Chord Company

The Chord Company was formed in 1984. It all started over dinner one night in Salisbury, when a group of visiting Naim Audio USA retailers asked Naim Audio UK for a good-quality DIN-to-RCA interconnect.  At the table, was one Sally Gibb, then married to a Naim Audio executive, who made the (historic) suggestion that she make the cables and start a business. With the blessing of Naim Audio, the journey to make cables for America began.

With USA referring to cables as ‘cords’, the name The Chord Company, with its obvious musical connotations, seemed perfect and it quickly stuck. Sally drew a logo, designed the packaging and started testing prototypes. Completely British design and construction, although difficult to source at the time, was paramount and days of searching eventually led to suppliers of sufficient quality. Friends at Naim Audio provided expertise and advice, with many of them helping to build the cables.

The first prototype was named “Chrysalis Cable” and the Americans swiftly returned with an initial order of 250! Cables were built, tested, packed and taken along to the Post Office.  Invoices were typed on a typewriter! After two steady years, The Chord Company got its first press review (by Malcolm Steward) and then the phone started to ring…