Chord Electronics is a U.K.-based manufacturer of audio equipment that in 2008 released a "lower-cost" -- it's approximately 400 U.K. pounds, or about $630 -- device known as the Chordette Gem. Featuring a metal case that's available in six different colors including the green shown at right, the Gem includes a Bluetooth receiver and is designed to relay music from a phone to other audio components.

Earlier this year, Chord released five additional Chordette components, all housed in similar brushed metal cases. With identical 6.3 x 2.75-inch (160 x 70mm) footprints, they may be stacked in an optional rack, and include:

• the Dual, a phono stage amplifier
• the Peach, a D/A converter with a Bluetooth receiver, USB port, plus optical and coaxial digital inputs
• the Prime, a remote-controllable preamplifier with four inputs and bidirectional USB
• the Scamp, a 40-Watt stereo amplifier
• the Toucan, a "high definition" headphone amplifier

Now, Chord has added to the range with the Mogul, a mini-PC that matches the other Chordette devices in size. It features a 1.2GHz Via Nano U2500 processor, 2GB of DDR2 memory, and a 320GB hard disk drive, the company says.


The Chordette Mogul
(Click either to enlarge)

According to Chord, the Mogul is supplied with a wireless keyboard (above left) and a USB-based wireless network adapter. The PC's front panel has two USB ports and two gold-plated audio output jacks, while the rear panel (above right) includes four further USB ports, a VGA output, a gigabit Ethernet port, and an HDMI port.

Because of the Mogul's tiny size, the Via components mentioned, and the location of some ports on the device's rear panel, we strongly suspect the PC employs Via's Pico-ITX-format Epia-P820, which is pictured below with its available I/O carrier board. The VX855 northbridge/southbridge that's acknowledged to be part of both the Epia-P820 and the Chordette Mogul is DirectX 9.0-compatible and can decode 1080p video in H.264, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, WMV9, and VC-1 formats while using only 40 percent of a host CPU's resources, says Via.

Via's Epia-P820 with I/O carrier board attached

In addition to the ports already mentioned, the Mogul includes an eSATA port under a door on the top of the device. The PC runs 64-bit software but is supplied with a 32-bit edition of Windows 7 Home Premium, according to Chord.

Features and specifications listed by Chord for the Chordette Mogul include:

• Processor -- 1.2GHz Via Nano U2500
• Chipset -- Via VX855
• Memory -- 2GB of DDR2 RAM
• Storage -- 320GB hard disk drive
• Networking:
  • LAN -- gigabit Ethernet
  • WLAN -- 802.11b/g via supplied USB adapter
• Other I/O:
  • 6 x USB 2.0 ports (2 front, 4 rear)
  • analog audio output (2 x RCA phono jacks)
  • VGA
  • HDMI
  • eSATA port
• Power requirements -- 12VDC via 50/60Hz AC adapter
• Dimensions -- n/s, but apparently matches 6.3 x 2.75-inch (160 x 70mm) footprint of other Chordette devices
• Weight -- 1.1 pounds (.5kg )

The Chordette Mogul in a rack with the Scamp and Prime
Source: YouTube user OakleyChord
(click to play)
Further information

Chord Electronics did not announce pricing for the Chordette Mogul, but according to two U.K-based resellers, the device costs approximately $2,200 Pounds (about $3,480). We doubt this is a misprint: For comparison's sake, Chord also produces a "Red Reference" CD player that costs around $26,000.

More information on the Mogul may be found on the Chord Electronics website in PDF format, here.

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