Review: Musical Fidelity M-3 nuvista Amplifier


Category: Amplifiers

I owned the musical fidelity nu vista m3 integrated for about 4 months. I sold it to replace it with well reviewed 14k amps but they were far worse and i regret selling it.

The amp is beautifully well contrusted. It is certainly overbuilt, although not to the same extent as plinius and levinson amps, it is built to very high standards with high quality metals. The face plate of this unit, and its accompanying power supply, is truly magnificent and it certainly has one of the prettiest facades i have ever come across.

Now for the sound: The amps strengths lie in its magnificent highs. The extreme highs are so clear, pristine and well delineated it is the best i have heard in solid state in this regard. The midrange is very smooth, a little too smooth and lacks the grit that other amps let through. It has the ability to pretty up bad recordings yet does not let all the information go through. Is this a bad thing? Yes and no. It only seemed to remove the grit and grime from a recording but at the same time.... some times its those parts that lend a sense of space to a recording. The bass of the amp is good but not great. It did not fare well when comparing it to the plinius sa 250 mk IV and the Edge M8 but these are two of the best bass amps made. So it was competitive but never better. Its bass was tight but lacked depth and slam. None the less its a minor weakness. Overall i would highly recommend this amp. It easily beat the mark levinson 380, nordost spm, plinius sa 250 mk IV combo i put it up against and i would consider it one of the best integrated amps ever made. For 5k new or 3.5k used i dont think there is anything out there that can touch it in terms of looks, sound quality, build quality and power. This is easily one of the best audio buys of all time.

Associated gear
Talon Peregine Xs
Nordost Quattrofil
Analysis Plus Oval 9
Sony SCD 777ES

Similar products
Edge M8
Cary 303/200
Plinius Sa 250 Mk IV
Mark Levinson 380
lordgorian
Thanks for the review - it was very helpful. Did you end up going back to it? It is really hard to know when you are happy with your system and when tinkering will not help.

I have really seen very little on the nuvista, I suspect because it was only made for a short period of time. I have had mine for about two years and have been thrilled with it. I have not compared it to anything else recently because I see no need. I am too happy with it.

I saw a post once on audioreview about replacing the connector cables between the units which improved the sound but never ended up trying this. I also wondered about changing the power cord but could find little on it and it is an unusual end (european 16 Amp IEC). I have also thought of the issue of biamping, with some of the other musical fidelity products but in the end I am just to happy with the current system to start playing around. If anyone has tried any of these tweaks it would be great to hear about it. Again thanks for the review
What were the 14K mono's that succeeded it (or didn't, as the case may have been)? Sounds like you've got a reason to pick up the phone and order yourself one of those new Tri-Vista integrateds before they're gone (if they're not already).
I borrowed the Tri-Vista 300 from my dealer to see if I wanted to upgrade from my A308cr separates, and it's unbelievable! Or more accurately, believable. I've gone through equipment after equipment striving for one goal - to fool my ears into thinking they're witnessing the event recorded, not the playback of a recording. The Tri-Vista is the closest I've gotten, by a healthy margin. I'm going to do without hi-fi of any sort for a month or more while I get the money together to grab this thing and keep it. It's that good.
Definitely replace the power cord from power supply unit to wall. The M3 will use 16 amperes of current if it can get it. The cord that Musical Fidelity supplied is 14 gauge wire (-go read it-) with that 20 ampere IEC end on it.Sounds crazy I know. Blue Circle sold me a 10 gauge cord with a 20 ampere IEC plug and a Hubble wall plug on the other end. Wow! BIGGER FASTER Hehehe.I liked the results. There are other cord manufacturers out there;whoever you like,just ask for 12 gauge or beefier wire (electrical code-you want to pass 16 amps of juice) and a 20 amp IEC end. If anyone has replaced the 3 umbilicals between the amp and power supply please post details (diy or where you bought them and RESULTS TO PERFORMANCE)