Review of UK manufactured CHORD Sarum Tuned Aray XLR interconnect cable.

MIT Shotgun XLR interconnects are the house cable, renowned for being snappy and alive with plenty of bass weight and wide imaging. So how well does the Sarum compare against them?

Previously I auditioned the less expensive CHORD Signature, and the brand impressed me as the overall sound quality stood out as above average, being musically clear and clean with no vices, but noting they didn't go as deep as the MIT Shotgun.

When their top model CHORD Sarum IC became available for audition I jumped at the chance. I go with my ears and recognise sound improvement is a bit incremental as we move up in quality and quite usually price. The good thing about the Sarum is it offers a distinguishable improvement.

The Sarams stand-out feature for me is the serene sounding midrange being very expressive of sound in a seemingly effortless way. Listening note scribbles were as smooth as silk and effortless. The Sarum on voice is beautiful from beginning to end with more of the singer's words and emotion shining through compared to the MIT.

It took a 2nd listening session to get a handle on the Sarum strengths, then it was easy.
I posed a few questions:
- Does it plumb the bass depths of the MIT or Van den Hull. -> Pretty much yes.
- Is the presentation as snappy as the MIT -> yes
- What areas are improved compared to the MIT -> a very clear articulation of each instrument note, no fog.
Also noted no tizz on higher frequencies (unlike some Nordost cables I've tried).

When a good cable is in the house I request the wife to have a listen putting on a David Cassidy CD being a great test of vocals. On this occasion the wife's concluding remark was: "Well I don't know what you're going to do as they are very good" (meaning the Sarum was the best she had heard, and I have a purchasing dilemma).

Overall the Sarum was of very high order and a real pleasure to listen to. Reviewers often say it's hard to hand back some demo items, and in this case it's a genuine feeling I had.

For cable users, I would love to know how the Sarum rates against other good cables.

Anthony Hyde
Australia
Footnote: tested between McIntosh SACD MC500 and C48 preamp.
Later tested between C48 (with in-built DAC) and big power amps with iMac as source - very appealing, slightly less bass.