Audio Technology Switzerland is celebrating its 70th anniversary with a limited edition turntable!
Romanel, Switzerland – Wednesday 24th November 2021. The Swiss company announces it is
celebrating its 70th anniversary in style with a limited edition turntable. The Reference Anniversary
turntable is the product of a years long, major research and development project that has been
kept under wraps until this past summer.
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In 1951, our founder Stefan Kudelski invented the first portable recorder, simply called the Nagra I. Nagra
comes from a Polish word that means “it is recording”. The Nagra I was followed by an impressive trail of
game-changing products that revolutionized the face of sound recording. Its impact has been tremendous
in the field of art, science, ethnology. It changed the way we capture sound and brought a soundtrack to
the world, making recordings where before nothing was ever captured.
Nagra recorders have been used to record sound all around the world and even beyond, with NASA in
the Apollo space program. This long tradition of excellence has been perpetuated for generations. And
since 1998, Nagra has been synonymous with sound reproduction at home for demanding music and Hi-
Fi lovers.
To celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Nagra I, the company designed a very special product that sets
new standards in black disk reproduction.
The Nagra I and Nagra II made use of a Thorens spring winding mechanism to rotate the reels and the
capstan. Electronics were used for signal recording and playback in this ground-breaking portable
recorder. So Nagra early recorders share a common root with turntables. During the golden age of analog,
the idea to make a Nagra turntable was often discussed. Stefan Kudelski even filed a patent in 1972 for
a special tonearm tracking system.
While often contemplated, it was not until four years ago that the design and engineering of a turntable
befitting the name Nagra began. Working as a team, Nagra’s staff of extremely talented designers and
engineers relentlessly pursued perfection in the fields of applied physics, mechanical and electronic
engineering, as well as material science. Four years later, after hundreds upon hundreds of scientific
team hours, accompanied by exhaustive listening tests, the result is a turntable which extends the current
edge of the arts. It is a first step in a return to our legacy of analog mechanical reproduction and will be
followed by more projects to be announced in 2022.
The Reference Anniversary turntable is an analog product governed by immutable laws of physics and
mechanics, very much like Nagra legendary reel to reel recorders. As such, it is not subject to the rapidly
progressing and ever-changing developments of the digital domain. This means that the Anniversary
turntable will remain technologically relevant for generations. For many it will be a last turntable purchase
and a product which is proudly passed down from generation to generation, just like many Nagra III
recorders from the 50’s, which are still in active use today, the Nagra Reference Anniversary turntable is
a product for life.
Offered as a very limited edition of 70 units, each of which includes “in home” set up and dial-in by Nagra
factory specialists, invitation to visit Nagra factory for a VIP tour and exclusive accessories.
The main features of the Nagra Reference Anniversary turntable are:
Massive and precise dual motor drive system
Belt transmission inspired by the legendary Nagra IV series of reel to reel
Exclusive aerospace material platter
Non-resonant chassis
Floating mechanical and hydraulic suspension
Watchmaker style caliber with special finishes
“Skeleton” watch style transparent methacrylate top surface revealing the drive system’s workings
and watchmaker finishes
Pure copper record weight
Dual concentric carbon fiber tonearm
Uni-pivot tonearm with unique geometrical bearing shape
Unique no-contact magnetic anti-skating
Camera lens-like “on the fly” adjustable VTA
Custom silver monocrystal tonearm wiring
External and internal super-cap modules
Full chassis power supply as found in the HD range
Personalized engraved name plate including number within the 70 unit number sequence
The Reference Anniversary turntable was designed as a system. This means that the turntable and its
tonearm were designed to work from the “ground up” as a unified playback system. Careful consideration
was given to the development of a tonearm with performance capabilities commensurate with the
turntable itself.
Dimensions:
W x D = 661 mm x 451 mm (26 inches x 17.7 inches)
Weight = ~80 kg (~176 lbs.)
Paras mais informações: AJASOM