Anyone Listen Extensively To V1 Of The Musical Fidelity Nu Vista Vinyl Phono Stage?

Hi Neonknight

I have run the Nu-Vista Vinyl for two years now, and am running two Koetsu cartridges through it into the Musical Fidelity Primo pre

It is a superb phono stage with an amazing amount of adjustment available.

I certainly won't be selling mine, and it knocks the crap out of phonos stages from Audio Research and Chord

@fatboyriding-2 Sounds promising! Mine is supposed to deliver today, I think once it's settled in I will compare it to my Esoteric E-02 and see how they compare. 

I had a buddy who lent me his Nuvista Phono which I had in my system for a couple of weeks and it is very good, a very refined-sounding piece. I was using it in combination with my SUT with great results. The sound is neutral with a hint of warmth coming from the Nuvista tubes, holographic imaging, wide soundstage - a solid performer and I almost ended up buying it but found the five inputs overkill as I only have one tonearm and had no use for balance output so ended up getting a Lab12 Melto which was more suited to my needs.

I have a NuVista Vinyl MkI, and do appreciate the options. It reveals details that other phono stages have not, but there is one thing to be very careful with - switch it off before plugging in or disconnecting the inputs! Doing so with the power on can destroy the input board. Having said that, I have gone back to using a Quad 24p and a VAS SUT as I prefer the sound, which seems more "musical" to me.

@neonknight 

looking forward to your comparison

I have had mine for a few years. I don't think I will ever replace it. I think it's GREAT. Hope to hear what you think.

I should give mine another chance. Maybe make some heads explode by using it with an SUT!

And I just did. I'll give it a month and decide, but so far, so good!

It always seemed to offer a lot for the money. Can't recall reading any reviews.

@dogberry That is how I am running mine at the moment. I have an Ortofon T2000 going into it. Noise issues have not occurred, it has plenty of gain even with a low output cartridge combination. Sound quality is very good, I need to find a way to run the tables I have hooked up to the Esoteric to make a better comparison. It is a bit wider than a normal component; I would have to take my cabinet door off and carefully wiggle it in to get it behind the cabinet hardware. The only limitation this has is no XLR inputs, as one of my tonearms has XLR terminations. Unfortunate. 

@neonknight

I may experiment with the SUT later, but so far I’m using it ’straight’ as in the photo.

I liked the Quad 24p and SUT for the warmth of the combo. The NuVista is also Rubenesque but not so much so as the Quad. Of the four cartridges connected, I’d say the Ruby 3 mono and the LP-S are definitely improved, the Sussurro less markedly improved, and the only one connected as an MM, the London Decca Reference, might not be as good as it was. After a month I’ll decide whether to add back the 24p just for the Reference: I may just get used to it sounding a bit different. I think the Quad was adding some colouration that exaggerated the character of the Decca—in a good way.

With respect to my comment above about not plugging or unplugging connections with it turned on, I thought I had permanently injured the input board. It seems it just needed to be switched off for an extended period (perhaps there is some sort of protection circuit?) Now I realise I had left it aside for a couple of years when I need not have done so! All the same, lesson learned and it will always be powered off before any connections are changed.

@dogberry

The NuVista was never meant to be my primary phono stage, but I needed something that had a low noise floor because the Ortofon MC2000/T2000 is difficult to amplify. I tried a less expensive phono stage with a small form factor, but once powered up it was an instant failure due to the noise floor being present. The NuVista does not have this issue and has the benefit of being easy to set up and use with multiple cartridges.

My impression of the personality of the phono stage is that it has the lightest touch of tube warmth, but does not move into the realm of what we typically hear from a tube based phono stage. Excellent imaging, nice low level detail, but a relaxed and flowing presentation.

I have two other phono stages, an Esoteric E-03 and a BMC MCCI Signature ULN. With my previous speakers a Transfiguration Proteus going into the Esoteric was heavenly, with the current speakers I had to fine tune the set up to make up for small differences. I suspect this cartridge may be a favorable pairing with the NuVista. An Ortofon Verismo is paired with the BMC and this is a dynamic and vibrant combination. I am not sure I want to change it. The other side of the Esoteric input has an Audio Tekne MC-6310 into a Uesugi Brothers Model 5 SUT. This combination is what I form in my minds eye when someone mentions classis Koetsu. The sound is rich, textured, intimate, and full bodied. I do not think this is a pairing that works on the NuVista.

I have a modified AR-XA that was done by the late Marc Morin and its in a beautiful lacewood base. I beautiful table that performs far better than you would expect of a vintage piece, but it has been touched by Marc. I will put another cartridge on it. I just received my first generation Kiseki Blackwood back with a new diamond, and that is my only spare cartridge. I think it will work with the NuVista. I have also thought of an Audio Technica PTG II, as this will be a casual use table also.

I cannot justify all the analog gear I have. If I was a smart man I would buy another Proteus and hold it for back up duties when the time comes to get my other one serviced. It sits on a Sota Cosmos Eclipse turntable with Origin Live Agile arm. This is really all I need to spin vinyl. But the Scheu Analog Das Laufwerk No 2, the first generation Sota Sapphire, and the AR XA are lovely examples of turntable design and a joy to use in their own ways.

I guess this is why audio is a life long hobby. A love of the heart does not need to be justified or rationalized.