Chord Electronics Anni Integrated Amplifier

REVIEW
Alan Sircom
Apr 20, 2022

What I found with Chord’s Anni is I almost instinctively treated it as if it were a conventional stereo integrated amplifier, rather than a desktop device. If you think of it in the desktop device space, the Anni is a real winner. My concern here, however, is more philosophical than critical per se; Anni is a logical extension of the Qutest and Huei models, but where they act as small DACs or phono stages in a bigger system, Anni completes the system, and I’m wondering if the market for that system in the desktop is really that developed. Through no fault of Anni, it might be entering a market that does not yet exist. That being said, Anni is good enough to help create and develop that market for high-performance desktop separates.

Chord’s Anni is a surprising amplifier. It has pushed the envelope of what a good amplifier in this category can do, and it also shows that putting a good amplifier circuit in a small box is a practical solution, without having to resort to the strictures of products like gainclones (remember them?). Those who can never see past the 10W or the small box are missing a treat. This is a full-sized amplifier that lives in a desktop shaped box!