Every so often, a product comes along that really stands out, and it’s usually by doing precisely what it is intended to do – but rarely does.
We have just received the first products from Musical Fidelity’s new Nu-Vista range of amplifiers. Musical Fidelity has been using Nu-Vista tubes in their electronics for over a decade but has now decided to take this technology to another level. This is the first time that Musical Fidelity has produced products of this quality – and what an entry!
During the last 50-plus years, I have listened to countless amplifiers. Still, I could count the number of times that I have come across an amplifier with the ability to sound this effortless on the one hand (coincidently, one of the other amplifiers that exhibited this characteristic was also a Musical Fidelity – their mammoth 100watt Class A AMS100 from over a decade ago). Only when you listen to an amplifier with this signature do you realise that almost all other amps appear to strain in comparison, as if they are forcing the music, and this is not only at louder levels. This is not an easy thing to describe, but the result is that you become more comfortable with and more enveloped in the performance. The musical rendition appears so fluent and natural.
Experience the ‘Blackness’
The other standout characteristic of this range is the ‘blackness’ that they exhibit. Again, not an easy thing to describe, but once you experience it, you will know. There is nothing – just a black void when no notes are being played. The Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista series are not the only amplifiers to capture this, but it is not as common as you would hope. Part of this comes down to the balanced topography throughout, but a lot also rests on the shoulders of their superb pre-amp design.
Obviously, there are many other factors that you look for in a high-performance amplifier, and Musical Fidelity appears to have nailed all of them – this really is one of the finest ranges we have ever listened to. We currently have the top-of-the-line 600watt/channel Nu-Vista PAM mono-block power amps connected to their Nu-Vista PRE pre-amplifier feeding a pair of Sonus Faber Il Cremonese Extreme speakers (also one of our favourite products). Please drop in and have a listen; it is worth it…
Musical Fidelity set out to build the best amplifiers they are capable of; no holds barred. Thankfully they had decades of creating some of the best mid-priced electronics the world has seen, so they had some pretty impressive grounds to work with. A range like this will not come cheaply – but what price do you put on a product of this calibre?
thank you for the review, good to see a HT (bypass ? ) on the back of the integrated ..does the Nu-Vista ‘PRE’ Pre-amplifier have the same a HT input ?