CES 2019 • Hot Product

Nagra's new HD DAC X ($64,500) features some impressive electrical and digital design. The HD DAC X's separate power supply uses a bank of "super capacitors' that, Nagra claims, "has the advantage of silent operation, like battery, but are more stable given that they do not discharge over time." The HD DAC X has 37 separate power supplies, with the digital section having 16 of them. The transformers are newly designed and hand-wound at the Nagra factory in Switzerland. The analog section features a dual-mono topology, with each channel having its own interstage transformer and JAN 5963/12AU7 tube. The digital section can handle up to DSD 256 (DSD x4) and features multiple inputs, including two proprietary ST optical inputs for future Nagra high-resolution sources.