Newsletter August 2023

Here are a few notes from some music we played there :

Our selection of masters from the Montreux Jazz Festival were reproduced in all their intensity and finesse, the slightest nuance was conveyed as well as the dynamic parts.

“Duende” from the supergroup Bozio Levin Stevens was both powerful and detailed. Opening with a flurry of notes fingerpicked by Steve Stevens, the system excelled at revealing the leading edge attack of guitar strings as well as the quick release of notes with absolutely no overhang. Terry Bozio’s drumming was, at once, incisive and textured. Drumhead skins and the wooden shells of his drums were reproduced with goosebump generating tonal accuracy. Tony Levin’s bass prowess was readily apparent in both his solos as well as his powerful, driving bass foundation. On lesser systems this track can be chaotic and uninvolving. Our Hong Kong system unraveled the complexities of the music and laid bare the virtuosity of each of these three master instrumentalists.

For pure rhythmic pleasure we listened to the Chesky Records recording of the Monty Alexander Trio playing the jazz standard “Almost Like Being In Love”. The system revealed a piano, drum kit and standup bass playing in a deep, wide acoustic. Alexander’s piano was extremely natural in attack, decay and timbre. The system was a paragon of PraT (Pace, Rhythm and Timing) on this track and it gave us great pleasure to look down and see show attendees’ feet tapping en masse.

A great test for high frequency reproduction is the track “Six Feet Under”. The song was written by Oscar winning composer, Thomas Newman, as the theme song for the HBO hit series Six Feet Under. It is performed by a very talented group of London based session musicians called London Music Works. The version we played is the one found on the album The Essential Thomas Newman. The opening note is a loud strike of a triangle underlaid and reinforced by an extended synthesized high frequency note. The Nagra/Wilson combination had no trouble isolating natural acoustic decay of the triangle from the artificial tapering fade of the underlying synthesized note. Most good systems can generate the jump factor of the opening triangle/synthesizer notes. The real test is how well the system can articulate the many acoustic and synthesized instruments playing in the piece. Our Hong Kong system separated out a host of instruments ranging from English horn, massed violins (playing pizzacato), electric bass guitar, deep synthesizer bass overlaid by percussion shakers, as well as some quirky jaw harp. An impressive display.

Thank you again to everyone who attended the High End 2023, whether you were there in Munich or enjoying the media from Facebook or YouTube.

You helped us make the world debut of the Nagra CLASSIC DAC II a great success.

Our system was comprised of a Nagra 70^th Anniversary REFERENCE Turntable, a Nagra REFERENCE MC Phono Cartridges, a prototype of the soon-to-come HD PHONO, a Nagra HD PREAMP, a pair of Nagra HD AMP monoblocks, a Nagra IV-S tape machine and Nagra VII Anniversary Edition digital recorder. All feeding a pair of Wilson Audio Alexx V Speakers, combined with a pair of Wilson Audio LōKē subwoofers. Cabling by Shunyata, racks and amp stands by Modulum.

Let’s thank again all our experts for their presentations: Michael Fremer, Tracking Angle Editor and The Absolute Sound Editor at Large. Matthias Boede, from STEREO Magazine Abey Fonn, from Impex Records and Elusive Disc Peter McGrath, from Wilson Audio and our René Laflamme, from Fidelio and 2xHD

Check out our YouTube Channel and watch their interviews after their presentations here on our YouTube Playlist.

Get the live experience of being in Nagra room, while Mr. Di Meola, along with Abey Fonn, from Impex records, told us a few stories behind the creation of the recently released LP “Saturday Night in San Francisco”. This new LP release is the follow up of the audiophile’s favorite “Friday Night in San Francisco” featuring fellow guitar legends Paco de Lucia and John McLaughlin.

Let’s dive into this 25min video and listen to some parts of these incredible recordings.

Don’t forget to subscribe here : https://www.youtube.com/c/NagraAudioChannel/

Grand opening of Alma East, second location of Alma Music & Audio, in Sterling, VA, on August 25-26th!

Our electronics, including the CLASSIC PREAMP, CLASSIC AMP, CLASSIC PHONO, CLASSIC PSU and the new CLASSIC DAC II drove the system fantastically.

Alma Music and Audio is dedicated to providing an extraordinary audio experience to their clients. With the launch of their new store, they aim to bring their passion for music and top-of-the-line audio equipment closer to their valued patrons on the East Coast.

The whole day was filled with excitement as they showcased some of the finest audio products from leading brands and hosted live demonstrations to let the visitors experience the magic of pristine sound quality. They are available to assist and guide you in finding the perfect audio solutions tailored to your preferences.

Loudspeakers were from Estelon, maker of some of the world’s finest, with life-like sound and elegant design. Mr. Aldo Filippelli, from Estelon, was around to present their products.

Regarding Nagra, Mr. René Laflamme was here. René is not only Nagra’s representative for the US, but also a well-known recording and mastering engineer. He no doubt graced everyone with his recordings for 2xHD label!

In addition to the audio showcase, they planned an enjoyable evening of music, refreshments, and networking with fellow music enthusiasts and audiophiles, and made this an unforgettable experience.

KONEAV, our new distributor in South Korea, is now ready to demo 2 amazing set-ups. One for the CLASSIC Line and one for the HD Line. Both are paired with the magnificent Wilson Audio speakers.

KONEAV started in 1994 with the passion of audiophiles. “we take care of quality” is the slogan of KONEAV.

First, second, and third, we only care about quality.

Composed of specialists who love music and audio more than anything else and know audio better than anyone else, KONEAV established the company from an enthusiast’s point of view,

We respect and will continue to be with you, who can travel to your own world of sound today without losing your passion for audio and the purity of music.

KONEAV is also distributor for many other recognized and established high end audio brands.

You can find their contact details on our contact page.

Thank you for reading.

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