Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista 800.2 Integrated Amplifier

The Nu-Vista 800 was an amplifier that has enjoyed much popularity and use as a high end hybrid integrated over the past few years. Unfortunately, as with all things encompassing modern, as well as more traditional technology, parts were discontinued. The original “retro look” display was suddenly no longer produced at very short notice.

We were therefore left with a choice – discontinue a popular amplifier or workaround and replace the original with updated version but as unchanged as possible from the original formula.

Nu-Vista 800.2 In Brief

• A work of audio art using our incredible Nu-Vista circuitry with 300WPC+
• Redesigned front panel with new display
• Rewound transformer for less noise
• Revised power supply circuits
• Remote on/standby
• Locally decoupled output stage taken from the TITAN power amp
• 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
• Five versatile inputs – Balanced XLR, CD, Tuner, 2 x Auxiliary
• Both fixed line and variable pre outputs
• Home Theatre bypass
• Superb design, Heroic build quality

Never before in the history of hi-fi have Nuvistor tubes been coupled with state-of-the-art SMD technology and sophisticated modern design techniques. The Nu-Vista 800.2’s technical performance is astonishing.

• More than 300 watts per channel with unconditional stability margins and incredible load driving ability.
• Incredibly low distortion over a colossal bandwidth.
• Extremely low noise.
• Extremely flat frequency response.

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

The TITAN heritage

The Nu-Vista 800 was an amplifier that has enjoyed much popularity and use as a high-end hybrid integrated over the past few years. It was originally designed in 2013 to bring back the then discontinued Nu-vista family of products.

We reworked the old Nu-Vista circuit to modern practices and it was the first to include the locally decoupled output stage since the TITAN. This involved giving each output device a corresponding high current bulk supply capacitor. These capacitors mounted on the power amplifier PCB, give it similar appearance to a “V10” engine!

Mounting such a capacitor near to the each output transistor allows more immediate access to stored energy, with much lower impedance path to flow through. This results in better transient response and coincidently provides a degree of improved ripple filtering at higher currents in conjunction with the supply capacitors situated elsewhere.

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

This unit was very popular, bringing Nu-Vista sound to a new generation of listeners and also a matching CD player was produced, and received great acclaim as well.

From Nu-Vista 800 to 800.2

Unfortunately, as with all things encompassing modern, as well as more traditional technology, parts were discontinued. The original “retro look” display was suddenly no longer produced at very short notice. We were therefore left with a choice – discontinue a popular amplifier or workaround and replace the original with updated version but as unchanged as possible from the original formula.

The Nu-Vista 800.2 has received a new modernised front plate and a completely new display. It‘s in line with our new range of Nu-Vista products. We soon realised we would have to update the power supply circuits and control and electronic on/off control circuitry to adapt for the new display. Happily, this meant we could also add in the missing remote on/standby function as well.

And while we were already at it, we had our transformers rewound, for lower standing flux, so they are less sensitive to mains DC offset noise. This means a slightly larger (and heavier) transformer which, thankfully, still fits the same casework.

The upshot is we have now a new hybrid integrated, the Nu-Vista 800.2, that will visually fit into the new range of Nu-Vista products, while keeping the audio parameters of the original untouched, while even improving them in certain areas.

Heroic Build Quality

The Nu-Vista 800.2‘s mechanical construction is uncompromisingly rigid and solid in typical Musical Fidelity tradition. Front panel and side panels are milled from extruded aluminium profiles and are extremely massive. The Nu-Vista 800.2 is basically immune against the effects of vibration from the environment. The same can be said about electro magnetic immunity. The massive aluminium case acts as a Faraday cage. It protects the internals against outer electromagnetic fields, and in the same way, the rest of your HiFi gear against electromagnetic fields generated by the Nu-Vista 800.2.

The new Nu-Vista 800.2 is a continued labour of love for Musical Fidelity. Our passion for Nuvistor tubes didn‘t stop. Everyone at Musical Fidelity hopes that you derive as much pleasure listening to the Nu-Vista 800.2 as we had creating it.

Nuvistor Tubes

Nuvistor tubes were invented in the 1950s to solve the many shortcomings of conventional tubes. Unlike them, Nuvistor tubes offer very high reliability, low microphony, low noise, consistency from batch to batch, small size, relatively low power consumption and great 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, being 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 so on. Remarkably, you can currently see a U47 microphone, with its stand, cables and power supply on eBay for $10.999 „Buy-it-now“.

Unfortunately 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 about fifteen years ago, when 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, fifteen years later, they command very high secondhand prices because of their beautiful sound, build quality, and longevity.