Musical Fidelity NuVista 800.2 Integrated Amplifier

A 300 Wpc hybrid amp based on Nuvistor tubes with massive dynamic ability paired with Musical Fidelity's legendary smoothness

Like all Musical Fidelity products, the Nu-Vista 800.2 measures like a dream but sounds incredible. It is silky smooth with enormous transients and an effortless feel that is at once relaxing and involving. Of special note is how the Nu-Vista 800.2 projects images between the loudspeakers so that you can almost touch them.

The Nu-Vista 800.2 builds on the respected 800, with a reworked transformer and power supply, new display, and remote. The 800.2 keeps the mighty dynamic ability of the 800 with the same design that mounts a large capacitor near each output transistor to allow for more immediate access to stored energy, with much lower impedance. This results in better transient response and provides improved ripple filtering at higher currents.

The main supply capacitors are situated right on the rectifiers also decreasing supply impedance and keeping rectification noise and hum away from the high-gain PA circuit.

Heroic Build Quality

The Nu-Vista 800.2‘s mechanical construction is uncompromisingly rigid and solid in typical Musical Fidelity tradition. The massive front panel and side panels are milled from extruded aluminum profiles. The Nu-Vista 800.2 is basically immune to environmental vibration as well as electromagnetic interference. The massive
aluminum case also shields the rest of your components from the electromagnetic fields generated by the Nu-Vista 800.2.

Nuvistor Tubes

Nuvistor tubes were invented in the 1950s to solve the many shortcomings of conventional tubes. Nuvistors offer very high reliability, low microphony, low noise,  great consistency from batch to batch, small size, relatively low power consumption, and excellent technical performance.

One famous application was in the Ampex MR-70, a costly studio tape recorder whose entire electronics section was based on Nuvistors. Another limited application of this very small tube was in studio-grade microphones from that era. The AKG/Norelco C12a, which employed the 7586, is a good example.

It was also later found in the famed Neumann U 47 studio microphone. This microphone was highly regarded by artists all over the world and was used by many top recording artists such as Frank Sinatra, The Beatles, and others.

Just as uses for Nuvistor tubes were being explored, the transistor was invented and it was “game over” for Nuvistors. There the matter rested until Musical Fidelity created the first of its ground-breaking Nu-Vista series. These legendary, limited-edition products sold out in a matter of months. Today, they command very high secondhand prices because of their beautiful sound, build quality, and longevity.

Features

• A work of audio art using incredible Nu-Vista circuitry
• Balanced XLR inputs
• Fixed line and variable pre outputs
• Home theatre bypass
• 300 W/pc
• Total stability margin, will drive any loudspeaker with ease
• Cutting-edge technical performance with the magic of Nu-Vistors
• Dual mono power amps with separate preamp
• Superb design, heroic build quality
• Extremely flat frequency response, low noise and distortion

Specifications

Power (8, 4, 2 ohm): 330 W, 500 W, 1,000 W peaks

Voltage: 52 V RMS

Current: 120 A peak to peak

Damping Factor: 200

Output Devices: 5 pairs per channel

Input Impedance: 40 k ohms

Inputs: 4 x stereo RCA line, 1 x stereo balanced XLR

Outputs: 1 x stereo RCA line, Preamp, 4 mm speaker banana/binding post

Consumption (Standby, Idle, Max.): <0.5 W, 130 W, 900 W

Dimensions (WHD): 19.02" x 7.36" x 20.08" (483 x 187 x 510 mm)

Weight: 90.39 lb. (41 kg)