75th Anniversary Collection Album

Nagra 75th Anniversary Collection Album

An editorial preview of a celebration in analogue sound

For 75 years, Nagra has been a name associated with the careful capture of sound. Its recorders became trusted tools for people working far beyond the studio; its later audio components carried the same concern for precision into the listening room. The 75th Anniversary Collection Album, assembled with audiophile label 2xHD, celebrates that heritage through music rather than machinery alone.

The announced 45 rpm double LP moves across intimate jazz, live performance, film music and chamber works. Bill Evans opens with “These Foolish Things”, followed by Sonny Rollins’s “Blue Room” and Emilie-Claire Barlow’s “La belle dame sans regrets”. Three selections from Miles & Quincy Live at Montreux give the first disc a very different sense of occasion, before the programme turns to the range and scale of the second LP.

The production chain is central to the edition’s appeal. The album is described as mastered by 2xHD using Nagra equipment, cut all analogue at Bernie Grundman Mastering, plated by Mastercraft and pressed at Le Vinylist in Quebec. Its release description specifies a 200 g, 45 rpm double LP. For analogue tape transfers, 2xHD’s carefully adapted Nagra playback equipment is intended to carry the information on the source tapes through to mastering with as little loss of dynamics, texture and atmosphere as possible.

That care suits the programme. A piano trio, a saxophone, a voice and a live ensemble each ask something different of a recording. The orchestral selections from A Tribute to John Williams bring scale to the second disc; the final side makes room for the quieter detail of Mathieu Désy, Théodore Dubois and Saint-Saëns. It is a varied selection designed to show what Nagra and 2xHD value in recorded music.

This is a preview of the announced release, not a listening review of a finished pressing. Its promise rests on a compelling combination: distinctive performances, analogue source material and a production chain built around attentive playback and cutting. The real test will be hearing how naturally those choices come together on the records.

Published LP programme

LP 1 · Side A

1. Bill Evans — “These Foolish Things”, from Some Other Time

2. Sonny Rollins — “Blue Room”, from Rollins in Holland

3. Emilie-Claire Barlow — “La belle dame sans regrets”, from Tribute

LP 1 · Side B

1. Miles Davis & Quincy Jones — “Introduction”, from Miles & Quincy Live at Montreux

2. Miles Davis & Quincy Jones — “Boplicity”, from Miles & Quincy Live at Montreux

3. Miles Davis & Quincy Jones — “The Maids of Cadiz”, from Miles & Quincy Live at Montreux

4. Stade — “Château de Chillon”, from Tribute to Compared to What Live at Montreux

LP 2 · Side A

1. Jazz Ensemble — “The Pink Panther”, from Analog Collection Vol. 1

2. Orchestre FILMharmonique and Francis Choinière — “Raiders March”, from A Tribute to John Williams

3. Orchestre FILMharmonique and Francis Choinière — “Hedwig’s Theme”, from A Tribute to John Williams

LP 2 · Side B

1. Mathieu Désy — “Bend”, from Crossroads

2. Monique Pagé and Chœur Radio Ville-Marie — Introduction from Théodore Dubois’s Les sept paroles du Christ

3. Stéphane Tétreault, Noémie Raymond and Valérie Milot — “The Swan”, by Camille Saint-Saëns

Various Artists — Nagra: 75th Anniversary Collection Album

Label: 2xHD
Genre: Jazz / audiophile compilation
Product number: 2xHD-AFID 1303

Format: Two 180 g vinyl records, 45 rpm
Availability: Preorder
Expected shipping: October 2026 - TBC

Pre-order online https://www.thesoundoftape.com/products/75th-anniversary-collection-album-2xlps 

Availability: Preorder - Expected shipping: October 2026