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Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista 300 power amplifier Page 4
Conclusions
The Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista 300 will probably soon become a collector's item. There are only 500 of them in the world, and when Audio Advisor's allotment of Nu-Vista 300s is gone, there will be no more; last time I checked, there were fewer than 90 left in stock. So if this review has whetted your audiophile appetite, you'd better get busy before it's too late.
The Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista 300 will probably soon become a collector's item. There are only 500 of them in the world, and when Audio Advisor's allotment of Nu-Vista 300s is gone, there will be no more; last time I checked, there were fewer than 90 left in stock. So if this review has whetted your audiophile appetite, you'd better get busy before it's too late.
But the amp's collectibility alone is not reason enough to buy it. The Nu-Vista 300 combines many of the best attributes of tube and solid-state power amplifiers. Its powerful high-current design is claimed to be capable of outputting 1000W into 2 ohms, yet it sounds as delicate and liquid as a good tube amp. Not that you'd ever mistake it for one---its presentation is both too quiet and a bit too lean in the mids, and perhaps slightly too crystalline on top, to ever be mistaken for a tube sound. But it's never harsh or grainy, and has enough of a grip on the midband to give music a rich, satisfying bite.
Free of grain, liquid, effortless, bass that was taut and deep, extended and airy highs, a fine overall tonal balance, solid imaging, fine soundstaging, and black, utterly silent backgrounds---these were but a few of the performance features that make it easy to say that this is an impressive, exciting-sounding amplifier. Given the Nu-Vista's sound, build quality, virtually unlimited power, attractive cosmetics, and potential collectibility, its asking price of $5495 makes it a bargain among high-powered amplifiers. Given its power, sonic performance, build quality, and cosmetic excellence, the Nu-Vista has to be considered an outstanding value.
Available on-line
While the Musical Fidelity brand is well-established worldwide, its only US dealer is Audio Advisor---(800) 942-0220. (Unfortunately, you can't listen to it in cyberspace.)
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