The Chord Electronics Quartet upscaler marks the most significant leap in digital audio technology in the company’s history. It directly addresses a fundamental limitation of conventional digital playback: the subtle yet critical mistiming of transients.

At the heart of its performance lies the all new Blackbird WTA (Watts Transient Aligned) filter. The result of 46 years of specialised research, Blackbird employs an extraordinary four million filter taps—a tenfold increase over previous WTA designs. This delivers a corresponding tenfold improvement in transient timing precision, with additional taps available for even greater refinement.

To execute this unprecedented interpolation complexity without compromise, the Chord Electronics Quartet upscaler uses five Xilinx FPGAs—five times the processing power found in the reference grade Chord Electronics DAVE DAC.

Nearly all of the filter’s mathematical coefficients approach the theoretical ideal sinc function, the benchmark for perfect waveform reconstruction. Crucially, all filtering is performed directly in hardware. By avoiding FFT based convolution, an industry shortcut that converts audio to frequency data and back, which introduces further timing errors, the Chord Electronics Quartet upscaler preserves absolute signal integrity and achieves unmatched transient fidelity.

For the first time in a Chord Electronics upscaler, the Quartet integrates a proprietary Pulse Array ADC. This allows analogue sources, including high end turntables, to be upscaled with the same precision as digital inputs. Its advanced decimation filtering eliminates traditional aliasing distortion, outperforming even dedicated studio grade converters.

A two box architecture ensures optimal noise isolation. The sensitive audio circuitry is physically separated from an independent Rob Watts designed power supply, which employs a proprietary pinch off RF filter to achieve battery like purity from a mains powered system.

The rear panel offers comprehensive, isolated connectivity, including USB B, optical, and dual BNC outputs supporting resolutions up to 768 kHz. Fully compatible with all Chord Electronics DACs, the Quartet is engineered to unlock the full potential of the Chord Electronics DAVE DAC.

The Chord Electronics Ensemble stand is available separately

Technical Specifications 

Digital inputs: 2x BNC (or dual BNC), 2x Optical, 1x USB-B (galvanically isolated)
Digital outputs: 1x Optical 192 kHz, 1x S/PDIF, 2x Dual BNC 768 kHz output
Analogue inputs: 2x RCA
Full Power consumption: 130 W
Standby power consumption: 20W
Upscaler DimensionsH x W x D (mm): 78 x 335 x 152
Power Supply DimensionsH x W x D (mm): 78 cm x 335 x 152
Weight: Upscaler 3 kg; Power Supply 3.2 kg