Description
Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista 600.2 amplifier
The Nu-Vista 600.2 is the interesting little brother of the popular Nu-Vista 800.2.
New product, first ships will land in February-March 2025
Nu-Vista 600.2 - Overview
After the huge success of the acclaimed and multi award winning Nu-Vista 800.2, it is time to announce the new Nu-Vista 600.2. The Nu-Vista 600.2 is a much bigger update and rework than previously our Nu-Vista 800.2. Simon Quarry, our Chief of Design, has again done a fabulous job to fine tune the amplifier for sweet sound, but huge power and transparency.
Compared to the old Nu-Vista 600, the updated 600.2 now features the full TITAN power amp design including a locally decoupled output stage. The PCB layout has been drastically reworked and improved. Electrical components have been updated, the 600.2 now uses the same laser trimmed volume control as the 800.2 and the PSU section has been greatly improved.
The Nu-Vista 600.2 is our latest love letter to strictly analog, discrete, dual mono amplifiers using big Oversized Toroidal transformers with multi array power supplies and the finest filtering of pre- and power section. And on top, the beautiful Class-A tube stage consisting of highly famed, and by now almost extinct, nuvistor tubes. The Massive mechanics, stunning Casework and display with VU-meters don't only get you the best sound/performance but also the haptical feel of true LUXURY.
We believe that only a true analog amplifier with NO DIGITAL or even WiFi streaming on board can reach the maximum of fidelity, which the concerned music lover is expecting of a Musical Fidelity product. We feel responsible for our name.
Technical Talk
The Nu-Vista 600.2 is a much bigger update than our previous Nu-Vista 800 to 800.2 reissue.
Smaller changes include component level improvements. The old input switching IC has been changed to Relays for better separation and Dynamics and only the highest quality polypropylene capacitors are used throughout the signal path. A much requested, more significant change is that the 600.2 now also uses our laser trimmed volume control for +/- 0.5dB gain error even at lower levels.
The power amp, preamp and nuvistor stage layout has been significantly revised and improved. Preamp circuits have been removed from the back panel PCB and are now built on a self-screening tray at the top of the unit for less noise and distortion, protected from noisy PA and heavy current power supplies.
The Nu-Vista stage – now the same as in our PRE/PAS/PAM – features 6S51N nuvistors in a discrete class A amplifier buffer and is also located on the new top layer PCB. The preamplifier, nuvistor and input circuits are now fully dual mono with separate left/right power supplies.
Continuing our pursuit for clean and proper power solutions – as we have recently shown with our new Balanced Power Conditioner range and the separate power supply units of the Nu-Vista PRE/PAS/PAM – the Nu-Vista 600.2 now features “NO SWITCH-MODE PSU AT ALL” during operation. A SMPSU is only used in standby mode and for the amplifier this ensures best supply noise performance. Improved digital supplies contribute to better supply rail noise figures.
The new layout comes with big performance gains and saves a lot of space. We can now support two balanced XLR inputs to cater for both Nu-Vista Vinyl and DAC. A balanced XLR preamp output has also been added and all line outputs are now separately buffered, resulting in no interference between devices connected to any of the preamp outputs.
The TITAN heritage
Certainly, one of the biggest changes is that we have now fully incorporated our famous TITAN design in the Nu-Vista 600.2, bringing it up-to-par with its bigger 800.2 sibling and the esteemed PRE/PAS/PAM range.
Giving each output device (transistor) a corresponding high current bulk supply capacitor allows more immediate access to stored energy, with much lower impedance path to flow through. This results in better transient response and coincidentally provides a degree of improved ripple filtering at higher currents in conjunction with the supply capacitors located elsewhere. The main supply capacitors are located right on the rectifiers, also decreasing supply impedance and helping to keep rectification and hum noise away from the high gain PA circuit.
The 600.2 PCB layout has been optimized for lower power, roughly half that of the 800.2, now featuring a sleeker, more refined and subtle “V4” look – with 4 output transistors per channel. The 800.2 features a much bulkier design with 10 output transistors per channel, giving it a similar appearance to a “V10” engine.
Heroic Build Quality
The Nu-Vista 600.2's mechanical construction is uncompromisingly rigid and solid in typical Musical Fidelity tradition. Front panel and side panels are milled from extruded aluminum profiles and are extremely massive. The Nu-Vista 600.2 is basically immune against the effects of vibration from the environment. The same can be said about electro magnetic immunity. The Massive Aluminum case acts as a Faraday cage. It protects the internals against external electromagnetic fields, and in the same way, the rest of your HiFi gear against electromagnetic fields generated by the Nu-Vista 600.2.
The new Nu-Vista 600.2 is a continued labor 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 600.2 as we had creating it.
NU-VISTA by Musical Fidelity
Antony Michaelson, the founder of Musical Fidelity and professional musician, always dreamed of making an audio system that sounds like tube and class A amps. Warm and musical, but it also allows the real-life dynamic Reproduction of music, especially of big orchestras.
The NU-VISTA by Musical Fidelity range is a magic combo of power and finesse. It represents all of Musical Fidelity's technology in making the best, sweetest-sounding amps in the world in a cost-no-object, no-compromise solution. The Nu-Vista 600.2 represents the very best in today's amplification.
As we know power is not everything. There is a place for high and lower powered amps, it all depends on the context: the room, the speakers, the source material.
With correct circuit board design and careful layout, just like the 800.2, the Nu-Vista 600.2's technical performances are astonishing. They measure and sound like a dream. The 600.2 feels calm and smooth, and never loses control of its striking dynamic range and a natural, effortless transient response. It projects lifelike images between the speakers, recreating the tangible and captivating presence of bombastic live music, big orchestras and smaller, intimate jazz performances alike.
Nu-Vista 600.2 In Brief
- A work of audio art using our Incredible Nu-Vista circuitry
- NEW Redesigned front panel with new display
- NEW 2x XLR inputs, 1x XLR pre-output
- NEW Nu-Vista buffer stage - same as on 800.2 - taken from PRE/PAS/PAM
- NEW Power amp based on the same circuitry design as in PAS/PAM
- NEW Power Amplifiers bulk supply Capacitance and local output device decoupling now separated
- NEW 300W/4 ohms, 160W/8 ohms
- NEW Preamplifier circuits and inputs now fully dual mono
- NEW Laser trimmed volume control +/- 0.5dB gain error even at lower levels
- NEW Input switching IC changed for Relays for better separation and Dynamics
- NEW Dual mono power supplies improved for better performance
- NEW Bulk Capacitance and rectifiers on separate PCB for reduced noise
- 2x balanced XLR inputs
- 4x RCA inputs
- 2x RCA outputs (fixed & variable)
- 1x balanced XLR output (variable)
- Color display with optional VU-Meters and clear selected input and volume display
- Dimmable display
- Nu-Vista Remote Control “Front panel in your hand”
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 famous 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
Output
Power: 160W into 8 ohms, 300W into 4 ohms, 500W Peaks into 2 ohms
Voltage: 36 Volts RMS, 20Hz to 20 kHz; Onset of clipping, 147 Volts Peak to Peak
Current: 50 Amps peak to peak
Damping factor: 100
Output devices: 2 pairs per channel
Gain: Preamp 4.3x (12.6dB) at maximum volume, Power Amp 34x (31dB)
Line input
THD+N: < 0.005% typical, 20Hz to 20 kHz
SNR: > 107dB 'A'-weighted
Input impedance: 100 k Ohms
Frequency response: + 0, –0.1dB, 10Hz to 30 kHz
Connections
Line level inputs: 4 pairs line level RCA connectors; 2 pairs line level balanced XLR connectors
Line level outputs: 1 pair line level RCA connectors, constant level LINE outputs; 1 pair line level RCA connectors, PREAMP outputs for eg biamping; 1 pair line level XLR connectors, PREAMP outputs for eg biamping
Speaker outputs: 2 pairs of 4mm banana plug/binding posts
Power requirement
Mains voltages: 115/230VAC 50/60Hz (factory pre-set); 100VAC 50/60Hz (alternative)
Consumption: <0.5W in standby mode (orange LED lit); 75W on and idle (blue LED lit); 600 Watts maximum
General Information
Dimensions (WxHxD): 483 x 187 x 510 mm
Weight: 36 kg net / 44.3 kg boxed
