NAGRA MSA power amp landed !

Jerome W

Jerome W

Active member
Joined
Apr 5, 2013
Messages
1,289
Location
Near Paris, France
Hi guys.
Just had about 2 hours with this little jewel yesterday so I cannot say something else than " I love it".
The match with the 40.1 is superb.
The amp does not sound as it looks. Lots of weight and presence from a tiny jewel box.
Sorry for the iphone pics :
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Congratulations Jerome. Mike heard them at an audio show and was telling me he loved them. I bet they are amazing.
 
I love your attention to detail with isolation Jerome; the PAB isolation products are good value. I don't know why, but I picture that Nagra amp sounding very smooth. I've probably just put words in your mouth, lol! but how would describe the sound Jerome?
 
joeinid said:
Congratulations Jerome. Mike heard them at an audio show and was telling me he loved them. I bet they are amazing.
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Thank you Joe !
One is more than enough on the 40.1 according to my ears and the modulometer of the Nagra.
At 75 / 85 dB, the 40.1 draws no more than 2 W.
 
Bodhi said:
I love your attention to detail with isolation Jerome; the PAB isolation products are good value. I don't know why, but I picture that Nagra amp sounding very smooth. I've probably just put words in your mouth, lol! but how would describe the sound Jerome?
Click to expand...

Thanks a lot for the nice words Bodhi.
Yes, I have high faith in isolation and PAB hits the spot for me with super high quality products being still affordable.

About the MSA sound.
I always feel uncomfortable with the term "smooth" in audio because it is most often associated with colored and mellow.
I prefer to use "natural".
The MSA is extremely natural. I usually do not appreciate a lot SS power amps. This one is among my exceptions. It sounds as a great tube component. The transparency and truth of timbre are at a very high level.
 
Great to hear you're loving your new Nagra amp Jerome :) I guess there are different views of what "smooth" means in audiophile speak. Endeavouring to be as objective as possible, I turned to the Sterephile Audio Glossary which described "smooth" as -

"Sound reproduction having no irritating qualities; free from HF peaks, easy and relaxing to listen to. Effortless. Not necessarily a positive system attribute if accompanied by a slow, uninvolving character."

I also aim for natural sound in my system, which is why I am a fan of Vitus, Jorma and Magico. Though that also shows there are many paths to audio nirvana :audiophile:.
 
Bodhi said:
Great to hear you're loving your new Nagra amp Jerome :) I guess there are different views of what "smooth" means in audiophile speak. Endeavouring to be as objective as possible, I turned to the Sterephile Audio Glossary which described "smooth" as -

"Sound reproduction having no irritating qualities; free from HF peaks, easy and relaxing to listen to. Effortless. Not necessarily a positive system attribute if accompanied by a slow, uninvolving character."

I also aim for natural sound in my system, which is why I am a fan of Vitus, Jorma and Magico. Though that also shows there are many paths to audio nirvana :audiophile:.
Click to expand...

Exactly.
Often smooth is seen as possibly "slow and uninvolving". That's why I do not like the term.
And again, what would be the opposite of smooth according to this Stereophile definition ? Harsh ? Agressive ? Sharp ? Who would like such a sound ?
 
Lol Jerome, you could say Bruce Lee had a smooth action, but no one would call him slow or uninvolving! Doubtless being audiophiles, we could serve and volley semantics on this all night long :lol:. Alas, we return to normal programming...
 
Congrats Jerome.
I have heard the MSA in a few systems but not in my own. It overdelivers. Despite that, Nagra are replacing the
MSA with the new "Classic" line amp which basically doubles the output of the MSA. During CES, nagra put out several youtube videos about it and suggested it would be released this month. I am curious to see how it does for Nagra as your MSA is so good already!
 
tunes said:
Congrats Jerome.
I have heard the MSA in a few systems but not in my own. It overdelivers. Despite that, Nagra are replacing the
MSA with the new "Classic" line amp which basically doubles the output of the MSA. During CES, nagra put out several youtube videos about it and suggested it would be released this month. I am curious to see how it does for Nagra as your MSA is so good already!
Click to expand...

Thanks ! Yes I heard about that.
The new amps will be much more expensive so no regrets whatsoever !
 
A clear area where the little Nagra bites the dust compared to big monoblocks amps, especially tube ones, is the Stereo image. The Nagra sound stays between the speakers or comes from the speakers.
Big monoblocks make the speakers disappear.
Maybe that we could get to that with a pair of MSA.
Anyway the ambiences are extremely well rendered and the amp is super quiet. The silences are very very silent. Great blackness that makes the sound nicer.
 
Jerome have you heard or demoed the Nagra VPA (50 wpc SET 845 tube mono amps)?
 
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