Nagra's Model I headphones follow on from the esteemed company's first phono cartridge, the Reference MC which also joined its Reference turntable this year. Who says the Swiss 70 year-old can't learn new tricks?

Designed as a portable monitoring solution, Nagra's Model I headphones promise to be an alternative for when you can't take speakers with you or have the space for monitoring.

While these are aimed at professional sound engineers, the Swiss firm turned to the Californian headphone specialist Audeze for assistance, a brand well-known to audiophiles. To that end, we would not be surprised to see these become popular with high-end headphone enthusiasts as well as those involved in pro audio.

Making their official debut at the Audio Engineering Society Convention 2022 in New York with Audeze, the Nagra Model I is a closed-back design that boasts enough isolation to enable you to focus on the recording, afforded by those sumptious, deep-looking earpads. In addition, they appear to sport a carbon fibre headband and earcups, no doubt chosen for the material's strength-to-weight ratio.

Naturally, the Model I are also easy enough to be driven by portable, battery-operated equipment out in the field. Furthermore, we are told that these monitoring headphones offer "a very wide bandwidth, [and] super accurate timbre".

Nagra Model I headphones with the Nagra VII 70th Anniversary Recorder

Nagra states, "Images are 3D with instruments and voices appearing in front rather than above one's head, as is often the case with other headphones".

The Nagra Model I headphones come delivered in a rugged case to protect them when being transported to your global recording (or listening) sessions. Australian pricing and availability has not yet been confirmed.

Visit Nagra for more information