Nagra: 75th Year Anniversary Collection Album

For 75 years, Nagra has been synonymous with exceptional sound recordings. The company’s recording equipment became trusted tools for people working far beyond the studio, and the audio components based on this technology brought that pursuit of precision into the listening room. The album “Nagra: 75th Anniversary Collection,” compiled in collaboration with the renowned audiophile label 2xHD, honors this legacy not only through technology but also through music.

The compilation spans a wide range of genres, from intimate jazz and live performances to film scores and chamber music. Bill Evans opens the album with “These Foolish Things,” followed by Sonny Rollins’ “Blue Room” and Emilie-Claire Barlow’s “La Belle Dame Sans Regrets.” Three tracks from “Miles & Quincy Live at Montreux” lend the compilation a very special character before the program turns to film music and classical music.  

The production process is crucial to the appeal of this release from 2xHD/Fidelio Music. The album was mastered by 2xHD using Nagra components. The UHQCD edition is numbered and limited!

René Laflamme, one of the most sought-after sound engineers in the industry, uses high-quality Nagra equipment for his outstanding remastering. The 2xHD label, which he runs together with André Perry, founder of the famous "Le Studio" in Québec, enjoys an excellent reputation and has rightly earned an exceptional status in the high-end world. Laflamme's unique sound engineering skills are appreciated by many important players in the industry: for example, he represents and advises sound pioneers such as Nagra and Kronos Audio.

UHQCD stands for Ultimate High Quality Compact Disc and is a joint development of the Japanese CD replication company Memory-Tech and the Audio Quality CD Company from Hong Kong. Unlike conventional CDs, UHQCDs are not pressed from polycarbonate, but cast from a photopolymer and cured with UV light. Another layer of high-purity polycarbonate is applied to the softer photopolymer for scratch protection. The combination results in significantly reduced reflection of laser light inside the CD and an unmatched precise edge transition between pits and lands of the CD. UHQCDs are 100% compatible with standard CD players. Musically, the result is a sound image strongly reminiscent of analog master tapes.