Our friends at Criterion Audio Ltd got one of the very first Nagra Audio new Tube DACs and they’re highly enthusiastic about it: “Fresh from the factory and joining our demo stock before it appears on NAGRA AUDIO’s website, the Nagra Tube DAC replaces the old HD DAC, building on its performance with a wide range of improvements drawing on the work done for the reference HD Preamp. Inside is a range of top tier components, put together with Nagra’s usual lavish attention to detail. Clearly visible is the tube that gives it its name and a Xilinx, Inc. Spartan FPGA which provides enormous processing power while also giving Nagra complete flexibility to carry out future upgrades by reprogramming the silicon.”
“The Tube DAC has optical, USB, RCA, BNC and AES inputs, as well as two Nagra Link single-mode ST1 optical inputs to support future high resolution sources. It can decode PCM 24 bits up to 384 kHz as well as DXD and DSD up to x4. The remote control drives the CNC machined aluminium volume control, with output as RCA and XLR balanced signals, allowing the Tube DAC to be directly connected to a power amplifier or active loudspeakers.
Even fresh from the factory, the sound was beautiful: clean, accurate and very musical with great imaging and toe-tapping timing—a noticeable step up even from the old HD DAC. We can’t wait to let it warm up and settle down: more posts soon, as we already have our first few demonstrations coming up.
The team at Criterion have long been Nagra fans, so it’s great to see them as popular as they are with our customers. Their combination of compact size, beautiful design and stunning sound quality regularly win out in comparative demos, and we hold one of the broadest ranges of Nagra demonstration stock in the UK, so come and visit to take a listen.”
