Phono Preamplifiers

Launched some six years ago when Musical Fidelity was still in the hands of its original owner, the inaugural Nu-Vista Vinyl phono preamp [HFN Mar '18] also combined a solid-state RIAA stage with just one pair of nuvistors feeding each output. This was a less sophisticated model offering single MM and MC settings with a +6dB gain option, amounting to +41.5dB/+47.5dB and +58dB/+64dB steps, respectively. This model had no interactive display [see inset picture] so relied instead on a long row of tiny blue LEDs to indicate gain, loading, subsonic filtering and choice of input, of which there were a full five separate pairs of gold-plated RCAs on the rear panel. The line outputs were on RCAs and balanced XLRs, but only the Vinyl 2 has balanced inputs to service MC pick-ups.

Noise and distortion were already very low on the Nu-Vista Vinyl, which also offered the 'IEC' subsonic filter option carried over to the Nu-Vista Vinyl 2 reviewed here. This new, beefed-up version not only incliudes twice as many gain settings but these are executed via three separate and fully-discrete FET/transistor stages that surround the fully passive RIAA network. Furthermore, the Nu-Vista Vinyl 2's nuvistor-based Class A output buffer is not dissimilar to that designed for the flagship Nu-Vista PRE [HFN Mar '23]. So, unlike the classic A1 integrated amplifier recently reimagined by Musical Fidelity [HFN Jan '24], there's an informed choice here not to be entirely 'faithful' to the Nu-Vista Vinyl in the engineering of the Vinyl 2. It's an evolution, not a clone. PM