An Innuos Statement handled storage/transport duties, then a LampizatOr Pacific DAC passed signal either to a Trilogy 915R/995R pre/power set or the Nagra. From there Boenicke S3 speaker cable connected either to sound|kaos Vox 3afw or Boenicke Audio W11 SE+ speakers. Interconnects were Boenicke Audio IC3 CG and DIY XLR. All key hardware powered from Boenicke Audio's Power Gate distributor with its three captive M2 cords plus two LessLoss C-MARC. The USB chain included one Mercury3.0 USB cable. A set of external LessLoss Firewall for Loudspeaker modules saw both speaker sets while a Fidelizer EtherStream played go-between my Linksys WRT160N router and Innuos Statement server. ISOL-8's Prometheus PSU connected router and network switch.
The plan to approach the Classic INT was straightforward. It had to fight with my reference gear whilst Boenicke's and sound|kaos' speakers representing tough and easy loads respectively would map performance across the spectrum. Swaps from the Swiss box to the British set demanded level matching plus reconnecting interconnects and speaker cables. Once those auditions were done, Bakoon's AMP-13R stepped in to confirm my findings. Although stacking this petite marvel against the far beefier Classic INT might seem unreasonable, the comparison wasn't random. More on that in a bit. Nagra's optional anti-vibration VFS base provided with the loaner was on duty most the time.
Upon asking whether I still remember Nagra's sound as heard many moons ago at Marek's place, I'd say that I did to some extent. But was my palette at that time developed enough to fully appreciate it let alone grasp its makers' goals? No. Now I see that I was out of my depth but luckily the intervening five years caught me up for a degree of readiness for challenges this complex. Being familiar with several designs based on lateral Exicon Mosfets also helped and here the Nagra left no room for second guesses. It clearly sounded like a machine with these parts then went the extra mile on refinement, evenness and overall completeness which made all the difference.
Although I can't say whether all amps with Exicon Mosfets sound alike, those I've auditioned were geared for speed, lucidity, openness, grand space, smoothness, immediacy, control, dynamic eagerness and top resolution to effortlessly track even tiny particles floating in air. This mixture of traits results in a particular sort of quickening that makes for fabulously elastic and lively direct sound tailormade for complex music full of wicked dynamics. The emphasis here is on high RPM and fast acceleration rather than casual right-lane cruising on a fluffy suspension. This Nagra clearly was the vivacious sporty type but so much more that it failed the one-trick pony curse.
