Audio Review Blog Logo
Overview
日本語版へ
[New Product] Musical Fidelity Announces Nu-Vista Vinyl S, Compact Phono Preamplifier

[New Product] Musical Fidelity Announces Nu-Vista Vinyl S, Compact Phono Preamplifier

2025/11/27
4 min read
Musical Fidelity
Product Launches
Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista Phono Preamplifier Analog Nuvista Tubes

Musical Fidelity has announced the Nu-Vista Vinyl S, a phono preamplifier featuring Nuvista tube technology. This new model is based on the technology of the reference-level Vinyl 2 while achieving a more compact size and accessible price point. Priced at £5,499 | A$12,000, it is now available for purchase.

Ideal Partner for Nu-Vista 800.2/600.2

The new model arrives approximately two years after the flagship Vinyl 2 announcement and was developed as a natural companion to the Nu-Vista 800.2 and 600.2 integrated amplifiers.

Musical Fidelity has long maintained the 800.2 and 600.2 integrated amplifiers as pure analog designs without built-in digital or phono modules. This decision created demand for an external phono stage that matches the engineering level of the Vinyl 2 while being more accessible in terms of size and price. The Vinyl S is the first model specifically designed to meet that need.

45% Size Reduction Achieved

According to Musical Fidelity, the goal was to maintain the core circuit design and sonic intent of the Vinyl 2 while reducing the mechanical footprint and overall manufacturing cost. As a result, the chassis is approximately 45% more compact and more economical to manufacture, while retaining the same balanced Class A architecture, discrete component layout, and Nuvista-driven output stage.

Inheriting Vinyl 2 Technology

Technically, the Vinyl S carries over key structural elements from the Vinyl 2, adopting a three-part gain architecture and split passive equalization supporting RIAA, Decca, and Columbia curves.

The company continues to prefer fully discrete analog circuitry over IC-based op-amps, claiming that discrete designs, while requiring significantly more design work, offer more natural and dynamic expression.

Fully Balanced Circuit Design

The Vinyl S features fully balanced circuitry with independent hot and cold signal paths designed to minimize noise and interference. Separate stages for RCA and XLR outputs allow both to be used simultaneously.

Cartridge loading is equally flexible, allowing MM or MC assignment per input, with gain options ranging from 40 dB to 69 dB. Capacitance and impedance adjustment are handled via JFET switching, which Musical Fidelity says enables more precise cartridge matching without introducing additional noise.

Latest “Super Silent” Power Supply Design

Power supply engineering has also been updated. The Vinyl S adopts the company’s latest “Super Silent” transformer design, featuring DC blocking and EMI filtering. Each channel has its own low-noise power supply, and the Nuvista stage is equipped with passive filtering and stabilization. The goal is to minimize transformer hum and electromagnetic interference, which are particularly problematic when handling microvolt-level phono signals.

Slimline S Chassis

Physically, the Vinyl S adopts Musical Fidelity’s new slimline “S” chassis while maintaining the substantial aluminum construction that has become a signature of the Nu-Vista family. The casework functions as a Faraday cage, protecting delicate circuits from external interference.

A streamlined aluminum remote control is included, and the color display reflects the interface used across recent Nu-Vista models, storing loading settings per input.

History of Nuvista Tubes

As audio enthusiasts know, Nuvista was originally developed in the late 1950s as a more reliable and compact alternative to conventional vacuum tubes. Subsequently used in studio tape machines and high-end microphones, it largely disappeared with the rise of transistor technology.

Musical Fidelity revived the format in the early 1990s, and those early Nu-Vista components are now sought after by collectors. The Vinyl S continues that lineage with a design intended to capture the benefits of Nuvista operation without the fragility typically associated with older vacuum tube-based circuits.

Reference Links / Sources