The sets, limited to just 200 worldwide, contains four selected Nuvistors, which according to the company, “guarantee a perfect interaction and audiophile sound due to their properties.”

RCA invented Nuvistor tubes in the 1950s to solve the many shortcomings of conventional tubes. Unlike them, Nuvistor tubes are said to offer very high reliability, low microphony, low noise, consistency from batch to batch, small size, relatively low power consumption and great technical performance. The tube is made entirely out of metal and ceramic, with the complex manufacturing process requiring special equipment.

According to Musical Fidelity:

Nuvistors are among the highest performing small signal tubes. The results of huge life tests indicate that the lot failure rate per 1.000 hours for the 7586 (type used in MF) is only 0,475% at a confidence level of 95% to 10.000 hours. Unfortunately, just as uses for Nuvistor tubes were being explored, the transistor was invented, and it was 'game over' for Nuvistors.

With the technology lying dormant until about fifteen years ago, Musical Fidelity created the first of its ground-breaking Nu-Vista series. These legendary, limited-edition products sold out in a matter of months. Today, they command very high secondhand prices because of their reported “beautiful sound, build quality and longevity.”

The Musical Fidelity Nuvistor tubes are available now for £189 a set (4 tubes).

For more information visit Musical Fidelity