Nagra Reference MC Cartridge
NAGRA REFERENCE MC CARTRIDGE TO BE AVAILABLE NEXT MONTH
The first units of Nagra’s first ever phono cartridge will be delivered in October.
The Nagra Reference MC Cartridge was designed in parallel with the Nagra 70th Anniversary Reference turntable/tonearm system as its ideal companion component.
NAGRA REFERENCE MC CARTRIDGE
The Nagra Reference MC cartridge is the product of a number of years of intense R&D supplemented by extensive listening tests. This moving coil cartridge will be available in both four and six Ohm variants. The 4 Ohm edition is designed as an optimal match for Nagra’s forthcoming HD PHONO stage, which has an anticipated release date in 2023.
NAGRA 70TH ANNIVERSARY
Read more about the Nagra 70th Anniversary product launch at High End Munich 2022 here.
HYPER PURE SILVER
Nagra say’s that the Reference cartridge features a number of significant and unique elements. While traditional moving coil transducers utilize a single layer coil body, the Nagra Reference cartridge employs a multi-layer transducer featuring a double layer coil body wound with 20 hyper-pure silver windings in the 6 Ohm version and 12 hyper-pure windings in the 4 Ohm version. The double coil body results in a reduction of impedance with a minimal reduction in output. The 6 Ohm Reference outputs 0.45mV@5cm/s. The 4 Ohm Reference achieves an output of 0.30mV@5cm/s.
RUBY CANTILEVER
A stiff ruby cantilever is used with a high strength titanium structure featuring a DLC (diamond-like coating). This coating ensures no electrical current between the dual coil bodies. The titanium structure utilized in the coil body/cantilever interface addresses a traditional source of resonance and substantially reduces vibration unrelated to the musical signal. The actual stylus tip is a Swiss produced, Fritz Gyger S profile chosen for its combination of detail retrieval and musicality.
CARTRIDGE CONNECTOR PINS
The cartridge connector pins employed in the Reference cartridge eliminate the commonly found connection joint between the pin and the coil. In the case of the Reference, the pin is a continuous single piece from its external end point to its internal point of contact with the coil, resulting, Nagra tell us, in a lowering of inductance.
NAGRA REFERENCE MC CARTRIDGE BODY
In addition to the extensive focus on the motor system and groove/stylus/ cantilever interface, Nagra’s team of engineers and designers paid great attention to the Reference cartridge body. Substantial material science investigation lead the team to a unique, non-ferrous alloy called EXIUM® AM. Born from aerospace materials research, EXIUM® AM is the result of a collaboration between the CNES (the French equivalent of NASA), the Ecole de Mines de Paris and the French firm LBI. It was developed to address a need for an alloy with very high damping properties, a necessary attribute for a particular Mars mission whose purpose was to measure minute seismic activities on the red planet. Nagra engineers determined that this high damping characteristic alloy was perfect for use in audio applications where the elimination of unwanted vibrations and resonances is an extreme priority.
As a result, the Reference cartridge features an EXIUM® AM inlay at the critical interface between the cartridge motor and the cartridge body. Nagra’s 70th Anniversary Reference turntable platter also features a precisely CNC machined ring of EXIUM® AM. Nagra’s use of EXIUM® AM is exclusive. They have secured the sole worldwide right to use EXIUM® AM in audio products. In order to produce a cartridge of optimal weight for the Reference Anniversary tonearm, while maintaining high internal damping properties, they use a super magnesium alloy for the balance of the cartridge body.
NAGRA REFERENCE MC CARTRIDGE PRICE
Pricing is TBC but expected to be in the region of $18,500.
HiFi Pig Says: Nagra is celebrating their 70th anniversary in style!
