Press Release - Nagra HD Preamp

Audio Technology Switzerland is proud to announce it is releasing its most ambitious preamplifier ever: the new NAGRA HD PREAMP.

Rocky Mountain Audio Fest, Denver, USA - Friday the 6^th October 2017. The Swiss company announces it is releasing a new preamplifier to compliment the HD range, that will be simply called the HD PREAMP.  

Nagra is demonstrating the new HD PREAMP at the RMAF in room 1030.

_________________________________________________________________________

World announcement of the NAGRA HD PREAMP, almost twenty years after the NAGRA PL-P preamplifier was released on the high-end market.

In 1998, NAGRA Audio division introduced its very first high-end consumer product after more than 40 years of continuous success in the professional recording market. The PL-P preamplifier was a class A triode-based line and phono preamplifier that immediately set new standards in sound reproduction.

In many ways, the HD PREAMP’s design started from a white page. Every aspect and step in the design process involved research to find the most elegant solution to accurately and faithfully convey the music from your sources to the amplifier. As a result, the HD PREAMP includes several patent pending technologies that are taking the music listening experience to new height.

Nagra unique approach to designing audio products takes advantage of 65 years of experience in the field, a large and skilled R&D group as well as extensive listening sessions; the result is often very organic and natural sounding. In order for the final product to be faithful to the theoretical work, custom made high-end components are carefully selected. The unit includes in-house custom-made components like audio transformers.

The volume control is a patent pending technology that allows perfect level matching with a much more transparent sound compared to potentiometers and switch resistor technology, because there is no attenuation of the input signal, just an automatic selection of a tap on the Nagra custom output transformers.

As expected with such high quality electronics, the sophisticated power supply will be located in a separate chassis. Like the audio circuit, it uses utmost quality components that are specified for extreme applications. Very much like the PL-P made use of batteries to isolate the unit from external interferences, the HD PREAMP’s power supply uses a unique virtual battery technology that offer superior result to a conventional battery, without the inconvenience of dealing with charging time and battery life. Consequently, the noise floor level at the preamplifier reaches uncharted territories; it is the lowest ever measured with a NAGRA product (See attached).

The construction of the chassis of the HD PREAMP and its power supply gets rid of the influence of external disturbances (vibration and electrical) and drastically reduces proper resonances. As a result, the HD PREAMP promises to set new standards for preamplification as did the PL-P twenty years ago.

First units will be delivered by the end of November. The suggested retail price list in the USA is 59’500 US$.

Contact

Matthieu Latour, Marketing Director, matthieu.latour@nagraaudio.com

About ATS - Audio Technology Switzerland

Founded in 1951 by Stefan Kudelski, NAGRA has been designing some of the most influencing equipment in the audio industry. From the Oscar ® Awards winning NAGRA professional tape recorders to the rewarded NAGRA HD electronics, the company has continuously perpetuated the utmost excellence in electronics design and manufacturing. In 2012, Audio Technology Switzerland S.A. formerly Nagra Audio division is created. Still largely owned by the Kudelski family, Audio Technology Switzerland designs, manufactures and market NAGRA professional, high-end audio and security products. It is continuing the tradition of sophistication and originality that has established the prestige of the NAGRA brand all around the world for over 60 years.

By the way guys, if that didn't get you all excited, you should get professional help from your nearest audio clinic or dare I say, Nagra dealer.

Nagra BPS Phono Stage - Brief Impressions

Introduction

As luck would have it, a kind soul lent me a Nagra BPS phono stage for a week to conduct an analog workshop for a small group. The BPS was handed over to me in a small plastic flightcase, which was a refreshing change from the equipment I have had to handle recently (which could double up as weights in the gym !)

Description

The Nagra BPS is slightly larger than the palm of my hand, and operates from a single 9V battery. It has a variety of loading and gain options, which should make it easy to mate with a variety of cartridges. MC gain is partly accomplished using in-house wound transformers.

The top cover of the BPS removes easily using the supplied hex key, giving access to various jumpers and the loading board. A separate hatch allows you to swop the 9V battery easily without having to open the top cover. 

The front panel has a single toggle switch with three positions, "on", "off" and "test" (for battery life). The rear panel has two pairs of RCA sockets and an incredibly small grounding post. A DC socket allows you to use the BPS with an external power supply (7-10 V DC). I used this feature only to keep the circuit warmed-up and switched to the battery for listening sessions.

Gain is a very healthy 53 db for MM and 64 db for MC. Jumpers allow you to attenuate the gain by 16 db if you require. The resistive load settings for the BPS are 100, 150, 220, 330, 470 and 1000 ohms. 

I was a bit concerned about battery life in use, but the manual states that the battery life is 100 hours, and in the 4-5 hours that I used the unit, the dealer installed battery held up fine.

Sound Quality

I tried it first with my high output MC cartridge, a Sumiko Blackbird. The high frequencies were distorted, but using the 16db attenuator fixed all of that. Compared to my Whest Two phonostage, the Nagra had a lighter and faster tone. 

The workshop host was using a midrange Pro-ject deck with an Ortofon 2M Blue MM cartridge. The differences between the Nagra and Whest were clearly audible, with some members of the audience preferring the more linear and extended sound of the Nagra and some preferring the more romantic tone of the Whest. The Nagra had a more neutral tone, with a very tight and fast bass line, and a drier but more extended top end. I also felt that the Nagra's soundstage presentation was more distant, but with better separation and more precise imaging.

Moving the Nagra back home, I tried it with my main rig, a Soulines Kubrick DCX with Jelco SA-750 tonearm. I tried a Hana SH cartridge - a high output MC cartridge (review coming) and a Shelter 5000 MC cartridge. I used my Graham Slee Reflex M and Elevator as a comparison phono stage. The Nagra sounded quite different in this setup. On both cartridges, midrange had a more laidback and subtly creamy quality to it, while both frequency extremes were clean and tightly controlled. The Graham Slee had a much more dynamic presentation, with a more vibrant and tonally dense delivery. Staging wise, the Graham Slee projected a more three dimensional stage, with a greater sense of depth and height. In comparison, you could describe the Nagra as being subtly expressive, but with a more restrained delivery.

Conclusion

Performance wise, I would put the Nagra to be on par with the Graham Slee duo, although their tonal balance are quite different. As a matter of reference, both phono stages are in a similar price bracket locally. Assuming that you like a more neutral tone, the Nagra is an impressive phono stage.