Chord Signature Bi-Wire Speaker Links

A bi-wire link is a short length of conductor with a connection at each end, and the arithmetic of that is unusual. In almost every other cable in a system the wire dominates and the plugs are a detail; shorten the conductor to the width of a terminal block and the balance inverts. The metal-to-metal joints stop being a footnote and become most of what the product is. Which is presumably why the one thing The Chord Company specify on this page is the connector.

The links are fitted with ChordOhmic 4mm plugs or spades, and the cable itself is based closely on the Chord SignatureXL speaker cable — so what you are buying is a short section of a serious loudspeaker cable, terminated at a standard that Chord reserve for the upper part of their range, in place of the pressed metal bar or the loop of bell wire that the loudspeaker manufacturer supplied.

It does not care what your speaker cable is

Signature links will work with any loudspeaker cable, which is a more useful property than it first sounds. There is a persistent assumption that links only make sense as the final piece of a matched cable system, and it keeps people from fitting good ones to a loudspeaker connected with something perfectly decent from another manufacturer. The link is a self-contained part of the circuit. Every note going to the treble unit passes through it regardless of whose cable brought the signal to the terminal block.

They are also straightforward to fit — undo four binding posts, remove what is there, fit these, tighten. No tools beyond your fingers, and nothing that can be got wrong except putting them in horizontally instead of vertically, which is worth checking twice.

Technical Specifications

The Chord Company publish no conductor, insulation or length figures for these links, so none are listed. What they do confirm is below.

Who Is It For?

This is the value point of Chord's three sets of bi-wire links, and for a great many bi-wireable loudspeakers it is the proportionate choice — enough of an upgrade over the factory bar to be worth the trouble, without asking the system to justify the tiers above it. Owners of a loudspeaker in the low-to-middle four figures, single-wired, with the original links still fitted, are the obvious case.

Two things rule them out. If your loudspeakers have a single pair of terminals, there is nothing to bridge. If you already bi-wire or bi-amp, the links were removed years ago and should stay removed. Otherwise, decide between 4mm plugs and spades by looking at the terminals: recessed posts and tight terminal spacing usually point to spades, open binding posts to 4mm. Send us the make and model and we will confirm before ordering. Further up sit the Chord Sarum T bi-wire speaker links and the Chord ChordMusic bi-wire speaker links, and the matching full-length cable is the Chord SignatureXL speaker cable. The rest of the range is on our Chord Company collection page.

Buying from Martins Hi-Fi

Of everything The Chord Company make, links are the item most often overlooked, for the simple reason that they arrive already fitted and nothing about them announces itself as a decision. We are happy to look at what is on the back of your loudspeakers and tell you which termination you need — and, if the answer is that your money is better spent elsewhere first, to tell you that too.

When you get in touch, you'll be speaking with Dave, Chris and Tim at info@martinshifi.co.uk, call 01603 627010, or WhatsApp on 07554 687137. You can read more about how we work on our Why Martins page. We are at 85–91 Ber Street, Norwich, NR1 3EY.