Cables

For a brand that began life a little over 40 years ago, supplying Naim Audio’s US business partners, The Chord Company has subsequently grown an extensive catalogue of power and audio cables, serving both the global hi-fi and musical instrument scenes. Most of these cables and connectors stay on the books for many years, including the Sarum T speaker cable, receiving its first in-depth review here.

The ‘T’ in the name refers to Chord’s ‘Taylon’ dielectric at the heart of this cable. Debuted about ten years ago in the brand’s flagship ChordMusic range, Taylon is preferred by Chord over PTFE because it avoids the latter’s material phase change at room temperatures. Strictly, this will have no impact on PTFE’s dielectric stability at audio frequencies, though PTFE has been superseded by foam fluoropolymers (like the proprietary TF4) in coaxial cables linking phased array radar systems. Phase matching to within ±3psec is typically required between these microwave cables, but we are in an entirely different electromagnetic ballpark here!

Silver Sarum

With its separate, loosely twisted signal and return legs, Sarum T is otherwise beautifully constructed. Each signal and return core comprises 19x0.45mm silver-plated OF copper strands, amounting to a 2.63mm2 conductor cross-section (12 gauge). This realises a low 10.5mohm/m loop resistance, equivalent to a minuscule power loss of just 0.011dB/m into 8ohm. These bunched core strands are insulated in the soft Taylon dielectric and surrounded by a silver-plated ribbon braid and heavy aluminium foil screen. The white outer jacket is formed from polyethylene.

While each signal/return leg has a coax geometry, the foil and braid screens are ‘floating’, unterminated at either end. This layout, and superior dielectric, is reflected in the very low 16pF/m parallel capacitance – traded here against a slightly higher than average 0.95µH/m series loop inductance.

The hardened, silver-plated plugs are pressure welded onto those silver-plated strands and the voids filled with a high quality solder. The Chord Company offers Sarum T in pre-terminated 1m to 8m lengths ranging in price from £2520/1.5m, £5040/3m to £8400 for 5m stereo sets.

Strike a chord
Auditioned in the HFN Listening Room [HFN Yearbook ’25] with Wilson Alexx Vfx floorstanders and a range of power amps, Chord’s Sarum T cable delivered what might best be described as a compact and very tidy sound, never over-reaching itself in either deep bass or high treble. For example, the brass-rich ‘Warriors’ by Too Many Zooz [Subway Gawdz; 48kHz/24-bit] benefitted from the system’s crisp detail and focus, the baritone saxophone of Leonardo Pellegrino in particular sounding textured and organic. The partnering drums and top trumpet overtones were slightly recessive but there was never the sense of any musical detail being lost.

In practice, this is also a cable that invites you to turn up the volume, safe in the knowledge that the music will never become too intense, fatiguing or, as one listener put it, ‘shouty’. Neither is this a cable that gets in the way of you and the recording – Genesis’ live ‘Deep In The Motherlode’, from the Theatre Royal in 1980 [Genesis Archive #2, Virgin CD], has a production quality illustrative of the period, but Chord’s Sarum T held it all together in our system. Here Phil Collins is at his energetic best on vocals, and Chord’s Sarum T plays its part in bringing it all back. What more can you ask?

Hi-Fi News Verdict

The ‘Taylon’ moniker may be the product of an excitable marketing department but this fluoropolymer dielectric is real enough and clearly possessed of genuine ‘high-end’ properties. The same is true of Sarum T itself – a well-built and usefully flexible cable that promises wide compatibility. Arguably best suited to compact rather than the boldest of floorstanders, Sarum T’s inherently balanced composure makes it a safe and compelling choice.

Sound Quality: 88%