Munich 2025

Chord Electronics introduced their new flagship Ultima Phonostage phono preamp at High End Munich 2025, where it amplified the signal from a Bauer Audio dps 3 turntable (€9,300) fitted with an Ortofon MC Cadenza cartridge that was attached to the table’s unipivot tonearm (as shown below). Made in Bavaria, the Bauer Audio dps 3 table features a multi-later plinth, an inverted ruby ball bearing, a high-torque synchronous motor, and a three-phase power supply.

As for the Chord Ultima Phonostage, its three inputs can be deployed for up to three tonearms or up to three turntables, and/or in single-ended (RCA) or balanced (XLR) operation. Each of its three inputs can be independently configured for either MM or MC cartridges.

The user can choose from a dozen user-selectable impedance options ranging from 12ohms up to 2.2kohms in single-ended mode, and from 24ohms up to 4.4kohms in balanced mode, according to information from Chord. Capacitance can be adjusted for MM cartridges, where impedance is set at 47kohms.

Gain is adjustable across 14 settings for each input. All settings for each input can be saved and retained, even when the Ultima Phonostage is powered off or power is lost (though, of course, they can also be reset as desired). Microprocessors are used for control with configuration options shown on two displays.

The front has illuminated VU meters with a handy, high-tech feature: a fully automatic gain reduction system designed to prevent major signal clipping, such as if the tonearm gets dropped accidentally. Also, if the Ultima’s signal detection circuits “read” that the gain selection is incorrect or that the cartridge’s output level is too high, the processor receives an interrupt clip detection signal and reduces the gain as needed, Chord says.

Like any high-grade phono preamp, the Ultima is designed to be very low-noise. In the MC input circuitry, “balanced and matched ultra-low-noise dual pairs of transistors are used in a multiple long-pair configuration for each input,” Chord reported.

The aesthetics of the new Chord Ultima Phonostage phono preamp are, of course, in keeping with the English company’s industrial design, striking a pleasing balance between elegant form and function.

The Ultima comes in either silver or black finish, and is expected to hit the marketplace later this year. Its SRP is TBD, but it’s expected to be in approximately the €18,000 range — neither the least nor the most expensive one out there. The Ultima Phonostage is a flagship model, and one that sounds solid, tech-wise.

Sadly, time was short on that Saturday at the Munich show. I dropped by the (primarily) Chord room just after the Women in Hi-Fi panel conversation had ended and the atrium room’s demo was playing back digital tracks at the time, so I didn’t get to listen to the analog rig. Next time, I promise!

Part 7 is coming soon!

Author bio: Julie Mullins, a lifelong music lover and record collector since age 10 who takes after her audiophile father, is also a contributing editor and reviewer on our sister site, Stereophile, for whom she also writes the monthly Re-Tales column. A former fulltime staffer at Cincinnati’s long-running alt-weekly CityBeat, she programs and hosts a weekly radio show on WAIF called On the Pulse.

For even more High End Munich 2025 coverage, go here on our sister site Stereophile.