With 40 years of experience in minimizing the impact of external interference in audio systems, Chord Company is expanding its GroundARAY and PowerARAY noise reduction lines to now include PhonoARAY for use with turntables.
PhonoARAY is a standalone filtering solution that allows turntable users to earth/ground their devices to the phono stage, or the phono input on amplifiers, providing maximum protection for the highly sensitive signal.
The PhonoARAY is housed in a thick-walled machined aluminum casing designed to provide electrical and acoustic isolation. Its chamber is resin-filled to reduce microphony, which is when mechanical vibrations are transformed into an undesired electrical signal/noise.
PhonoARAY incorporates a hand-wound, ultra-high-current series filter for both terminals together, plus a proprietary ARAY system, connected in parallel. This creates a double ‘virtual earth system’ for both the turntable and phono stage. This combination is designed to shield sensitive signals from external interference for cleaner and more detailed sound reproduction.
The PhonoARAY connects via two 4 mm speaker-style banana or spade connectors between the earth terminal of the turntable (or tonearm) to the earth terminal of the phono stage (or amplifier phono input) using a dedicated high-quality 50 cm screened earth cable (4 mm connector to spade connector).
The phono can be used in a variety of turntable configurations, including turntables with or without built-in phono stages. In systems with external phono stages, a second PhonoARAY can also be added, additionally connecting the phono stage earth to the amplifier earth.
The PhonoARAY benefits from a thick-walled enclosure machined from a solid aluminum billet, providing excellent electrical and acoustic isolation. Additionally, resin filling within the enclosure further reduces microphony, while lightweight, decoupled isolation feet minimize vibrations.
Features
- Minimizes electromagnetic interference affecting turntable performance
- Series and parallel operation maximizes signal integrity
- Hand-wound, ultra-high-current series filter, and proprietary ARAY system
- Double ‘virtual earth system’ for turntable and phono stage
- Supplied with a high-quality 50 cm screened earth cable
- Machined aluminum billet enclosure with resin filling
- Decoupled isolation feet
The Bottom Line
Getting the best possible sound from vinyl records requires four basic elements: A good turntable, a good cartridge/stylus, good amplification, and a good set of speakers or headphones. However, after setting all this up, you might still find that something doesn’t seem quite right.
One issue might be your ground connection. If that turns out to be the problem, the PhonoARAY might help. However, with its rather expensive ( £1,000) asking price we advise double checking all existing connections between your turntable and other components in your setup chain.
Pricing & Availability
The PhonoARAY is available now priced at £1,000 through authorized dealers (contact the appropriate dealer for U.S. pricing).
The PhonoARAY comes with a 0.5 m Clearway earth cable. Additional or upgrade cables can also be ordered as follows through an authorized dealer:
- Clearway 1m earth cable: £140
- Shawline 1m earth cable: £280
For more information: chord.co.uk
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ORT
February 9, 2025 at 7:51 pm
To quote the King of Siam, this thing…”is a puzzlement”.
I tend to think of such trinkets as the frAudiophile’s version of “the Emperor’s New Clothes”. If you can’t hear a difference unless someone is telling you it’s there? Well, what’s the real difference?
I won’t tell anyone how to spend their own hard earned money. This tube doesn’t even look 1950s SciFi Movie cool. For the money it ought to look like a Tesla Coil or something from Frankenstein’s Laboratory.
That’s FRAHNKensteen! And one other thing. “PUT!! the candle…BACK!”
ORT
Ian White
February 9, 2025 at 10:08 pm
ORT,
My other title was not as polite, although I will say that Chord Company has a rather good track record with me. I own three sets of their inexpensive cables and they all perform really well for a small amount of money compared to the competition.
IW