I am absolutely bowled over how much enjoyment this little item gives me.
Its difficult to put a finger on what exactly it is that it does so well. Rob Watts has his own technical explanations but to be honest, they are going over my head.
It is so coherent and ... complete that I usually forget to analyse music and just drift away with it.
I would not call it super analytical but in its own way it is. It's just that this is not done in the usual dry, lean and super widely spaced way rather it is all packed in to a wonderful 'compact' whole that has pin point staging, filigree detail, no harshness, lovely dynamics and just flows.
I think it was Currawong on Youtube that said that the remarkable thing about it is not the 'darkness' between notes but the way the Chord fills this in.
It is not Headphone or system agnostic. Although I do not have really expensive Headphones it drives them all and it does it well. Same as Stand alone DAC in my systems.
I love the 'balls' (they are not balls anymore). I find them entirely intuitive and enjoy that they are different. I take that anytime over a cramped, tiny display.
Build quality is first class.
Not so good things; As discussed many times elsewhere, Micro USB belongs in another era. Chord carried it over for use with its Poly but it's a pain. It was done for cost reasons but the Poly has been out for years so a slight re-design to USB C would not have done it any harm.
The case, although real leather and nicely made, was nearly 50 quid. Nothing gets cheaper and there are no alternatives (there is one on Amazon but it is till around £40) so I bit the bullet. Nicely protects the unit.
There are no nice accessories included. A rudamentary plastic case, even a bag and a few nice cables (ala iFi) would have been nice.