Perpetuating a long legacy of excellence in phono stages since the Nagra PL-P, the new Nagra Compact Phono offers the greater part of its predecessors’ quality and performance in a compact and elegant housing. The signal path has been simplified to the extreme to offer the quintessence of RIAA correction for the best MC cartridges.
Inspired by the legendary microphone preamplifier in the Nagra IV-S reel-to-reel tape recorder, the phono section of the PL-P received accolades from around the world.
Since then, the phono section of the PL-P has been reincarnated several times with the Nagra VPS, the BPS, the Classic Phono and recently the HD Phono. While they use different technologies and components, they are faithful to the original design, centred around a Nagra-made, step-up transformer.
The latest iteration is the Compact Phono. Housed in the same chassis as the Streamer, its solid construction protects it from unwanted vibrations. No compromises in sound quality were made to enable it to fit in the compact chassis. However, we have simplified the different settings and shortened the signal paths as much as possible. As a result, the Compact Phono offers amazing performance for a fraction of the cost of its competitors.
The Compact Phono features:
– Vibration-controlled housing, machined from a solid billet of aluminum
– MC input on 10 dB step-up transformer (same as Nagra VPS)
– Selected transistors operating in class A
– All discrete-component topology
– Dual-mono layout
– Selectable gain of 62 / 47.5 dB
– RIAA curve
– 100 Ohm load (additional loads available from Nagra dealers)
– External 12 V DC power supply
– Ultra-high rejection ratio regulators coupled with dual-stage filter on internal power supply
The Compact Phono can be further upgraded to achieve even greater performance using the Nagra MPS or Classic PSU power supplies. In this case, a Lemo to DC cable is required.
To minimize vibration, it can also rest on a VFS or on its own Compact VFS, currently under development.
Following on from the IN400evo presented in Munich in 2024, Atoll has renewed its CD400 in both form and substance.
With a design closer to that of the 300 series, the CD400 Évolution loses its curved lines to feature a 10 mm thick brushed anodized aluminum front panel (in silver or black finish). The monochrome LED display and six buttons maintain the functions of all other players from the Norman brand, but on this most high-end series, loading is always from the top. Integrated into a 2 mm-thick steel chassis with solid aluminum side radiators, the new mechanics developed by Atoll also use a platter designed in this material.
Integral double-mono, the CD400evo uses 10 VA toroidal transformers to power the Class A bi-polarized bipolar transistor audio stages. The independent DAC cards for each channel retain Atoll’s signature sound, with chips from Burr-Brown, in this case the excellent PCM1792A. Based on 192 kHz/24-bit frequencies, three coaxial, optical and USB-audio inputs (up to 32 bits) enable direct integration of the DAC with external streamers.
Based on 192 kHz/24-bit frequencies, three coaxial, optical and USB-audio inputs (this one up to 32 bits) enable direct integration of the DAC with external streamers. Conversely, three coaxial, optical and AES/EBU outputs enable digital output via the CD transport section only, for connection to an external converter. In the DR400evo pure transport version, only these outputs are available, while on the CD400evo, a pair of high-quality RCA and XLR terminals are provided for analog connection to a preamplifier.
Available since March 2025, the DR400evo is priced at 4 900 € and the CD400evo at 5 600 €.
The highest of the four ranges making up the wired headphone catalog of American manufacturer Grado, the Signature Line was until recently composed solely of the HP100 SE, priced at 2 990 €. It is now completed by a model with wooden ear cups, the S950.
Beneath these handcrafted Brazilian walnut shells, Grado Labs’ new signatory remains an open version. It uses the same 52 mm transducers as its metal counterpart, with a composite paper cone combined with a magnetic circuit made from a rare-earth alloy, for a very wide frequency response (3.5 Hz – 51.5 kHz), while the motor uses a copper-plated aluminum voice coil. All these technologies influence sound characteristics towards even greater musicality and balance.
Quite similar in structure to the HP100 SE, the S950 retains the padded headband and stainless steel rods for adjusting the height of the ear pads to suit each head, while the headband remains in leather. The detachable cable connects to the headphones through each earcup via a balanced 4-pin XLR connector, and to the amplifier via a 6.35 mm jack as standard. Less expensive than the HP100 SE, the new wooden Grado is launched in Europe for 2 490 €.
In 2022, Focal presented its first Bluetooth hi-fi headphones with active noise reduction (ANC), Bathys. Initially available in gray only, it was offered in a Dune (beige) finish in 2023, to which has now been added a Deep Black version that enhances the product’s elegance and discretion.
Inspired by Focal high-fidelity headphones such as Stellia (3 000 €) and Utopia (5 000 €), the Bathys’ singular design is distinguished by the Focal logo on the side, illuminated by white LEDs. Its construction combines genuine leather on the headband and earcups for comfort, with aluminium for structural strength. Its drivers feature the company’s famous 40 mm dome transducers with “M” profile in magnesium-aluminium alloy, familiar from other models such as the Celestee wired headset (999 €). The only drawback is that these components and the headset’s reinforced architecture result in a total weight of 350 g, which is a bit heavy for prolonged nomadic listening, even if it is still 35 g less than an Apple AirPods Max.
While its finish has been renewed (and now replaces that of 2022 which has become unavailable), the Bathys retains the features that have made it such a success, starting with an autonomy of 30 h in wireless listening, 35 h in jack and 42 h in USB-DAC (cables supplied). Added to this, Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant voice assistants are available, as well as customized settings via the Focal & Naim app (adjustable equalizers, individualized hearing tests). Like these rivals, it features active noise reduction (ANC) and a fully open mode, to which is added a microphone system that also reduces unwanted background noise, to guarantee sharper playback during telephone or video exchanges.
Priced at 799 €, the Focal Bathys remains the only nomadic headset from the French brand, and is still one of the most ambitious models on the market, both for its premium finish and its musical quality.
Derived from the HD 500, the HD 505 Copper is the latest audiophile headphones from Sennheiser, the first to be launched in the German brand’s 80th anniversary year.
The HD 505 Copper shares a large part of the response curve with the HD 600 and HD 599 SE, and surpasses them at the extremes. Available only in black, these dynamic wired open-air headphones add a fine copper-colored edging around the detachable ear pads, a finition also found on the bottom of the synthetic leather headband.
Weighing 237 grams, this new model retains the option of easily removing the 3.5 mm jack cable connected to the left ear only. With a length of 1.80 m, this cable can then be easily modified or replaced by an identical model or one with a 6.33 mm jack. The 120-ohm impedance transducers, manufactured in Ireland, are claimed to respond over a frequency range of 12 Hz to 38.5 kHz, i.e. above the range measured by the human ear (approx. 20 Hz to 20 kHz). They are protected by external metal mesh earpieces.
Slightly more expensive than the HD 599 SE (219.99 €), the HD 505 Copper remain within reasonable bounds compared with the more audiophile HD 800 S (1 799 €), and more affordable than the HD 660S2 (599.99 €), since it is launched at 279.99 €.
