[Jacky5555]

Hi there,
I’ve just got a combo of Nagra HD dac and MPS (Pre-owned)
I have some questions that you may help:
- From manual of the MPS, the DC cable is directional, one end is black ring, and the other is aluminum ring. But mine is both end aluminum as you can see in the picture below, so I don’t know if something wrong here?

- My MPS does not come with battery option. Should I upgrate it for better SQ?
Tks!

 

[SurgeTO]

Hi @Jacky5555, first, congratulations!
The cables are no longer directional - connecting any side to either end is fine.

 

[Jacky5555]

Hi @Jacky5555, first, congratulations!
The cables are no longer directional - connecting any side to either end is fine.

Tks for your info.
Loved the sound of Nagra HD which replaced my Dcs Bartok.
I would say the Nagra's sound is softer, more relax, smaller sounstage but giving me sense of more 3d and realistic space. Above all, female voice is phenomenon.
With large scale of music, Dcs has an edge in term of details and dynamics.

I’m thinking of upgrade with battery option of MPS but not sure if it’s worth the $?
Also replacing of stock 5963 tube is in my consideration.

 

[SurgeTO]

Tks for your info.
Loved the sound of Nagra HD which replaced my Dcs Bartok.
I would say the Nagra's sound is softer, more relax, smaller sounstage but giving me sense of more 3d and realistic space. Above all, female voice is phenomenon.
With large scale of music, Dcs has an edge in term of details and dynamics.

I’m thinking of upgrade with battery option of MPS but not sure if it’s worth the $?
Also replacing of stock 5963 tube is in my consideration.

For sure try another tube, but Nagra goes through an extensive tube selection process. It's not like a typical manufacturer's "stock" tube.
The battery option in the MPS is definitely worth it. Without it, the MPS is just a really good linear power supply, not really different than Nagra's stock APSC units.

 

[paulchiu]

Hi there,
I’ve just got a combo of Nagra HD dac and MPS (Pre-owned)
I have some questions that you may help:
- From manual of the MPS, the DC cable is directional, one end is black ring, and the other is aluminum ring. But mine is both end aluminum as you can see in the picture below, so I don’t know if something wrong here?


- My MPS does not come with battery option. Should I upgrate it for better SQ?
Tks!

Welcome to Nagra!

 

[Jacky5555]

When I turn on the HD dac, it always start with “mute” and the blinking “D” appeared at the LCD, then I have to press to unmute which is quite annoying.
Is there anyway to start with unmute by default?

 

[paulchiu]

Nope

 

[SurgeTO]

Similarly, the Tube DAC will default to Variable out instead of Direct, every time you power it on. I don't think there's a way to change that?

Regardless, I have stopped listening to my ~$40K LP playback system since acquiring the Tube DAC. It's the only DAC that's better than vinyl (that I've heard).

 

[Jacky5555]

Similarly, the Tube DAC will default to Variable out instead of Direct, every time you power it on. I don't think there's a way to change that?

Regardless, I have stopped listening to my ~$40K LP playback system since acquiring the Tube DAC. It's the only DAC that's better than vinyl (that I've heard).

Have you tried the audio setting menu?
For HD dac, I can sellect either Direct or Variable via Audio setting.

 

[SurgeTO]

Have you tried the audio setting menu?
For HD dac, I can sellect either Direct or Variable via Audio setting.

Yes, but does it stay in Direct after you shutdown and power up again?

 

[Jacky5555]

Yes, but does it stay in Direct after you shutdown and power up again?

Yes, it does.

 

[SurgeTO]

Yes, it does.

Weird. It doesn't on mine. What firmware do you have? Tube DAC?

 

[SurgeTO]

Another question on file data types:
If an album was converted from analog to DXD, is it generally better to buy the DXD file, or the DSD file from which the DXD was converted? The albums I'm looking at were masted on Nagra gear (2XHD label).

The Nagra DACs convert everything to DSD, correct?
Therefore, is it better to feed it DSD at the highest bit rate possible, even if the native recording is in DXD? Or is it better to feed it DXD?

 

[Jacky5555]

Weird. It doesn't on mine. What firmware do you have? Tube DAC?

As I said my is HD dac, fw version 1.2.

 

[SurgeTO]

As I said my is HD dac, fw version 1.2.

Ok thanks. Odd, because the Tube DAC is the newer version of the HD DAC. Wonder why they changed it… I guess just to protect speakers.