Vitus Audio - My New Dream gears.

[comedus76]

Thank you for your reply. CH and Soulution are likely more than I can afford right now plus I really really like my Vitus Class A amps (don't want to swap that out) except to add a bit of jump/speed. My hope was to find a pre that is SS and "fast". Maybe swapping cables (as Melbguy1 suggested) is another option - I currently use Kubala Sosna interconnects and SC's.

Can you describe the general flavor of Burmester - is it warm, neutral or thin/fast?

I have had a lot of compares with Burmesters (909, 911, 956 and 088 and 077), and would recommend the Vitus class A power amps (not the older cheaper used AB).

On preamps, I did not compare the CH, but heard it in Gian60's system and he has been through various gear including Gryphon, expensive triodes from Kondo, etc, and prefers CH as it seems to be the best of both. So, like Jambo says, the CH pre into Vitus makes sense to me, and I get where you are coming from in terms of speed. I wish Vitus had more speed like the Spectral, but then I like Vitus density and liquidity and body. The CH is expensive though and the used market has not developed yet, since still too new and good.

You can see Gian's CH stack here http://zero-distortion.org/the-italian-over-the-top-road-trip/

 

[bonzo]

Thank you for your reply. CH and Soulution are likely more than I can afford right now plus I really really like my Vitus Class A amps (don't want to swap that out) except to add a bit of jump/speed. My hope was to find a pre that is SS and "fast". Maybe swapping cables (as Melbguy1 suggested) is another option - I currently use Kubala Sosna interconnects and SC's.

Can you describe the general flavor of Burmester - is it warm, neutral or thin/fast?

Vitus won't have that extra jump and speed. Spectral, Boulder, Gryphon have that, Burmester is fast too. Vitus has other strengths of tone, density, and liquidity. Burm I don't like the tone and don't find it natural. It has power, dynamics, and speed. It has lost out in my comparisons to Gryphon Colosseum, Nagra Classic (on tone only), Boulder, was only marginally better than Plinius, and lost badly to Symphonic Line Kraft (extremely good German all class A 300w amp that doubles down and is stable to 1 ohm, but not well marketed) on B&W 803d and Magico S5. I also prefer Vitus and Luxman m900.

I do know somebody who has the Burm + Vitus match though. I compared the Burm 077 to AR LS 27 and preferred the latter, and I am not even an AR fan.

 

[slowikpl]

Vitus won't have that extra jump and speed. Spectral, Boulder, Gryphon have that, Burmester is fast too. Vitus has other strengths of tone, density, and liquidity. Burm I don't like the tone and don't find it natural. It has power, dynamics, and speed. It has lost out in my comparisons to Gryphon Colosseum, Nagra Classic (on tone only), Boulder, was only marginally better than Plinius, and lost badly to Symphonic Line Kraft (extremely good German all class A 300w amp that doubles down and is stable to 1 ohm, but not well marketed) on B&W 803d and Magico S5. I also prefer Vitus and Luxman m900.

I do know somebody who has the Burm + Vitus match though. I compared the Burm 077 to AR LS 27 and preferred the latter, and I am not even an AR fan.

Bonzo do you approve the match AR Reference 6 with Vitus SM-011 ?
The input impedance of the Vitus in 10k !

 

[bonzo]

Bonzo do you approve the match AR Reference 6 with Vitus SM-011 ?
The input impedance of the Vitus in 10k !

No I just said I preferred AR to Burm as pre, but that was not in relation as pre for Vitus. I would not bypass the Vitus pre for a Burm pre in order to get speed, one might instead end up sacrificing tone

 

[comedus76]

Bonzo - given your vast experience, what might you recommend as a pairing with the Vitus to get speed/jump but something that doesn't break the bank (so excl. CH, Soulution)? I thought about Gryphon but unfortunately not available in the US or with 120V easily.

No I just said I preferred AR to Burm as pre, but that was not in relation as pre for Vitus. I would not bypass the Vitus pre for a Burm pre in order to get speed, one might instead end up sacrificing tone

 

[bonzo]

Bonzo - given your vast experience, what might you recommend as a pairing with the Vitus to get speed/jump but something that doesn't break the bank (so excl. CH, Soulution)? I thought about Gryphon but unfortunately not available in the US or with 120V easily.

My point is I doubt you can speed it up by putting in a preamp. You can check with Rhapsody Audio who is also in NY, or with Mike who is a Vitus dealer too. When I heard the Vitus SM 102 at his place, it was with both the Kondo M1000mkII, and with the Vitus pre. While the Kondo was marginally faster, on orchestral, the Vitus was held more in control by the Vitus pre.

You can do minor things like get faster cables, like Nordost, but not sure how that would help in your system

Thing is, you want from Vitus what is available in another amp like Spectral without losing the qualities of Vitus, which is always a bit tough.

If you get a demo of the Burm pre, you can try

 

[comedus76]

Thanks - that makes sense.

My point is I doubt you can speed it up by putting in a preamp. You can check with Rhapsody Audio who is also in NY, or with Mike who is a Vitus dealer too. When I heard the Vitus SM 102 at his place, it was with both the Kondo M1000mkII, and with the Vitus pre. While the Kondo was marginally faster, on orchestral, the Vitus was held more in control by the Vitus pre.

You can do minor things like get faster cables, like Nordost, but not sure how that would help in your system

Thing is, you want from Vitus what is available in another amp like Spectral without losing the qualities of Vitus, which is always a bit tough.

If you get a demo of the Burm pre, you can try

 

[KeithR]

I would hesitate trying to "fix" your power amp sound with a preamp.

You might search out an amp that is in between the two spectrums. Vitus and Soulution/Spectral are really opposites tonally. Agree with Melbourne1 that cabling might be a cheaper option to try first.

 

[johndoe21ro]

Thank you for the very interesting thread.

I'm looking at Avantgarde speakers (Duo or Uno, I think).

Does anybody know if the sounds quality of SIA-025 is as good as SL-103 and SM-011 when 25 Class A is more than enough?

Thank you.

Would anyone like to comment on this question? I'm interested in the answer too!

 

[Mike]

Would anyone like to comment on this question? I'm interested in the answer too!

I only had the SIA-025 and SS-103 and SL-102 MK2. There is no doubt the SS-103 when combined with a good preamp was much better, and any level. Bass, control, sound staging, etc.

I did try the Vitus amp/preamp on my Avantgarde Duo Mezzo XD’s and it was very good.

If it came down to separates and uno vs Duo and integrated, I would definitely go integrated and get the Duo.

FWIW, I haven’t heard a SS amp on my AG’s that I prefer over any tube amp I’ve tried. I do have a Pass XA25 coming though to try.