Chord Company PhonoARAY Turntable Grounding Device

“Keeping grounded” has become a litmus test for audiophiles—not to resist the urge to upgrade (which is impossible), but to make what is perhaps the most important upgrade: reducing system noise floor. The proliferation of grounding products designed to achieve this goal reflects a growing emphasis on this real and fundamental system optimization. Noise reduces the analytical power of equipment and masks details. Eliminating noise is the ultimate goal of high fidelity—a further step towards realism, undoubtedly a worthwhile aspiration.

That said, Chord Company, located just miles from Stonehenge in Wiltshire, may find it difficult to convince skeptics who dismiss such products as “mysticism,” especially with the introduction of its seemingly incredible noise-canceling device, PhonoARAY.

This company, renowned for designing and manufacturing various speaker cables and signal cables, has long offered the English Electric EE1 Plus “Advanced Network Noise Isolator” and GroundARAY (which, when plugged into an unused network port on my router, looked like a bizarre sight, like stabbing the device with an expensive aluminum pen). During streaming, I believe it is indeed effective. Of course, the “mystical police” will inevitably accuse me, an audiophile, of losing my judgment.

Perhaps that’s true. But I’m still happy to accept the idea that “improving turntable performance can be achieved through similar principles.” Chord Company explains it this way: the sophisticated engineering required to read the tiny signals from vinyl records makes most turntables exceptionally sensitive to electromagnetic radiation in the home environment. For example, the signal from a low-output moving coil cartridge typically needs to be amplified millions of times before reaching the speaker.

Are cables just cables?

Chord Company claims to have dedicated itself to solving interference problems for forty years, initially through advanced shielding technology, and more recently with products like GroundARAY, PowerARAY, and PowerHAUS power strips. The design philosophy of PhonoARAY lies in this: the thin ground wire that comes with most tonearm cables, intended to eliminate hum, actually forms an antenna effect with the metal tonearm, actively capturing high-frequency radiation from switching power supplies, Wi-Fi, etc., and directing it to the system ground, thus masking crucial, minute signals. Those who insist that “cables are just cables” will likely be astonished by this.

As a product of lateral thinking, PhonoARAY deserves applause. Its physical feel also justifies its thousand-dollar price tag. Crafted from CNC-machined aluminum with a matte black coating, its semi-cylindrical shape resembles a giant capacitor, featuring 4mm banana plugs at both ends (one end with a spiral ring for Spade fork connectors). The included 50cm high-quality shielded cable has a banana plug on one end and a fork connector on the other.

The installation process is intuitive and simple, taking only one minute: First, disconnect the tonearm ground wire from the phono preamp (or amplifier with phono preamp) ground terminal and connect it to the PhonoARAY’s screw-down connector; then, connect the banana plug of the included cable to the other end of the device, and the fork connector to the ground terminal of the phono preamp/amp with phono preamp. Installation is now complete.

ARAY is not a specific technology, but rather a collective term for several core innovations of the Chord Company, much like the secret formulas of Coca-Cola and KFC—details are never disclosed. It is known that the PhonoARAY internally uses a hand-wound ultra-high current filter connected to both terminals and is equipped with a complex parallel ARAY system, providing dual “virtual grounding” protection for the turntable and phono preamp. The thick-walled aluminum shell provides electromagnetic and acoustic isolation, and the cavity is filled with resin to suppress micro-resonance (i.e., mechanical vibration converted into electrical noise). The two large, lightweight vibration-damping feet at the bottom need to be loosened for complete decoupling.

Sound Quality Performance

Previous reports claimed that PhonoARAY could enhance volume and musical energy, but this was not confirmed when I paired it with the Acoustic Signature Double X Neo turntable (TA2000 tonearm + MCX3 dynamic cartridge) and Chord Electronics Huei phono preamp. Instead, at the same volume, a quieter background was presented; while the musical energy wasn’t necessarily enhanced, the distribution across the entire frequency range was more refined. The most significant improvement was in the refinement and subtlety, like upgrading from an excellent moving magnet cartridge to a high-quality moving coil cartridge. The impact was evident in the tonal texture and subtle differences in micro-dynamics, rather than abrupt impact.

This German turntable is already known for its detail, and paired with the Huei phono preamp, it’s even more powerful. Even without the PhonoARAY connected, the signal already contained rich information, but it was integrated so naturally that it was almost imperceptible. The music flowed freely without being constrained by the playback mechanism. With the PhonoARAY connected, the high frequencies become even purer and more uncolored, with the overall listening experience dominated by a transparent and relaxed breathability.

This is a “de-sharpened” listening experience. When you immerse yourself in the warmth, tension, power, and emotion of the music, you feel the overall harmony rather than fragmented sound. Take the album *The Summit* as an example. In the live vocal duel between Manhattan Transfer Station and Take 6, the explosive climax tests the system’s separation of dense vocals and band sections, its dynamic range, and its timbre realism. Without the PhonoARAY, the sound, while full of tension and capturing the passion of the live performance, reveals a roughness in the recording. With it connected, the passion remains, but the harshness disappears, adding a warm and rich texture, while simultaneously enhancing the timbre realism of the vocal duel.

Conclusion: Expectations bias? Absolutely not. Necessary? Not necessarily. But if you were to borrow this product from a Chord Company dealer to try it out, you’d probably find it hard to refuse paying a thousand dollars to keep it. In terms of its upgrade effect, it is comparable to replacing the cartridge or phono preamp with a higher-end one, unlocking more hidden information in the record grooves and allowing you to access a more subtle dimension of the musical experience.

Specifications
Type: Turntable Grounding Noise Reduction Device
Accessories: 50cm Clearway Grounding Cable (Optional Shawline)
Dimensions: 65 x 160 mm
Weight: 600g