Looks and Build Quality
“Chord on the other hand have beautiful grains matched with beautiful complimentary colours on the metallic parts. The classics deep red wood is matched with a brass finish on the metal parts of the housing, its stunning. Build quality is good on the main housings and the cable is inoffensive although not great it is in keeping with the style. Another stylistic touch is the inclusion of the same wood finish on the jack and brass on the Y-splitter.”
Sound Quality
“First thing you notice with the Chord & Major 9’13 is that stringed instruments sounded so good. Fans of classical, as I am, will know that the stringed instruments on many other sets of IEM’s can struggle to reproduce tension and reverberation realistically. Chord have nailed it in this regard and cello’s, violins, pianos and guitars all sounding as close to reality as I could imagine. This creates such an attachment to the music that makes classical such a great genre, one could almost melt as they feel the strings, being played. ”
“Piano is another standout. Contemporary masters such as Ludovico Einaudi and Roberto Cacciapaglia, again sound breathtaking. There is an air and intimacy in the performance as well as the tension, pain and passion are all well expressed and come across making you feel the music. Especially nice is the sound of Einaudi dampening the strings through the pianos foot pedal something other earphones can fail to extract. In regards to these performances the air and openness is stand out with notes being portrayed accurately and then almost seeming to float off into the distance. ”
“Highs are performed accurately but not peaky or sparkly. Again this works out great for classical which at times (1812 Overture) can sound ear piercing on the chords competitors. Detail retrieval is also observed to be good for a dynamic driver earphone.”
“Mids are lush and the focal point of the Chord & Major 9’13 with a nice warmth to them again lending itself to the overall tuning of the phone.”
“Bass has good quantity and quality. It isn’t however the fastest so obviously not going to match electronic music but perfect for replicating a natural double bass. Jazz tracks suffered a little when the pace of the music became frantic and you might want to look at some balanced armature earphones for that genre.”
CONCLUSION
“My time with the Chord & Major 9’13 tonal earphones has been one of sheer enjoyment, sitting in my favourite chair, sipping on some Bulliet Whiskey and truly relaxing with some of my favourite music. It is an earphone which unlike few others can set the mood when listening. ”
Original source : http://www.audiophileon.com/news/chord-major-913-review