Nagra REFERENCE Preamp

I don’t have the chance to have a Nagra preamp. My aim was to know what Nagra proposed to compare with others.
 
The best isolation chassis i tested is on the Boulder phono preamp.
You can play at very loud levels and feel nothing.
Nagra isolation system is very good and spares time to search for tuning with footers.
I have the pre-amp on a Seismion active isolation base + Taiko Daiza Panzerholtz block. Absolutely no vibration.
Seismion is honestly the best component in this category. I have several.
Can’t recommend Seismion enough (no affiliation with the company).

I recently forgot to turn on the unit under my WVL field coil power supply, and could immediately hear the difference (less solidity, less focus).
 
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Nagra website updated with Reference Pre and Amp models:

Mine landed yesterday. Unfortunately the DC umbilical to the Pre is too short… so now I’m stuck just looking at them. And they ARE a site to behold.
 
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Nagra website updated with Reference Pre and Amp models:

Mine landed yesterday. Unfortunately the DC umbilical to the Pre is too short… so now I’m stuck just looking at them. And they ARE a site to behold.

Oh no ! Hopefully they get longer umbilical’s to you soon ! Any way you can stack something or put something on the floor temporarily?
 
Oh no ! Hopefully they get longer umbilical’s to you soon ! Any way you can stack something or put something on the floor temporarily?
I am tempted to do so but I would need to run a source to the new location. Hopefully the new cords will arrive in a day or two, so it shouldn’t be too long. I’m assuming Nagra has 2m cords in stock…
 
Hooked it up. WOW!!!
I’m absolutely shocked at how much better it is than the DarTZeel. The 18NS and 108 are great and half the price, so it makes sense — but I was not expecting such a dramatic improvement.
Do not listen to the REF Amp and Preamp if you do not want to spend the money to acquire!!
 
Hooked it up. WOW!!!
I’m absolutely shocked at how much better it is than the DarTZeel. The 18NS and 108 are great and half the price, so it makes sense — but I was not expecting such a dramatic improvement.
Do not listen to the REF Amp and Preamp if you do not want to spend the money to acquire!!
First post here…. I just brought my hd pre and dac to my dealer to get the upgrade. He says I will likely get them back in February. Hope you are still enjoying! How is the break-in going?
 
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First post here…. I just brought my hd pre and dac to my dealer to get the upgrade. He says I will likely get them back in February. Hope you are still enjoying! How is the break-in going?
Congrats on your first post ! Welcome to WBF !

I bought the Ref DAC first, replacing my Vivaldi APEX DAC/Clock/Upsampler. Keeping the Vivaldi Transport. I should have mine early next week. Good luck on your upgrade, I am likely doing that for my HD Pre and Amp next. Curious how long it takes and what you hear when you get em back !
 
Congrats on your first post ! Welcome to WBF !

I bought the Ref DAC first, replacing my Vivaldi APEX DAC/Clock/Upsampler. Keeping the Vivaldi Transport. I should have mine early next week. Good luck on your upgrade, I am likely doing that for my HD Pre and Amp next. Curious how long it takes and what you hear when you get em back !
Thank you! I’m taking this information with a grain of salt, but my dealer told me mid-February for mine. It sounds like they are shipping in batches, and I missed the 2024 ship date. I’ve gone from tube dac to hd dac x, always impressed with the improvement. It’s my understanding that the reference line is highly “musical” and fun, along with all the other things that make the hd line special. For me, I’ve found the hd line to be exceptional, but a tad “polite” for my tastes and system.
 
Thank you! I’m taking this information with a grain of salt, but my dealer told me mid-February for mine. It sounds like they are shipping in batches, and I missed the 2024 ship date. I’ve gone from tube dac to hd dac x, always impressed with the improvement. It’s my understanding that the reference line is highly “musical” and fun, along with all the other things that make the hd line special. For me, I’ve found the hd line to be exceptional, but a tad “polite” for my tastes and system.
What tubes are you using in your HD Pre? I've tried the stock Genelex, yes a bit polite. Mullards add a lot of warmth, extension in the highs and lows and wonderful beauty in the mids. Amperex very even top to bottom, a bit more resolution. Mazda's are the best for me...more dynamic, keep the amperex evenness but have the beauty of the mullards.

I might suggest you try Mullards...if you need help with a tube dealer, please PM me. Good tubes are good tubes!
 
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First post here…. I just brought my hd pre and dac to my dealer to get the upgrade. He says I will likely get them back in February. Hope you are still enjoying! How is the break-in going?
Hi and welcome!

The REFERENCE Amps and Pre-Amp are phenomenal! I'm not even in a position to fully evaluate the sound yet, as I have been working on getting the proper cables and only have about 50 hours on the equipment. I'm still waiting for Nagra to send me the proper length of DC cables for the Pre and I have ordered new XLR cables for the Pre to Amps interconnect.

Even still, it's a tremendous improvement over the DarTZeel 18NS and 108, which was a fine performer in its own right. It sounds trite, but I have never heard equipment and speakers 'get out of the way' like I am hearing with the Nagra REF amps. They, and the speakers, simply disappear, and the sound has never been more musical.

Even though my ~105dB horns require <1 Watt of power, and the DarTZeel 108 has plenty of power, the Nagra Amps have such an authoritative grip on the speakers, it's incredible. One would think that "power doesn't matter" when you don't need more than 1W - that would be false.
 
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What tubes are you using in your HD Pre? I've tried the stock Genelex, yes a bit polite. Mullards add a lot of warmth, extension in the highs and lows and wonderful beauty in the mids. Amperex very even top to bottom, a bit more resolution. Mazda's are the best for me...more dynamic, keep the amperex evenness but have the beauty of the mullards.

I might suggest you try Mullards...if you need help with a tube dealer, please PM me. Good tubes are good tubes!
Thank you for the explanation! I admit, I’ve only used the stock tubes. I’ll pm you.
 
Hi and welcome!

The REFERENCE Amps and Pre-Amp are phenomenal! I'm not even in a position to fully evaluate the sound yet, as I have been working on getting the proper cables and only have about 50 hours on the equipment. I'm still waiting for Nagra to send me the proper length of DC cables for the Pre and I have ordered new XLR cables for the Pre to Amps interconnect.

Even still, it's a tremendous improvement over the DarTZeel 18NS and 108, which was a fine performer in its own right. It sounds trite, but I have never heard equipment and speakers 'get out of the way' like I am hearing with the Nagra REF amps. They, and the speakers, simply disappear, and the sound has never been more musical.

Even though my ~105dB horns require <1 Watt of power, and the DarTZeel 108 has plenty of power, the Nagra Amps have such an authoritative grip on the speakers, it's incredible. One would think that "power doesn't matter" when you don't need more than 1W - that would be false.
Wow! This is all very exciting to hear. Keep us posted on the progress, as some of us (me!) has a few months to wait still haha.
 

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