[Review] Chord 'BLU' Transport.

Chord 'BLU' Transport.

Hi,

Just after christmas. I got my hands opn the new Chord transport. The BLU. This a much heraleded piece of kit. This is the matching transport for the Chord Dac64. The transport has upsampling features which can used with the Dac64.

The main theories & ideas (plus a picture) about the transport can be taken from here.

The transport is of a similar shape to the Dac. It is a top loading device. It has a 'cooking pot' type lid which is held down by a set of springs at the back of the transport. The lid operation is a truly manual affair. The display is set in the top plate at an angle. This is a blue LED display.

Also on the top plate are a large number of control buttons which allow for direct access for all the features. The transport does come with a chunky stylish metal remote control as well. Taking out CDs took a bit of getting use to. You have to push down one end of the cd down so the other end pops up to get the cd out. The space in the cd holder is not big enough to get your fingers round the cd.

There are a good array of outputs including a dual data output for the Chord Dac64. This dual data output allows the Dac64 to have an 176.4Khz. I didn't use this as I have a mk1 Dac64 which has a single digtal input. I did use 88Khz output.

I used the transport with my Chord Dac64 using both the BNC & XLR connections. Lat & Nordost digital cables were used during the test. My Tag transport was also used as a comparison.

The rest of the test system was Audio Synthesis passive pre, Border Patrol Power amp & Impulse H2 loudspeakers. Loads of fine music was played over the few days that I had it.

First off I tried it with my usual 3 second setting on the buffer of the Dac64. I set the transport to a 88.2khz sampling rate. To start off with I did notice differences. There was more definition to the sound. This was something I liked. The early downside was a hardness to the sound. I did find this a bit off putting. But this did disppeared as the transport warmed up. I had a good few hours on the first day with the transport. But the next day I gave it a good day of music.

The main thing I did notice was the definition of things in the music. Vocals & instruments sprang into life extra detail & resolution. The music did flow along in a very good style. This gave an enjoyable music session.

Music from the likes of The meters, Billie Holiday, Jackie Wilson, AC/DC, James Brown, Bobby Bland, Jimmy Smith, Detroit Spinners, Tears for Fears, Less than Jake, Marvin Gaye, Four Tops, Teardrop Explodes, Lee Dorsey, Skatalites and Ernest Ranglin were thrown at it. I played a number of tunes from these artists. The music rocked, grooved, funked & souled. The sound had the trade mark dynamics & drive. Along with these acts, I tried a number of compilations of difference styles including ska, Northern Soul, dance & beats. I was in a good Lee Dorsey mood. The funky groove of the music came across very well with good interplay of the vocals & instruments. You could hear the instruments playing in the mix very well.

You did notice the production & performance qualities of the cds when they were played. You heard more the skills of the singers, musicians & producers.

There were a number of bad recordings used. On the whole the 'BLU' handled them very well, letting the music & detail flow out of them.

Trying the sampling on at 44.1Khz seemed to give a reduction in sound quality. It didn't sound as enjoyable. It was as though some thing was missing. Too be truthful, the sound wasn't too bad. Also switching between the buffer times on Dac64 didn't have much effect. There may have been slight differences but non had any big effect on the sound.

The hardness noticed on the first day wasn't there for the rest of the listening sessions. I did find the music was good all day & had no listening fatique.


I enjoyed listening to the 'BLU' in my system & got used to using it. If someone gave me one tomorrow then it would have a place in my Hifi system.

BUT

The price is £4200 which is a lot of money. When i went back to the Tag after the 'BLU' went back, I was still enjoying the sound. I didn't get really back withdrawl symptons. I do have a nagging feeling that a 'tweaked' Tag could give it a run for it's money. I haven't tried that many transports so I don't know how it compares with others.

I do hope to try the BLU with a MKII DAC64 to see if there is more improvement using an even higher sampling rate.

If you own a Chord Dac64 it is worth giving it a try. I should be worth trying on other dacs as well.


SCIDB

 

Nice review Dean. So you're not buying one then? If I get the chance I'd definitely like to try one with my (MkII) DAC64 and see if it's any improvement on my tweaked Teac T1. Somehow I find it hard to believe there'd be any change that I'd be willing to pay £4.2K for though...

Michael.

 

i take it your not using it with the newest generation dac64 then??? as your not supposed to use any buffer at all. Apparently at the highest sampling rate (172.4 i think) it should be directly linked to the dac with two BNC's

this should negate the need for the use of the buffer (which i find distracting and irritating)

 

Dean - have you tried using an optical connection?

 

Hi Shrink,

No. I own a mkI, as stated in the write up.

That's what Chord claim. But you have to try out thing to see if they meet the claims.

Hard to do with a MKI. The Blu is claimed to offer an improvemnet with the MKI as well. My dealer was kind enough to let me have the transport for a few days. The MKII dac was out on loan at the time, so I couldn't use it to see how much of an improvement in sound quality. I will try the Blu with a MKII at a later date. This is no problem. I'm not really in a hurry to do this but if a free window pops up, I'll give it a go. BTW the buffer on the DAC64 is not a problem at all. After nearly 2 1/2 years, I don't really notice it.

Hi Isaac,

I haven't really tried the DAC64 with an optical input. This is mainly due to my Tag Transport not having a optical output. I do have other cd/DVD players
I could use. I was going to do this ages ago but got side tracked. I will give it a go.

SCIDB

 

i think using fast forward or rewind would be nearly impossible wouldnt it? ud lose ur place so easilly lol

 

Who say's marketing doesn't work

Chord makes a jitter eliminating DAC which is free from transport effects, then markets an expensive transport in a matching nice box. I can understand someone buying some nice jewelery for the lounge, but it's not necessary for the sonics.

(I was at a demo with 5 others, where various high end cd tranny's and cheapo dvd transports were swapped about on the Chord and Benchmarck DAC's - to unanimous zero effect. I recently sold my bling transport after a further year of testing, just to make sure).

 

Funny I tried it and it did make a difference, but I didn’t really expect it too!

But really the reason why they do it is because the Blu is an upsampling transport and it upsamples far higher than any other, which is why it needs the special doube coax cables to connect to the DAC64. …though it made a difference even when @I wasn’t using this.

I can't say I really liked the Blu very much though! Good detail and imaging, soundstage, but seemed to add a fair bit of distortion and harshness. Seemed like IMD.

 

I suspect other *factors* at work

 

Which are? (sorry for the late response... ;D)

 

Dunno. maybe it was the £250 digital cable I was using rather than my normal £10 one?