CHORD SIGNATURE

Chord Signature speaker cable is the result of several years’ experimentation with shielded speaker cables.  The concept of shielded speaker cables is not new.  However, the understanding of the importance of high frequency shielding is critical to the astonishing performance that Signature speaker cable is able to produce.

The 4mm diameter conductors are produced from a high purity copper and the insulation material is a gas-foamed polyethylene.  This insulation material has several advantages, producing a lower dielectric constant and better phase stability, both of which contribute to the Signature’s outstanding performance characteristics.  The gas-foaming process also helps to retain a degree of flexibility (important given the size of the conductors and the construction of the cable).   The shield is an extremely effective dual layer foil/high density braid design.  The unusually heavy gauge conductors make for an extremely low resistance cable and this, combined with the insulation and high frequency effective shield produces a cable capable of carrying outstanding levels of detail and dynamic information. 

Fitting Chord Signature to almost any hi-fi or home cinema system can be a revelation.  The reduction in perceived noise and the utter silence between notes can make even well loved pieces of music seem fresh and new.  Levels of detail and timbre are astonishing and give huge insights into the technique and intent of musicians.  Signature makes listening to music totally involving and almost addictive.

Each set of Signature speaker cable is produced to order and although the conductor pairs are separately shielded, the cable is twisted along its length in order to improve flexibility. Each end of the cable is secured with an aluminium clamp designed to hold the cable securely but not to compress the conductors.  Experiments showed that compressing the shield and insulation on either speaker or interconnect cables altered the characteristics of the cable and subtly degraded performance.  The termination process for Signature speaker cable is both complex and difficult and Signature is only available in factory-terminated lengths. 

Signature speaker cable will work consistently well from system to system, to some extent regardless of cost. There is an assumption that expensive cables belong with expensive systems.  This is not necessarily the case.  One of the most compelling demonstrations of what a set of effectively shielded interconnects and speaker cable can bring to a system happened when the Signature speaker cable was used in a system where the cost of the interconnects and speaker cables was the same as the combined cost of the CD player, amplifier and speakers.

The system was initially fitted with interconnects and speaker cable whose combined cost amounted to about 20% of the system value.  Fitting the Signet interconnects and Signature speaker cable transformed the sound of the system in every aspect.  What made this such a fascinating demonstration was the fact that if you took the overall cost of the system and the cables and spent it on higher quality components and a lesser set of cables, it was not possible to recreate the performance of the cheaper system fitted with the Signature cables.

4mm diameter multi-strand oxygen free copper conductors, Gas foamed polyethylene insulation

High frequency effective dual layer shielding system

Non compression cable clamp, Vibration damping PVC outer jacket

High tolerance construction to minimise mechanically induced noise