Nagra Compact VFS

The Compact VFS is the next generation of Nagra's vibration-free plate — engineered for the Compact line and built on twenty-plus years of Nagra's work in mechanical isolation.

Decoupling the audio chassis from the room it sits in is one of the oldest problems in high-end audio and one of the easiest to underestimate. Footfall energy, transformer hum from the rack neighbor, the airborne pressure wave from the loudspeakers themselves — all of it finds its way into a sensitive chassis and quietly modulates everything the electronics try to do. Nagra has been building VFS — Vibration Free Support — platforms for more than two decades. The Compact VFS is the latest member of that family, sized and tuned for the Compact-line components and built around materials chosen for their behavior across the full audible spectrum.

The architecture is dual-layer. The bottom platform is bonded with a Nagra-exclusive silicone-based compound that dissipates low-frequency mechanical energy. Between the two platforms sits a Sorbothane® pad — the same family of viscoelastic damping material used for spacecraft instrumentation — to handle the mid- and high-frequency residual. Each aluminum platform carries a phenolic reinforcement layer that quiets the micro-vibration the aluminum structure itself would otherwise transmit. Four spikes machined from ARCAp — a copper-nickel-zinc alloy known to Swiss watchmakers for its acoustic neutrality — are included, with Delrin tips for floor-friendly contact. The whole platform measures roughly 17.6 × 18.2 cm at the base, 16.6 × 17.2 cm at the top, 2.3 cm tall, and weighs 1.1 kg.

The Compact VFS is the natural mechanical partner for the Compact-line components Alma carries — the Streamer, the Compact Phono, the Compact PSU, and the new Compact Player. The platform is sized to match the Compact-format chassis and tuned for the mass range each Compact unit presents. It is the upgrade the customer reaches for when the rest of the Compact stack is in place and the next available gain is mechanical, not electrical.

Main Features

• Dual-layer aluminum platform with phenolic reinforcement on each layer
• Bottom platform bonded with Nagra-exclusive silicone-based damping compound
• Sorbothane® inter-layer pad (viscoelastic damping; spacecraft-grade)
• Four ARCAp (copper-nickel-zinc) spikes with Delrin tips, included
• Sized and tuned for the Compact-line chassis (Streamer, Compact Phono, Compact PSU, Compact Player)
• Designed and manufactured by Audio Technology Switzerland

Specifications

Top and bottom platforms: aluminum with phenolic reinforcement layers

Bottom-platform damping: Nagra-exclusive silicone-based compound

Inter-layer damping: Sorbothane® pad

Spikes (4 included): ARCAp copper-nickel-zinc alloy, Delrin tips

Top plate: 16.6 × 17.2 cm (6.53 × 6.77 in)

Bottom plate: 17.6 × 18.2 cm (6.93 × 7.17 in)

Total height: 2.3 cm (0.90 in)

Weight: 1.1 kg (2.43 lb)

Designed and manufactured by: Audio Technology Switzerland

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