THE REFERENCE MC ANNIVERSARY CARTRIDGE BY NAGRA
High-end Swiss audio manufacturer, Nagra, announced its first-ever phono cartridge, the Reference MC. The moving coil cartridge will be available in 4 and 6 Ohm variants. There have been some good cartridge releases this year, so what should you expect from Nagra’s 70-year anniversary cartridge?
The NAGRA Reference MC Cartridge
NAGRA designed the Reference MC Cartridge alongside its Reference Anniversary Turntable, celebrating 70 years of excellent sound recording & sound production. According to Nagra, the R&D behind the Reference Turntable started 4 years ago.
So what should you expect to see from the MC Cartridge?
The Nagra Reference MC cartridge uses a multi-layer transducer featuring a double-layer coil body wound with hyper-pure silver windings. The 6 Ohm Reference outputs 0.45mV @ 5cm/S. The 4 Ohm Reference achieves an output of 0.30mV @ 5 cm/S.
A high-strength titanium structure featuring a DLC (diamond-like carbon) coating coupled with a stiff ruby cantilever substantially reduces vibration unrelated to the musical signal. The stylus tip is a Swiss-produced Fritz Gyger S profile chosen for its wonderful combination of detail retrieval and musicality.
Furthermore, in Reference MC, the connector pin is a single continuous piece from its external endpoint to its internal point of contact with the coil.
The body of the Reference MC is also a point of interest. It features a unique, non-ferrous alloy called EXIUM AM, an alloy with very high damping properties. The MC cartridge uses an EXIUM AM inlay at the critical interface between the cartridge generator and the cartridge body.
According to NAGRA, its use of EXIUM AM is exclusive and they secured the sole worldwide right to use EXIUM AM in audio products. Impressive.
Specs include:
- 4 or 6 Ohms Impedance
- Compliance 12 μm/mN
- Output voltage 0.45 mV (6 Ohm) 0.3 mV (4 Ohm) @ 5 cm/S
- Channel balance < 0.5 dB, Crosstalk > 30 dB, Weight 14.3 g.
- The tracking force is suggested as 2 – 2.2 g.
Price Of The REFERENCE MC CARTRIDGE
As of now, NAGRA has yet to announce a retail price or a release date. But we’re looking at a December 2022 shipping date.
