Audiophilepure

https://www.hifinews.com/content/musical-fidelity-nu-vista-8002-integrated-amplifier

Indeed, largescale productions might well be the 800.2’s bread and butter as James Horner’s score for the film Titanic [Sony Classical SK 63213] came across as big as the doomed vessel itself. In ‘Take Her To Sea, Mr Murdoch’, optimistic melodies from across the orchestra pit dovetailed with resonant strings, thumping timpani and crashing cymbals, and again there was the sense the 800.2 wasn’t missing out on any elements, high or low, as the sound flooded the listening seat. Moreover, Horner’s love of dynamic stabs of brass and strings, such as on ‘Hard To Starboard’, require an amp with plenty in reserve, and these arrived with a dynamic swagger.

In a nutshell, the appeal of the Nu-Vista 800.2 doesn’t simply boil down to its obvious output. This all-analogue integrated has the kind of performance that leaves you lost in the music, and focuses you on what you’re listening to, rather than the amp powering it all. I won’t say it goes about its business quietly, because it plays loud and weighs over 40kg, but it is utterly unflappable with whatever you throw at it. As my listening segued from the delicate compositions of Philip Glass’s Glassworks [Sony Classical; 96kHz/24-bit] to the pounding hip-hop of Dr Dre’s ‘Still D.R.E’ [2001; Interscope Records 490 4862], I loved every second.