Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista valve phono stage

It seemed that me and Musical Fidelity had lost touch. However, we reconnected at The Bristol Show where they were showing the Nu-Vista Vinyl valve phono stage.

Anyone who knows me, knows that I have a soft spot for Musical Fidelity. I own most of their v90 range (great for a desktop system) as well as their rather larger M6si integrated amp.

But, once my eyes were drawn to the Nu-Vista Vinyl, I was hooked again.

Nu-Vista Vinyl

The new phono stage from Musical Fidelity, as with the other Nu-Vista components, is powered by Nuvistor tubes.

This new 14.5kg reference phono stage was created “without any practical limits.” Essentially, you cannot overload the input stage or find any practical limitations in the output driving capacity. Single ended or balanced.

The amp boasts five inputs. Each of these can be set for either MM/MC and exact loading. Furthermore, it will remember those settings.

Sound Quality

The true point of any any audio component, is that you don’t know it is there. You completely forget its existence.

That is precisely what Musical Fidelity shot for. Moreover, apparently, that is what they have achieved.

They say that the Vinyl has practically no audible noise, or distortion. They put this down to not being able to overload its input or output. Also that you can load your cartridge perfectly.

I am really gagging to give this a test run and review. Hopefully, I can make that happen.

Price and availability

The Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista Vinyl phono stage is available now at around £3,300.

Nu-Vista Vinyl specifications

MM input

• Frequency response – RIAA or RIAA/IEC (selectable) ±0.2dB
• Input sensitivity – 2.5mV in for 300mV out (at 1 kHz)
• Input impedance – 47Kohms
• Input capacitance – 50-400pF selectable
• THD at 1 kHz – <0.01%
• Overload margin – 31dB
• Signal to noise ratio – >90dB “A”-wtd

MC input

• Frequency response – RIAA or RIAA/IEC (selectable) ±0.2dB
• Input sensitivity – 250?V in for 300mV out (at 1 kHz)
• Input impedance – 10? to 47Kohm selectable
• Input capacitance – 470pF fixed
• THD at 1 kHz – <0.01%
• Overload margin – 31dB
• Signal to noise ratio – >88dB “A”-wtd

Outputs (RCA/XLR)

• 1 pair RCA (phono) – left and right 300mV nom 10V max
• 1 pair XLR (balanced) – left and right 600mV nom 20V max

Power requirement

• Mains voltages – 230V/115V Internally set or 100V optional. AC 50/60Hz
• Consumption – 30 Watts maximum.

Dimensions

• Wide – 482 mm
• High, including feet – 130 mm
• Deep (front to back) including terminals – 385 mm