Audiophilepure

https://www.hifinews.com/content/nagra-hd-phono-phono-preamp

The fascia is effectively divided in two with the Modulometer [see PM’s Lab Report] indicating the output level in dB and with an adjacent toggle to adjust its brightness in five steps, this next to a mono cartridge LED and rotary for setting the input loading. In the centre a ±6dB gain toggle acts on both MM and MC inputs, and to the right is an EQ rotary, mute switch and, lastly, the rotary that takes the unit from standby and selects the inputs of MC1, MC2, MM and the optional custom input (if fitted).

Inside are six valves – four EF806S-Gold pentodes in the EQ section and two E88CC/6922 triodes for the ±6dB gain block. The circuitry is dual-mono and pure Class A, naturally. For MC duties, the HD Phono employs a new generation of custom-made input transformer from a lineage that includes the original VPS transformer, in turn based on the Nagra IV-S tape recorder’s microphone input transformers. Talk about a pedigree! In Nagra lore, then, the HD Phono’s transformers are fourth-generation designs, offering 26dB of gain. The hand-wound transformer’s core is made with cobalt ‘and is cryogenically treated over the course of several weeks to improve performance’.

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