Dance of the Nagra – It's the famous Swiss firm's HD Phono [$87'500] which represents a solid four years of R&D. It's the intended mate for their Reference turntable and Reference MC cartridge. It's a dual-mono pure tube class A design with creature features like remote-controlled 5-390Ω loading in up to 5Ω increments. The new 4th-gen input transformers generate 26dB of passive voltage gain. Their cobalt cores are cryogenically treated in-house over several weeks. The outboard power supply uses banks of super capacitors for beyond-battery charge speeds, current load and cycle stability. The tube complement consists of 4 x EF806S and 2 x E88CC. Total gain is up to 68.5dB. Supported EQ curves beyond the classic RIAA curve are Teldec, NAB 100µS, Victor Europe and Victor USA. MC gets two RCA inputs, MM one. An option bay anticipates future custom transformers. First production units are shipping now.
