After years of intense research and development, the Nagra HD PHONO is finally available for discerning listeners of vinyl. It is the ideal complement to the HD range and the world-acclaimed HD PREAMP, HD DAC X and HD AMP monoblocks.
Nagra’s first phono stage was derived from the Nagra IV-S reel to reel microphone preamplifier stage. It later evolved into the phono section of the legendary Nagra PL-P preamplifier. Ever since, Nagra has worked and improved that original design with the creation of the Nagra VPS. In 2020, after years of extensive research and countless listening sessions, we introduced the Nagra Classic PHONO. It became a new reference in phono playback and achieved acclaim around the world by both press and critical listeners. It remains a benchmark in its class bettered only now by the HD PHONO.
The Nagra HD PHONO follows the introduction of the Reference turntable and Nagra MC-4 moving-coil cartridge. Both the Reference turntable and MC-4 cartridge are state of the art contenders in their own rights and proved to be major assets in the finalization and fine-tuning of the HD PHONO.
The HD PHONO is a two chassis design in which the delicate phono stage circuitry is isolated in its own CNC machined aluminum chassis.
The best of analog is incorporated in the HD PHONO. It is dual-mono, pure Class A with 100 percent tube stages. In addition, it incorporates remote control cartridge load adjustability from 5 to 390 Ohms, with steps as fine as 5 Ohms for smaller values. This allows perfect matching between your cartridge and HD PHONO stage – all confirmed by ear from the comfort of your listening chair.
The HD PHONO features a new generation of input transformers. Following the original VPS transformer and based on the Nagra IV-S microphone input transformers, the HD PHONO’s transformers are a fourth-generation design featuring 26 dB of gain. The new transformer’s core is made with Cobalt and is cryogenically treated over the course of several weeks to improve performance. The transformer itself is hand wound in a very delicate process requiring watchmakers’ type of skills.
A second chassis serves to house a massive supercapacitor external power supply. Supercapacitor based power supplies provide all of the advantages of battery-based power supplies with the added advantage of accepting and delivering charges much faster and with higher current load and cycle stability than battery-based power supplies. This power supply is based on those of the HD PREAMP and HD DAC X but features a number of innovations which make it even more silent with improved performance. Both chassis are suspended in a system incorporating a damped, constrained layer platform coupled to four isolator damped towers providing superior vibration resistance.
Features of the Nagra HD PHONO
- Dual mono / class A tubes
- 4x EF806S, 2x E88CC
- Custom-made input transformers with 26 dB gain featuring cryogenically treated Cobalt cores
- Overall gain of up to 68.5 dB adjustable by +/- 6dB so 62.5 and 56.5 dB
- RIAA, TELDEC, NAB 100µS, VICTOR EUR, VICTOR USA
- 2x MC inputs on RCA
- 1x MM input on RCA
- 1x option input for future custom transformers
- Remote controlled loading system from no load to 390 Ohms by 5 Ohm steps
- Separate power supply with supercapacitor module ensuring silent power
The new Nagra HD PHONO is shipping from Romanel and will be available through most of its retailers for a suggested price of US$ 87,500.
An Audiophile History of Nagra
You don’t just stumble across Nagra gear. You discover it, usually the way an explorer might uncover a precision timepiece buried in an antique safe—something timeless, obsessively engineered, and still ticking. Nagra is one of those rare audio brands that carries an undeniable mystique, built not on marketing hype or influencer buzz, but on decades of Swiss craftsmanship and a no-compromise approach to recorded sound.
Ask an old-school broadcast engineer, a film sound guy, or a Cold War-era spy what a Nagra is, and you’ll likely get a knowing smile. That’s because long before audiophiles started drooling over their ridiculously well-built amps, preamps, and DACs, Nagra was the gold standard in professional portable recording. We’re talking 1950s-era reel-to-reel machines used for location recording, film production, and covert surveillance. The Nagra III, introduced in 1961, is still spoken about in hushed tones by people who know tape.
But how did this icon of professional audio find its way into the listening rooms of ultra-high-end audiophiles? Like many of the best things in this hobby, it happened slowly, quietly, and with a borderline-obsessive attention to detail. Nagra didn’t just slap their name on some glitzy audiophile boxes and call it a day. They brought the same meticulous engineering ethos that made their field recorders legendary into the home hi-fi space.
The audiophile side of Nagra’s legacy began taking serious shape in the late 1990s and early 2000s, starting with their preamplifiers and power amplifiers, all built in the same compact form factor as their recorders—half-width, but loaded with more tech and sonic purity than some full-stack monoblocks. And that trademark Nagra needle meter? It wasn’t just cosmetic. It was a signal to the initiated that this gear came from a different world—one where reliability, performance, and function were paramount.
It’s worth noting that Nagra isn’t for everyone. Their gear isn’t cheap, and it’s not meant to be. This is the kind of product you buy when you’ve heard everything else and are still chasing that last bit of truth from your favorite recordings. You don’t “upgrade” from Nagra. You invest in it. You listen differently with Nagra. You think differently about your system when it’s in the rack.
Part of what makes Nagra gear so unique is its voicing. There’s a distinct clarity, speed, and neutrality to their sound, but it never veers into sterile or analytical. It’s precise, but emotional. You hear everything—but more importantly, you feel everything. That’s a hard balance to strike, and Nagra nails it in a way that only a handful of brands ever have.
The company’s digital gear, like the HD DAC and its successors, helped cement Nagra’s place in the modern audiophile pantheon. In a world full of noisy digital front ends and lazy implementations of off-the-shelf chipsets, Nagra builds their DACs from the ground up. Separate power supplies. Proprietary conversion architecture. And the build quality? It’s like something you’d find in a Swiss watch movement, not a stereo component.
And then there’s the aesthetic. Nagra doesn’t do big, flashy gear with blue lights and touchscreen gimmicks. Their components are understated, elegant, and military-grade in execution. Holding a Nagra remote in your hand feels like holding an instrument, not a consumer electronic. Every detail—from the machined aluminum knobs to the way the lid screws into the chassis—is designed with purpose.
But make no mistake: Nagra isn’t some nostalgia act. They’re not trying to ride the wave of their 1960s glory. They’re still innovating, still pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in analog and digital playback. Their flagship gear today—like the HD PREAMP and HD AMP—is aimed squarely at the top end of the market, competing with the biggest, boldest names in high-end audio. And they’re doing it their own way, with fewer compromises and more integrity than most.
In a hobby that’s increasingly about algorithms, apps, and convenience, Nagra reminds us that great sound still starts with great engineering. It’s not about gimmicks or trends. It’s about listening. Deep listening. And that’s something audiophiles, no matter their generation, can still appreciate.
