Upcoming Events:

Hear the Chord Reference system in Florida

Bluebird is delighted to welcome new Chord dealer The Sound Experience in Boca Raton, Florida.

Hear a Chord Reference system featuring the new Red Reference CD Player, Reference pre-amp and mono-blocks, or compare the Blu/DAC64, (pictured at right at The Sound Experience), to the new Red. For more information please contact the store at 561-302-7141.

Chord Electronics now at Harrods

Visiting England? Stop in at one of the most famous stores in London and see and hear Chord. Harrods are so pleased with Chord they have given us not one but two of their world famous Christmas display windows. The theme for the windows this year is the new James Bond film, Casino Royal.

Hear Chord's SPM 14000 ultimate mono-blocks in Philadelphia.

Now on demonstration at David Lewis Audio - Philadelphia, PA. Need to drive a difficult load? Have a large listening room? Or, just like it loud and clean? Come hear Chord Electronics' incredible flagship mono amplifier. These monsters double output down to 2 ohms. Power rating? Oh, generally adequate for most needs. To hear them for yourself, call David Lewis Audio at: 215-725-4080.

"The Chord SPM 14000 Ultimate is the finest pure-solid-state amplifier I have auditioned and one of the very finest amplifiers to be found, period."  - Paul Bolin, Stereophile March 2006, Class A Recommended Component.

Recent Events:

Festival Son & Image - Montreal, April 3 - 6, 2008, Rooms 922 and 924.

Room 924, below, featured Chord’s new RED Reference CD player. Not content to rest with Stereophile’s 2007 Digital Product of the Year award, Chord has raised the bar again with this stunning new Reference CD player. Also featured was Chord’s brand new intermediate level CPA 3000 pre-amplifier and SPM 1050 power amp. The new SPM 1050 is Chord's first high powered stereo amplifier to retail for less than $10,000. Also making their North American debut was Neat’s new Momentum 4i loudspeakers and Van den Hul’s new Nova speaker wire.

"you have to see the build and design details of these components in the flesh to fully appreciate them...  and they sound great " - Phil Gold, Enjoy the Music.com

In room 922, below, we presented our “Ultimate Budget System” which has surprised and delighted the press and dealers repeatedly over the past two years. Featuring Exposure’s 2010S electronics and Neat’s Motive 2 speakers, this system provides a magnificent example of how a beautifully matched system can create an incredibly satisfying musical performance for under $5,000. Come hear why the press has raved: "magnificent, superb, killer, blow my mind, budget magic". If you haven’t heard it yet you are in for a real treat - it's worth the trip.

Spurred on by a frenzy of activity on Quebec's audio forums during the show our Ultimate Budget System presentation drew large crowds and the room was packed all weekend. Below are forum, then reviewer comments:

"I almost fell off my chair... what a great sound"
"the Neat/Exposure kit was a real inspiration"
"the best/quality/price ratio at the show"
"superb sound for the price"
"if you're in the market for a system at $5,000 Jump on Bluebird's offer"

"an exceptionally fine example of an affordable yet musical system" - Paul Candy, 6Moons

"I listened to my recording of Hyperion Knight playing the three Gershwin Preludes and was impressed by the balance of performance on offer." John Atkinson, Stereophile

Festival Son & Image Show Report - Montreal, April 2007.

This year Chord Electronics teamed up with KEF Audio for an impressive reference system featuring Chord's Blu/DAC64, new Reference CPA 5000 pre-amplifier, Reference 750 watt SPM 6000 mono-block amplifiers and KEF's new Reference 205 loudspeakers. Our Montreal dealer Audioville also demonstrated KEF Reference loudspeakers with Chord's Reference SPM 6000 mono-blocks. We are delighted to report these reference systems impressed the judges so much we earned a Visionary Product award from the show.

Above, Chord's DSP 8000 AV processor and SPM 2400 five channel amplifier brought the music home with KEF's KHT5005 home theater speaker system.

Chord introduces new CPA 5000 Reference Pre-Amp

Chord demonstrated their new CPA 5000 Reference pre-amplifier with the SPM 14000 Reference mono-blocks at the London show this September.

Brack Electronics throws a great party with Chord Electronics and Aston Martin.

Brack Electronics hosted another wonderful evening August 10 at their downtown store.

Special summer fun was provided by Toronto's Grand Touring Automobiles who brought a Bentley Continental, Aston Martin DB9, (right), and the Aston Martin Vanquish.

Chord systems included: Chord's state-of-the-art home theater system, a full pre and power system, and the amazing 'little' system shown below.

Below, the little system that could! You simply won't believe what this fantastic system can do until you hear it. Featuring Chord's 'baby' integrated, the CPM 2600, and B&W's 'baby' N805 speakers, this system is no lightweight. On the contrary, articulate, natural, smooth with incredible bass power - unbelievable bass! Words don't do justice to this magical combination.

Visit Brack, hear this amazing, affordable, high end system and be blown away! Then ask for your personal invitation to the next Aston Martin Chord event. Downtown store 416-366-3636, uptown store 905-881-8832.

Stereophile's HE 2006 Show Report - Los Angeles, June 2006.

Bluebird was out to prove something in Los Angeles, in the main room:

With our larger system, below, we were out to prove that Chord Electronics makes some of the best sound and offers some of best value in the world.  This system was comprised of Chord's Blu transport, DAC 64, CPA 4000 per-amp, SPM 1400 480 watt mono-blocks and Neat Ultimatum MF7 loudspeakers.

HE 2006 Show Reports from main room:

"You like ultra exotic toys. Check out Chord! The Blu transport and DAC, CPA 4000 preamp and SPM 1400 amp are the ultimate in industrial design. Powering a pair of British Neat Ultimatum speakers and wired in Kubala-Sosna cables, the sound was room filling beautiful". – Robert Levi, Positive Feedback

"Neat speakers paired with Chord for a Brit invasion. System was really musical and nice. The Neat MF7 bass was tight, tight, tight and little of that ‘digital haze’ I mentioned before. Seriously, why haven't we heard more of these guys? They don’t do the Wilson hi-fi sound, so there will be a whole group of people who will really like these chaps." – Josh Ray, Sonic Flare

"NEAT speakers were being demo'ed with Chord equipment and that proved to be a fine combination. NEAT are from the good ol' UK and have a very pleasing sound quality… their sound signature was bold, dynamic, and open. Particularly the big top of the line model retailing for $15k was well, er… neat! The Chord stuff always looks stunning; I can totally see how they would be selling these systems like hot potatoes." – Danny Kaey, Positive Feedback

What are those colorful banners on the LA curtain above?

The colorful banners in the photo above, were decorations at the 2006 Toronto Children's Chorus (TCC) annual fund-raising dinner. These beautiful hand painted banners, signed by the children in the TCC's five choirs, were auctioned off at the end of the evening. We love to support the TCC, we knew they would be perfect for our shows, so we just had to have them, and now we do, (sound familiar?).

For 27 years the TCC has been dedicated to providing life enhancing experiences for children through the study and performance of the choral art. The TCC regularly performs on the world's grandest stages including: Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, Royal Albert Hall and Toronto's Roy Thompson Hall. The TCC  performed on EMI's recording of Mahler 8th Symphony, released in 2005 and voted one of the top three recordings of the year by Grammophone Magazine. To learn more about this wonderful opportunity for children visit www.torontochildrenschorus.com

In the smaller room:

At Bluebird Music we love the very best sound but we also believe everyone should be able to enjoy the experience of making an emotional connection to music. That's why we've spent the past six years searching for a system that truly every music lover could afford but that was also good enough to deliver that real "I'm-in-the-music" feeling.

Finally, we have it, and in our smaller room, below, was another showing of our "Ultimate Budget System", featuring the Exposure 2010S CD player and integrated amplifier and Neat's Motive 2 loudspeakers. This sweet little system, which retails for $5,000, (including The Chord Company cables used), had visitors' jaws dropping and toes tapping. With surprising musicality and rich in emotional nuances it was ear-to-ear smiles all around in this room. This system had visitors stunned with the performance for the dollar and proved great sound can be affordable.

HE 2006 Show Reports from smaller room:

"Bluebird's sweet, neat little package breezes in under $5,000 and offered a truly enjoyable and musical experience." - Stephen Mejias, Stereophile.

"Rein then proceeded to blow my mind with budget magic… the system's evenly balanced, full-range sound blew me away. Now I understand why Stereophile has heaped praise on Exposure Electronics."  - Jason Victor Serinus, Stereophile.

"This system sounded simply wonderful. And people think I only like mega-size, mega-buck equipment."  - Paul Bolin, Stereophile.

"…this one was KILLER for what it was... small and affordable and it made music... big music too!" - Dave Clark, Positive Feedback

"…the Neat Motive 2 played music with a level of realism and authority totally out of line with the low price of the system. If I gave out show awards, this would easily have won for 'Best Sound Relative to Price.'  It actually sounded much better than many of the way more expensive systems on display in other rooms. That they were playing AC/DC's Back in Black when we walked in their room said something about their confidence in the system's ability to play music!"  - Steve Lefkowicz, Positive Feedback

Festival Son & Image Show Report - Montreal, March 2006.

Bluebird Music out to prove world-class sound can be affordable in Montreal.

Pictured below is the Chord Electronics CPM 3330 integrated amplifier, one of the best values in high performance audio amplifiers, the Chord One cd player, Neat Ultimatum MF5 loudspeakers, connected with Chord Company Anthem interconnects and Signature speaker wire. The stand is Quadraspire's stunning new acrylic reference table. This system is ultimately the most affordable way to enjoy the real world-class sound a Chord-Ultimatum system can produce.

While the Ultimatum MF5 is a simple unassuming looking speaker, in fact it is anything but. This innovative marvel contains multiple woofers, modified drivers and a unique cabinet construction particularly good at eliminating box coloration. Don't be fooled by the looks - this is one serious speaker that plays much bigger than it looks. If you've never heard it, you ought to.

Chord Aspire at Oakville Audio

This is your chance to hear Chord's full blown, high end, Choral system, (pictured below). From the top down, the system includes the Blu transport, DAC64, Prima pre-amp and a pair of 200 watt mono-block amplifiers. This system may be physically small, but it delivers 100% of the performance of Chord's mid-line, high power separates. Tel: 905-338-6609.

CES 2006 Show Report - Las Vegas, January 2006.

Nothing fancy this year, just one of the most affordable, best sounding systems at the show.

"...distributor Bluebird Music had them hooked up to Chord Electronics driving superb Neat monitors. The Ultimatums ($6995, incl. stands) were detailed, had lots of bass, gave the great soundstage we expect from fine monitors, but also threw large and realistic images, the downfall of some small speakers. The expensive Chord Blu CD Transport and DAC 64 looked as good as they sounded."  - Anthony Kershaw, Audiophilia CES 2006 Show Report

"... and the some of the world's best amplification didn't hurt either." - Jay Rein, Bluebird Music.

Stereophile's HE 2005 Show Report - New York City, April 2005.

Chord and Tetra join the Sgt. Pepper Band

Chord Electronics' class-leading Blu CD transport, DAC64, and our favorite traveling companions - the flagship CPA 4000 pre-amplifier and SPM 4000, 480 watt stereo amplifier, team up with Tetra Loudspeakers and Sgt. Pepper for a mind-blowing trip down memory lane.

"The Chord electronics were hooked up to Tetra Manhattan 305 monitors ($3500 including integral stands). The colorful speakers drew me to the room, but the sound compelled me to stay. This system did a very nice job playing Jack Johnson. The music and sound was toe-tapping good stuff, and I had to pry myself out of the chair to let others listen."  - Positive Feedback, HE 2005 Show Report

Festival Son & Image Show Report - Montreal, March 2005

'Real Music' delights as Living Voice and Exposure raise the bar for affordable high-end.

Armed with an assortment of piano sonatas, Kevin Scott, of Living Voice, joined Bluebird Music this year and put on his usual, impressive 'real music' demonstration. The beautifully finished Ebony Avatar OBX-R2 made a stunning visual and sonic statement, while the Exposure Classic series electronics easily provided the "soul with control" Living Voice is starting to become well known for.

"Standout Room – Festival Son & Image 2005...
This system, built around some well-known British speakers and electronics, had a sweet, energetic sound with generous bass -- Doug Schneider asked if a subwoofer was part of the system. A Chord One CD player, Prima preamp and Mezzo 140 amp drove Living Voice Avatar II speakers via Kondo silver Litz cables. The Living Voice speakers always seem to impress at shows, but the pairing with Chord electronics made us think that there is serious synergy between these two brands."  - Soundstage FSI 2005 Show Report

The system was helped by the seriously competent Nottingham Interspace turntable with Wave Mechanic and Mystic Mat.

Of course, we are rarely content to let well enough alone - so the fantastic Chord Symphonic phono stage was added like a fine wine might be added to a great steak dinner.

At right is a close up of the premium Ebony finish, available on Avatar OBX-R2.

The picture below shows a system with a three-box Chord Choral series.

This Choral series features the new 'One' (one-box) CD player, Prima pre-amp, and Mezzo 120 watt stereo power amplifier.

"Never mind how good the Choral system looks - it's still about the sound, and we do warn you - if you hear one you will need one! "

Loudspeakers are the very big sounding Neat Ultimatum MFS shown here on their custom stands.

The ultimate bedroom system?

Below Montreal dealer Audioville put on an awesome demonstration. The incredible 750 watt Chord SPM 6000 mono-blocks, Blu/DAC64 cd replay system, some highly regarded valve pre-amp and the big Neat Ultimatum MF7s were, quite realistically, recreating the vitality, energy and excitement of a live, club listening experience. This system is on permanent demonstration at Audioville. Visit the great staff at one of Montreal's leading stores, 972 boul. St-Laurent, or call them at 514-861-8050.

CES 2005 Show Report - Las Vegas, January 2005.

At this show was your chance to meet John Franks, owner of Chord Electronics and hear the new SPM 14000 Ultimate mono-block amplifiers, the new Blu CD transport, along with the Neat Ultimatum MF9 loudspeakers. As well as, hear Chord's new home theater products, and see the latest additions to the Choral range.

The Chord Electronics room was once again making a big impression at Alexis Park at January's CES in Las Vegas. The highlight of this room was the new Chord Electronics' SPM 14000 Ultimate mono amplifiers. The SPM 14000 is finest amplifier Chord has ever built. It utilizes Chord's latest generation 12kW-capable power supply, this amplifier has massive, effortless reserves of energy and incredibly low distortion.

Above, California Chord Electronics dealer Michael Silver, of Audio High, poses with Chord's new SPM14000 maxi-watt monoblock amplifiers and Neat Ultimatum MF9 loudspeakers. If you want authentic scale, live feel, music reproduction this is the system! (Dealer not included.)

Below, Chord's new DSP 8000R AV Processor and SPM 2400 five channel amplifier.

Hear Chord and Neat in Montreal, November 18, 2004

Hear the best from Chord Electronics along with the powerful Neat Ultimatum MF7 loudspeakers. (Can a speaker be powerful? Come see for yourself!) RSVP to Audioville at 514-861-8050.

Rocky Mountain AudioFest Show Report - Denver,  October 8 - 10, 2004.

"Bluebird Music brought in the Living Voice Avatar OBX-R2, the Chord DAC 64 and Blu transport, and Croft preamplification to produce one of my favorite sounds. I have always enjoyed the sound that Jay Rein of Bluebird puts together at any show, and this was one killer system."
 – Dave Clark, Positive Feedback

"Another system that provided exquisite sound was displayed by Bluebird Music’s Jay Rein, demonstrated a system built around the delightful Living Voice OBX-R II speakers. Having read the string of spectacular reviews of these speakers, I was eager to hear them in person, and they did not disappoint. Delicate, detailed, dynamic and diminutive, these are speakers that could fit into a real-world room, and their fine-furniture finish would grace the most elegant home. Supporting the OBX-R IIs were a Chord BLU CD transport driving a Chord Dac-64 DAC, and a Croft Absolute 1 preamp driving a Croft 40Wpc Twinstar III amplifier, all connected by Chord cables. "
 – Ultra Sound, RMAF 2004 Show Report

Stereophile's HE 2004 Show Report - New York City, May 2004

In the Chord Electronics room:

John Franks, chief designer and managing director of Chord Electronics, presented Chord's newest product, the stunning, ultra-high resolution CD transport, "Blu" with the Choral Series driving Living Voice OBX-R2 loudspeakers. 

"Chord Electronics produced one of my favorite sounds at the show... an intensely sweet and musically engaging sound that was a welcome respite from the many mediocre demos."
 - R. Harley, The Absolute Sound

"Sometimes, you can walk by a room and the sound coming out is so lifelike that it pulls you in. That happened a few times, and one of those rooms was showcasing the Auditorium Avatar speakers from British speaker-maker Living Voice. These fairly ordinary-looking floorstanding speakers created an amazing sense of energy and presence."
 - Crutchfield Advisor, May 2004

In the Exposure / Living Voice room:

Kevin Scott, chief designer and owner of Living Voice presented the incredibly realistic Living Voice loudspeakers with the new Classic components from Exposure Electronics.

"Speaking of musical energy at a fair price point, this room held a bountiful of treats to my ears, all centered around the Living Voice Avatar floorstander, driven here by several components from Exposure Electronics of England. This combination got to the rhythm of the music in a hurry in precise and dynamic fashion, with an accurate low midrange and bass extension that was quite impressive to my ears. The Exposure electronics were remarkably quiet, yet held tremendous power and pace in driving the Avatars. Once again, keep your eyes and ears on these English products, as they march forth with what I perceive to be excellent audiophile value and built quality, judging from this brief introduction." 
 - Stereo Times, HE 2004 Show Report

Festival Son & Image - Montreal, April 2004

Meet John Franks, chief designer and managing director of Chord Electronics, and hear Chord's newest product, the stunning, ultra-high resolution CD transport, "Blu". The Blu was designed to take full advantage of Chord's 64 bit digital to analogue converter, DAC64. Amplification will be Chord's flagship CPA 4000 pre-amplifier with the awesome SPM 1400E 480 watt mono-block amplifiers.