I've heard the occasional Nagra product at audio shows, but infrequently. When I have, I've been in awe of the gorgeous but understated quality of their handmade construction. And the rooms containing Nagra gear always produced superb sound.
My fondest memory of Nagra gear dates back almost a decade. I'd booked…
Description: Tubed line preamplifier. Tube complement: two 12AX7, one 12AT7. Frequency response: 10Hz–50kHz, +0/–0.5dB. Input impedance: >75k ohms. Output impedance: 50 ohms. Signal/noise ratio (ref. 1V): 105dB (ASA-A weighting). Dynamic range: >112dB, gain at +12dB. Total harmonic distortion: <0.02% 1V RMS, gain at 0dB. Channel separation: >78dB.
Dimensions: 12" (310mm) W by 3" (75mm) H by 10" (255mm) D. Weight 7 lbs (3.2kg).
Serial number of unit reviewed: 55025166156025.
Price: $12,250. Approximate number of dealers: 10.
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Analog Sources: VPI TNT IV, Rega Planar 3 turntables; Immedia, Syrinx PU-3 tonearms; Koetsu Urushi, Clearaudio Virtuoso Wood cartridges.
Digital Sources: Lector CDP-7T, Creek Destiny CD players.
Preamplification: Audio Valve Eclipse, Audio Research Reference 5SE line stages; Vendetta Research SCP-2D phono stage.
Power Amplifiers: Audio Research Reference 110 & Reference 75.
Loudspeakers: Epos M16i, Monitor Audio Silver RX6, Nola Viper Reference III.
Cables: Interconnect (all MIT): Magnum M3, MI-350 CVTwin Terminator, MI-330SG…
I measured the Nagra Jazz preamplifier with Stereophile's loan sample of the top-of-the-line Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see www.ap.com and the January 2008 "As We See It"). The review sample had only unbalanced inputs but was fitted with the optional balanced output transformers. I therefore performed a complete suite of measurements from both the unbalanced and balanced outputs, though in the following text I have concentrated on the balanced outputs, as that is how Bob Reina used the Jazz for his auditioning.
The voltage gain at 1kHz was 11.65dB…
In 1972, the late biologist Stephen Jay Gould made a convincing case for what he called "punctuated equilibrium": long periods of evolutionary stasis interrupted by brief periods of rapid evolutionary change in response to major environmental changes. (If you don't believe in evolution, you can jump to the next paragraph.) The same is true of this magazine's measurement regime, which we began in 1989. Every component is subjected to a standardized set of tests that remains the same for years. But occasionally, a new test device or my…
The NYAS promises 40 display rooms from 13 dealers and 27 manufacturers/distributors, a Headzone filled with gear from nine companies, one marketplace room with lots of goodies, and two…
My laptop’s internal speakers lacked the oomph(!) I needed to propel my body into motion.…
Bass, like sex, is something most young men desire in excess: To the novice, quantity trumps quality, and as long as he can hear from his playback system the deepest sounds of an orchestral bass drum or five-string electric bass (low string tuned to B-0 or C-1), he is completely satisfied. Meanwhile, bass texture, bass color, bass momentum, bass nuance, bass tension, and, especially, bass feel have now joined the short-nosed…
Is it just me, or is there some sort of disconnect here?
They all compress and rarify but they don't all suck
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