mscaler and my HFM HEKV2 headphones and a little battery powered psu for my Qutest. Nice shop with friendly staff and when I shopped there, clearly better prices than in Europe. And they not only served coffe but also good lunches in their Cafe´. I was hoping to get a Hugo 3 with an Mscaler already on board from there as well this winter allowing me to leave my Mscaler back home, but alas...
I wonder who this weird looking litttle Pre doubling as phono stage is really for? "Me myself personally" as many introduced themselves in Kenya many years ago would only see any need for it if it also works as a headphone amp with Qutest and audibly beats my other headphone amps.
I doubt Rob has any interest in phono stages whatsoever? But is he the man "behind" the Ultima amp?Even I very rarely listen to LPs these days although I still have hundreds of them in my listening room. Mscaler changed things a lot for me.
Cheers CC

 

[miketlse]

Hey you're absolutely correct.

Stars Pickers Audio in Damansara, Malaysia witnessed a packed house yesterday as the founder of Chord Electronics, John Franks, and their product designer, Rob Watts, took centre stage. The occasion not only served as a platform to unveil their new Chord ULTIMA integrated amplifier but also provided a unique opportunity for the audience to gain insights into the company's future product plans.

Previously, Chord had hinted at a modular product known as the Suzi but had not disclosed any additional details. Yesterday, John Franks finally presented us with 3D renders of the product, revealing that the Chord Suzi will be a modular power amplifier designed to connect seamlessly with the Chord Hugo2. Additionally, he introduced another upcoming phono pre-amplifier, the Chord Suzi Pre, which will also be compatible with this modular system.



John Franks has this to say about the inspiration and design of the Suzi, “The kids have building block toys and I thought that’s a good idea for a modular product. And the shape itself is based on my kid’s shoe box. By making it modular we can make it a standalone product and at the same time provide a stackable form factor with compatible devices.”



The upcoming Suzi Pre will serve as a phono stage for both moving magnet (MM) and moving coil (MC) cartridges. It will also have various loading and impedance settings to better match it with your phono system. It can also be used as a standalone phono stage using a small attachment that converts the RCA output from the side to the rear. When paired with the Suzi power amplifier, it will receive power from the Suzi.

Unlike other audio companies that focus a lot on linear power supplies, Chord has been firm on their stand that a good SMPS power supply is better than a linear power supply. “Linear power supplies are very transparent,” John Franks explained, “So there’s a lot of electronic interference beyond the human frequency range that can pass through. Even if it is within the megahertz range, it can introduce modulated interference in the audible range.”

“With a properly made SMPS there are filters on the input and output so we can reduce the interference drastically.” he added.

I asked them why they use colours to show bitrate, inputs, and volume instead of position or text indicators for most of their products, “Well think of it this way, you’re standing from across the room and you look at the amp. You will know exactly what is going on based on the colours on it,” Rob Watts answered with that end note.

Thank you for this new update.
Gradually Chord have been progressing from an all-in-one vision (eg DAVE) to a more modular approach that can accommodate alternative upscalers/amplifiers etc for the same core DAC.
Personally I think that this is the way to go, but others may well disagree.

 

[miketlse]

Hmm, Stars Pickers in KL, that's where I bought both my Mscaler and my HFM HEKV2 headphones and a little battery powered psu for my Qutest. Nice shop with friendly staff and when I shopped there, clearly better prices than in Europe. And they not only served coffe but also good lunches in their Cafe´. I was hoping to get a Hugo 3 with an Mscaler already on board from there as well this winter allowing me to leave my Mscaler back home, but alas...
I wonder who this weird looking litttle Pre doubling as phono stage is really for? "Me myself personally" as many introduced themselves in Kenya many years ago would only see any need for it if it also works as a headphone amp with Qutest and audibly beats my other headphone amps.
I doubt Rob has any interest in phono stages whatsoever? But is he the man "behind" the Ultima amp?Even I very rarely listen to LPs these days although I still have hundreds of them in my listening room. Mscaler changed things a lot for me.
Cheers CC

Baseline is i think that modular is good.
However it is true that phono stages are very niche, so I am not sure why the phono stage would be part of the core Hugo 3/Suzi.
If anyone knows, please illuminate me.

 

[Ike1985]

Looks awesome. Wonder how it will compare to TOTL tube amps.

 

[Christer]

Baseline is i think that modular is good.
However it is true that phono stages are very niche, so I am not sure why the phono stage would be part of the core Hugo 3/Suzi.
If anyone knows, please illuminate me.

Judging by the looks of it, that BIG Blue Volume Ball will "illuminate" any room its in, but not necessarily you.
I accept and understand Rob's take on the coloured balls on the Mscaler and dacs as mentioned. I have in the past when my Mscaler erratically started up in pass-through mode ie no upscaling and I could not only within seconds clearly hear something was wrong but also confirm it checking that the 1M taps white ball on my Mscaler was not "illuminated" as expected . But that BIG Blue Volume Ball on Suzi why ???
And a phono stage? Who really needs one of those these days? Anyway" big blue balls" Makes me think of Kenya again, and those thievish little Vervet Monkeys with "blue balls" who often managed to steal whatever edible they could from our breakfast table on our many Safaris there.
Regarding Suzi it seems to be a product a bit like Anni which "me myself personally" have no desire for or need of .A Hugo 3 with an Mscaler onboard, now that would have been something very tempting indeed.

Cheers CC

 

[penmarker]

I didn’t snap too many photos of the Suzi pre but there are 3 inputs at the back. The Suzi also has headphone output at the front so you can use it with your headphones too.

Chord also has the Chord Huei phono stage so I don’t see them pivoting too far from their usual offerings.

I did ask if they’re planning for a turntable but both of them said no because that’s something very different than what they’re doing. Other than buying competitors products to reverse engineer or learn it would be almost starting from scratch.

What I didn’t ask was whether the pre is a phono only or line level with phono. The Suzi pre could be a line level preamp but with only 3 inputs at the back and 2 large phono based buttons on the front, I’m inclined to think it’s a phono pre. Or at least phono first line level second.

We will have to wait for more information from their other appearances soon. I think that’s exciting.

 

[miketlse]

I didn’t snap too many photos of the Suzi pre but there are 3 inputs at the back. The Suzi also has headphone output at the front so you can use it with your headphones too.

Chord also has the Chord Huei phono stage so I don’t see them pivoting too far from their usual offerings.

I did ask if they’re planning for a turntable but both of them said no because that’s something very different than what they’re doing. Other than buying competitors products to reverse engineer or learn it would be almost starting from scratch.

What I didn’t ask was whether the pre is a phono only or line level with phono. The Suzi pre could be a line level preamp but with only 3 inputs at the back and 2 large phono based buttons on the front, I’m inclined to think it’s a phono pre. Or at least phono first line level second.

We will have to wait for more information from their other appearances soon. I think that’s exciting.

In the first image (without the big blue ball) is the correct interpretation that the Suzi amp (so not the preamp) can be seen plugged into the Hugo 2 outputs.
They are both sitting on top of the greyed out box, and is that a power supply or something else?

I guess this is all a big hint that the Hugo 3 is still many years away, if there ever is one.

 

[penmarker]

The gray box itself is the Suzi. The small rectangle with the word Suzi and a headphone output is how compatible devices connect to the Suzi. The curvy device with big ball is the Suzi pre.

The Suzi is a stereo amplifier so that explains the size of the gray box.

 

[miketlse]

The gray box itself is the Suzi. The small rectangle with the word Suzi and a headphone output is how compatible devices connect to the Suzi. The curvy device with big ball is the Suzi pre.

The Suzi is a stereo amplifier so that explains the size of the gray box.

It is still a bit confusing to me, because in the first picture you have:

• 2 Go power connected to Suzi, and plugged into the Hugo 2
• The Suzi headphone output, plugged into the Hugo 2 headphone connectors - the only extra functionality would be if the Suzi headphone output added balanced outputs

Nevermind I am sure that there will be many similar reveals in the next few hifi shows and canjams.

 

[penmarker]

The Suzi (gray box) is a speaker amplifier so the part with the headphone output is the interface between Suzi and Hugo. I assume that part is fixed to the Suzi.

 

[weexisttocease]

There's any rumours of a Hugo 3 release?

 

[miketlse]

There's any rumours of a Hugo 3 release?

@Rob Watts recently posted that he has not even started on a Hugo 3 design yet. If you look at the Suzi images, they show a Hugo 2 interfacing with the Suzi power amp. That is a big hint to me that the Hugo 2, is still part of the near-term roadmap for Chord, and not due to be replaced for quite a while yet.

 

[weexisttocease]

@Rob Watts recently posted that he has not even started on a Hugo 3 design yet. If you look at the Suzi images, they show a Hugo 2 interfacing with the Suzi power amp. That is a big hint to me that the Hugo 2, is still part of the near-term roadmap for Chord, and not due to be replaced for quite a while yet.

That's more or less the reply I got from Chord. They have other priorities for now.

 

[miketlse]

That's more or less the reply I got from Chord. They have other priorities for now.

Yes, it feels like they already have 5 new products scheduled to ship during 2024, so the Hugo 3 would be 2025 at the earliest, but even that feels a bit too soon.

 

[Jawed]

Yes, it feels like they already have 5 new products scheduled to ship during 2024, so the Hugo 3 would be 2025 at the earliest, but even that feels a bit too soon.

I reckon it's reasonable to presume that once Ultima DAC is launched a DAVE 2 would be next, as the new Choral Super Scaler needs a DAC of the same series that can actually keep up with it...

Then it's a matter of how close CSS + DAVE 2 gets to Ultima DAC. This presumes that Ultima DAC has CSS internally.