the nagra IV-S portable audio/sound recorder

call me crazy but I always wanted to get one of these units for my home use for playback of music ever since the film industry went digital on me. where is cassavetes? the professional audio field recorders by nagra where simply too expensive in the day, but now… used ones can be fetched up for a measly $2,000.

these audio recorder/playback decks are simply amazing not only in how they sound but also in how they are made. originally designed by a polish inventor by the name of stefan kudelski and built in cheseaux-sur-lausanne, in switzerland, their built and finish are to die for. they remind me of my old minox spy camera that my father gave me except they are swiss made. silver. slick. and rugged. of course there is a cool little story to the name… the name nagra is actually based on the polish slang meaning “it’ll record”. well, it did more than that indeed.

the swiss manufacturer of course has recently come up with a whole line of consumer audio equipment but the marketing reeks badly and the desperate jump to audiophile markets is simply not in style with old nagra. i have a strong feeling either the company was sold or took over by people who are looking to make a fast swiss frank. by dd