Integrated Amp Reviews

The very first Nu-Vista product was a preamplifier dubbed the Nu-Vista PRE. Launched in 1997, it was the second audio product to utilize nuvistors, small, metal-clad vacuum tubes introduced in 1959 to compete with bipolar-junction transistors. The first power amplifier to utilize nuvistors was the ovoid Nu-Vista 300.

The all-in-one stereo component occupies the same territory as those Italian restaurants that also serve sushi and Texas barbecue. Every instinct says it's a dubious overreach: Few chefs master two or more distinct cuisines. But then you experience that rare eatery that somehow nails the California roll, the carbonara, and the brisket, and you realize that dismissing it on principle could mean missing something that's genuinely excellent.

NuPrime calls the MCX-800AD ($3995) an "Immersive Audio Processor," but that's not really what it is, so I don't know why they call it that. NuPrime lists it on its website under both "Amplifiers" and "Multi-Channel DACs." So what is it, a floor wax or a dessert topping?

My first response, upon being offered for review the new Burmester 232 Classic Line modular class-AB dual-mono integrated amplifier ($25,000), was apprehension—but not because of the product itself, and certainly not because of the Burmester brand. I had already been won over by the pair of Burmester 218 Top Line stereo power amplifiers ($50,000/each) I reviewed in the October 2024 issue.

The more I listen—to gear I'm reviewing as well as other people's hi-fis—the more I believe in intangibles. One of these intangibles is the art of system building.

The origins of Canadian audio manufacturer MOON, from the company called Simaudio, stretch back to 1980, when audio engineer Victor Sima created his first designs. Sima's company became Simaudio Ltd. in 1990. Simaudio launched the MOON brand in 1997.

I first heard about Devialet and their inaugural product, the D-Premier integrated amplifier, in show reports from the 2009 Salon Haute Fidélité Paris show. Fascinated by its idiosyncratic design and ignorant of the boundaries of my own comprehension, I looked up the patents. Devialet's flag was planted in my consciousness.