Предусилители — Musical Fidelity NU-VISTA PRE

The Nu-Vista PRE is a fully balanced, discrete Class A preamplifier made by Musical Fidelity in Britain. Its buffer stage uses eight 6S51N nuvistor valves, four per channel, and it is supplied with a separate PRE PSU power supply that links to the main chassis through three umbilical cables.

Key specs that matter

There are 12 independent inputs, six RCA and six balanced XLR. The variable pre output and the fixed output are each available as one RCA and one XLR socket. Output voltage reaches 28 V rms with an output current of 1 A peak to peak and an output impedance below 47 ohm. Gain is 2.15 times in normal mode and 4.3 times with the +6 dB setting engaged. THD plus noise is typically under 0.002% from 20 Hz to 20 kHz, noise sits over 120 dB below signal with A-weighting, while separation between channels exceeds 100 dB over the same band. Frequency response is +0, -1 dB from 10 Hz to 100 kHz, and input impedance is 100 kOhm on both RCA and XLR.

Engineering and use context

In each channel two nuvistor pairs are used to form a fully balanced input circuit that drives a solid-state Class A output stage. For that output the maker uses a pair of mini power amplifiers equivalent to 50 W, running in Class A, to give line driving capability and lower noise and distortion. All transformers sit in the separate PSU, away from the amplifier circuits, to keep their mechanical vibration and electromagnetic fields out of the signal path. The main unit measures 483 x 187.5 x 491 mm and weighs 22 kg net, while the PSU measures 483 x 187.5 x 475 mm and weighs 25 kg. The front and side panels are cut from massive extruded aluminium profiles, and the 25 mm thick aluminium case shields the circuits from electromagnetic interference like a Faraday cage. Volume is set by a precision stepped attenuator in 0.5 dB steps, a colour display has a dimmer, and a metal-bodied remote handset comes in the box. Power consumption is 60 W maximum and below 0.5 W in standby. Finishes are black and silver.

Pairing

Within the same Nu-Vista line, the maker offers the Nu-Vista PAS stereo power amplifier as a partner for this preamplifier. Any amplifier with XLR inputs can use the balanced link, while the fixed-level RCA and XLR sockets can drive a recording device or another zone. The two chassis need two shelf positions of the same width. With 12 inputs, a large collection of line level sources can stay connected at once, and the higher gain setting helps with sources or amplifiers that need a higher drive level.

Alternatives

The Musical Fidelity M8sPRE is a fully balanced Class A preamplifier with two 350 VA transformers, an MM/MC phono stage and eight inputs in a single 17 kg chassis.