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Lay-out & Usability (operation)
Let’s first quickly go over the Anni’s layout. On the top of the unit you have two of Chord’s typical orb buttons. One for the gain setting (high gain is for speakers only) and one for the power (on/standby). There also is a beautiful Chord metal plate logo in the top right corner, just like on the Qutest. Anni benefits from extensive casework ventilation and a cooling fan for demanding environments.
On the front of the units you from left to right have the 6.35mm headphone output, the volume dial/input selector (blue and red light depending on the input) and the 3.5mm headphone output. Very simple, very self-explanatory.
On the back of the unit you from left to right find the DC power input, the right speaker output channel, the ground terminal, both of the RCA line-level inputs and the left speaker output channel with the DC-out.
The Anni is very easy and simple to use. Anni lacks any special features which could make it more complicated, but that’s exactly what I like about the Anni: it’s a simple, straightforward amplifier that packs heaps of power. Anni does get a little warmer when in use, but it’s not hot either.
Technical Specifications & Price
Power Output: 10 W 8 ohms
THD: 0.02%
Signal to Noise: -92 dB
Noise floor: -110 dB
Frequency response: 5 Hz – 60 Khz (-3 dB)
Dimensions: 160 mm (W) x 42.50 (H) mm x 96.60 (D) mm
Weight: 625 g
The Chord Electronics Anni is selling for: $1,795 USD, £1,195 Pounds, €1.499 Euro.
Sound – Intro
For this review we used the EarMen Tradutto DAC as well as the Musician Pegasus R2R DAC and the Violectric V850 DAC, hooked up to a ROON equipped laptop over USB as well as wireless using the iFi Audio ZEN streamer. Many different headphones were used during testing and we will go into detail on the synergy with several of these in one of the next chapters.
Even though we will focus on the performance of Anni in this review, I really wanted to try it in combination with my KEF LS50 Meta speakers seeing Chord was promoting this setup in their press release. I in my living room setup normally drive the LS50 Meta with the Technics SU-G700, so I was really anxious to see how the Anni would perform.
In low gain, the LS50 Meta speakers sound very light and forward. The Meta’s are missing body here as well as impact and they’re not sounding their very best. That changes when increasing the gain level. In the high gain position, the LS50 Meta come to life with a full presence and powerful bass. The depth and sound stage, as well as the overall clarity are very impressive. Even though the more powerful Technics amp (2 x 70W @ 8Ohm) makes them sound even better, I could easily settle with the Anni & LS50 Meta combo if I had to. The clarity, precision and spaciousness of this combo is simply impressive.
But back to headphones now!
Sound – General
For this section we used the same setup as mentioned above.
First thing you will notice is that the Chord Anni is a very full sounding amplifier, and the amount of body from lows to highs is on the larger side. At the same time Anni is very dynamic and energetic, but it does everything very effortlessly and easy.
The second thing which really stands out are the cleanness and clarity of the sound. No matter what headphone you are using, or which DAC is connected to Anni, you always get the best in clarity from top to bottom. Because of this it’s also very easy for Anni to show its good detail retrieval, definition and energetic presence (which Chord is so famous for).
The delivery of Anni is to the softer, warmer and smooth side. It’s very easy and extremely pleasing on the ears and it makes the Anni a highly musical amplifier. Top detail retrieval with a high musical level is exactly what a lot of people are looking for and are expecting from a higher end amplifier.
Anni’s timbre and texture is very pleasing on the ear, but Anni also is very safely tuned. Anni will never offend unless you hook up an overly warm, full and bassy headphone to it. In that case the delivery will be too full, boosted and unnatural.
In regard to sound stage, the Anni scores good but the width is better than the depth. At the same time the Anni isn’t the most spacious and airy sounding amplifier. You get a more compact presentation and that sometimes will give you the impression the sound stage width isn’t optimal. What could be further improved to me is exactly that spaciousness and its positioning and 3-dimensionality. On this point the higher end amplifier still core better.
Bass has good presence and impact but never overpowers. The mid presence is full and the tonality and texture is natural, smooth and warmer. Vocals are impressive. The higher end is softer but the texture and detail is there. There’s also just enough treble energy to keep things exciting, but it’s not a treble focused amp at all.
Sound – Classics
Bass presence is higher than in a neutral way. Bass is always full and comes delivered with a good punch and impact. At the same time the Anni is perfectly in control of the bass, so it never becomes overpowering or overly present.
The bass detail retrieval is quite good and bass reaches down very low. At the same time the bass spaciousness and airiness isn’t the most very best, but this is a general characteristic of the Anni. This typical kind of bass(tuning) is very easy to like however as it is easy on the ears. It’s the kind of engaging and musical bass which is good for practically almost all musical styles. Not the very best in refinement, but pleasing, musical and engaging.
The mid presence just like the bass section is fuller body-wise. The timbre here is soft and the delivery is on the smooth and warmer side. Again, it’s easy and pleasing on the ears. Vocals are very natural and perhaps a bit softer sounding, but the overall mid presentation is musical and addictive.
The top end section features the same characteristics as the bass and mids: warmer, softer, full and pleasing on the ears. The treble presentation is forgiving and softer on the ears, but it at the same time manages to stay exciting and energetic enough to keep things exciting and musical.
The part on sound continues on the last page, simply click here to continue reading.
Page 1: Chord Electronics, Anni, Packaging & Accessories, Design & Build Quality
Page 2: Lay-Out & Usability, Technical Specifications & Price, Sound Intro, Sound General, Sound Classics
Page 3: Headphone Synergy, IEM Synergy, Comparisons, Conclusion
