Nagra HD PREAMP preamplifier Interview
Pascal Mauroux, CEO of Audio Technology Switzerland, revealed Nagra’s plans in light of the HD PREAMP finalising Nagra’s flagship amplifier system. Regarding the HD line’s philosophy, says Pascal, it was conceived ‘to have no limit in terms of physical dimension, cost or time to design. This is why the products are much larger than the existing models, so we can fit top components in the desired quantity.
‘The design process includes numerous computer simulations to ensure that the specifications will be right, along with a lot of measurements on prototypes to push those specs to their limits. We then go in a back-and-forth process with extensive listening sessions, improvements, measurements and so on. We also constantly scout the market for special components or have them built for us.’
What developments are underway, now that the HD pre/power amps are complete? ‘We are working on a partnering HD DAC that will have similar casing, and with a separate power supply. We plan to release it at the end of the year, or in early 2019. More components will follow, including a phono stage, stereo amplifiers and eventually an integrated amplifier.’
Nagra’s goal, he adds, ‘is to offer two complete lines, the Classic in Nagra’s typical compact size and the HD range. It will take us some more years to complete this task. The biggest question-mark right now is the source: should we do a physical player for CD or SACD, a file player or should we return to tape... a lot of challenges to face!’.