Vitus integrated amps surpass Naim 500 series?
- Thread starter markharro
- Start date
There are loads of options out there, objectivists will point to the ‘new’ Benchmark pre/power combo, others will look at valves.
A lot of naim customers will have lived with their equipment for a good while & upgraded over time. Tastes can change but it doesn’t mean you are suddenly dissatisfied.
A lot of naim customers will have lived with their equipment for a good while & upgraded over time. Tastes can change but it doesn’t mean you are suddenly dissatisfied.
Cereal Killer
432
Absolutely!! I had the Ri100 with DAC here along with a few others in the same league. The Audionet DNA 2.0 won hands down, on all fronts.
daytona600
Registered User
£40k entry level for FM pre/power FM155/108, bigger ones are eye watering prices £300k+
full system with speakers lottery winner
3months build time , end result was sublime & end game for him
.
daytona600
Registered User
£40k for the FM & £45K for the Naim Agree lot of money
birthday present from his wife , see hated the look of the naim
birthday present from his wife , see hated the look of the naim
Mm, no accounting for taste, I don’t think naim is ugly but there is always a lot of it in terms of boxes.
I can’t see the point of these super high end systems today; a good DAC, active speakers & hi-res streaming/downloads is probably impossible to beat.
£40k entry level for FM pre/power FM155/108, bigger ones are eye watering prices £300k+
full system with speakers lottery winner
3months build time , end result was sublime & end game for him
.
Is this your friend with his system? The chair doesn't seem to look too comfortable.
Cereal Killer
432
Kevin, is the UK Distributor and also sells direct. http://www.fiaudio.co.uk/
You can also by direct from the Audionet store. Both do sales or return/ prepaid home dem. https://www.audionet-webshop.de/
Yes the website isn't Flash but its still informative and has all their products clearly detailed, explained and with decent review links.
duckworp
pfm Member
I was running Naim 552 and 300 and demoed a few amps including Vitus RI-100 and wrote a review here https://pinkfishmedia.net/forum/thr...demo-naim-v-luxman-v-devialet-v-vitus.212299/
I loved the sound of the Vitus amp, so much so that in fact I went for the SIA025 which is the next integrated up from the RI101 as it is a wonderful Class A amp, sounding sublime. And 4 boxes of Naim down to a single Vitus was another benefit.
Sound comparison-
In my experience the Naim of my 552/300 was
- fast, leading edge driven, exciting sound.
- could be a tad aggressive-sounding especially on poorer recordings,
- the music was delivered with small 3D depth, largely being flat with the speaker plane and into the room forward of the speaker with some vocals.
- some of the instruments or vocals on some recordings could sound too distinct from the whole - not as one piece of music. This wasn't down to detail retrieval but seemed the way the Naim presented the sound - as distinct elements rather than a musical whole. I only realised this when I had heard the Vitus in my room, as that does it different...
The Vitus by comparison is:
- more neutral.
- to use Hi-Fi journo-speak it sounds more 'musical' and 'organic' like you are hearing a complete performance rather than the sum of individual parts.
- enormous depth going from the speaker plane and way way back. And more width. So more 'room filling' in sound than the Naim.
- the upper mid and above is smoother than the Naim - not quite valve territory but certainly heading that way. I think this is why the sound is not fatiguing at all over extended listening, something I would find Naim to be, particularly on poorer recordings. With the 552/300 I would be turning the volume down after a while. With the Vitus I’d be turning it up.
And then there is one box instead of four. And cost. A 500 series is £40k. An RI is just over £10k, the SIA025 is £20k and the SIA030 is £30k. So all are less than the Naim combo. And the sound quality of the Vitus goes up considerably through each of these. The SIA030 is on another level again. In Munich 2019 the room where that amp launched was often quoted as one of the best at the show, where it competes with a lot more expensive electronics.
I think the two brands get compared as they share a similar sound but Vitus presents, if you like, a more sophisticated version of that sound signature. It maintains most of the foot tapping nature of Naim and adds a more neutral, richer, holographic and 'musical' structure. And both are characterised by minimalistic, beautiful, almost industrial, design. Furthermore, many Naim owners get to the point where they want to reduce box count. And an integrated amp is the ultimate realisation of that desire. And in the world of Integrated amps, among the top of the league is Vitus.
I loved the sound of the Vitus amp, so much so that in fact I went for the SIA025 which is the next integrated up from the RI101 as it is a wonderful Class A amp, sounding sublime. And 4 boxes of Naim down to a single Vitus was another benefit.
Sound comparison-
In my experience the Naim of my 552/300 was
- fast, leading edge driven, exciting sound.
- could be a tad aggressive-sounding especially on poorer recordings,
- the music was delivered with small 3D depth, largely being flat with the speaker plane and into the room forward of the speaker with some vocals.
- some of the instruments or vocals on some recordings could sound too distinct from the whole - not as one piece of music. This wasn't down to detail retrieval but seemed the way the Naim presented the sound - as distinct elements rather than a musical whole. I only realised this when I had heard the Vitus in my room, as that does it different...
The Vitus by comparison is:
- more neutral.
- to use Hi-Fi journo-speak it sounds more 'musical' and 'organic' like you are hearing a complete performance rather than the sum of individual parts.
- enormous depth going from the speaker plane and way way back. And more width. So more 'room filling' in sound than the Naim.
- the upper mid and above is smoother than the Naim - not quite valve territory but certainly heading that way. I think this is why the sound is not fatiguing at all over extended listening, something I would find Naim to be, particularly on poorer recordings. With the 552/300 I would be turning the volume down after a while. With the Vitus I’d be turning it up.
And then there is one box instead of four. And cost. A 500 series is £40k. An RI is just over £10k, the SIA025 is £20k and the SIA030 is £30k. So all are less than the Naim combo. And the sound quality of the Vitus goes up considerably through each of these. The SIA030 is on another level again. In Munich 2019 the room where that amp launched was often quoted as one of the best at the show, where it competes with a lot more expensive electronics.
I think the two brands get compared as they share a similar sound but Vitus presents, if you like, a more sophisticated version of that sound signature. It maintains most of the foot tapping nature of Naim and adds a more neutral, richer, holographic and 'musical' structure. And both are characterised by minimalistic, beautiful, almost industrial, design. Furthermore, many Naim owners get to the point where they want to reduce box count. And an integrated amp is the ultimate realisation of that desire. And in the world of Integrated amps, among the top of the league is Vitus.
Cereal Killer
432
This is similarly priced to the SIA030 but apparently kicks it's ass http://en.audionet.de/machines/humboldt/
Numerous reviews state this as 'THE' best amp and has set a new benchmark in hi-end audio; one that all others should be measured against.
Also available here:
https://www.audionet-webshop.de/humboldt.html
Numerous reviews state this as 'THE' best amp and has set a new benchmark in hi-end audio; one that all others should be measured against.
Also available here:
https://www.audionet-webshop.de/humboldt.html
uncl_nigel
pfm Member
I heard a secondhand Vitus 101 and loved it - it was really a sound of joy and music, so much fun. Not as resolving and even-handed as the Aesthetix pre-power I use but I could have happily lived with the Vitus for many years.
Dealers website is down & it is a big ask to order direct from an unknown source. Some of the flowery language is rather off putting but I would definitely have a listen if they had a better network of dealers.
S-Man
StrivingON
£40k entry level for FM pre/power FM155/108, bigger ones are eye watering prices £300k+
full system with speakers lottery winner
3months build time , end result was sublime & end game for him
.
I took a look at the web page for those power amps:
https://www.fmacoustics.com/products/resolution-series/fm-108-mkii/
What a load of "absolute bollox" (I'm standing in for Jez here
)."Technical excellence is evident:
instead of a switched power supply - which would be small and very cheap but with the huge disadvantage of inherent current limiting - the FM 108-MKII employs a unique high-power linear ‘analogue’ supply. It is therefore completely self-contained and free from the audible disadvantages of digital power supplies"
So they use a transformer and some caps like >90% of amplifiers on the market?
"It outperforms other units costing up to six times the price (and which will "provide" up to fourteen times the bulk and weight...)."
As if price and performance are linked!
How can they know this. Absolute bollox!
"Minimum Power Output:
140 W peak into 8 Ohms
260 W peak into 4 Ohms
400 W peak into 2 Ohms
70 W RMS into 8 Ohms
130 W RMS into 4 Ohms
200 W RMS into 2 Ohms
Max. Output Voltage: 66 V pp."
So let's apply a simple formula to their numbers...
66V p-p is +/-33V
P=Vsquared/R
P= 33 X 33/8 = 136W peak
So how does it achieve 140W peak into 8R?
Bollox, bollox, bollox!
(Now I know what Jez feels like
)
Mike Reed
pfm Member
Very good comparative summary, Duckworp; it's all grist to the mill for me and whereas ancillary kit and rooms affect the presentational differences for everybody, your hands on experience and balanced comments make for good and interesting reading.
I achieved a similar reduction in box count a few years ago; maybe even a bigger reduction as I also got rid of my Superline and Supercap + cables. Simply by chopping out my 552 (I already had valved mono's which replaced 135s)) for the top E.A.R. with on-board ph/stages, I was 1 box and expensive cabling ahead! More importantly, s.q. and sheer musical involvement was way ahead. These sonic changes are rarely envisaged before they're experienced.
I can see a time when a good class A integrated might be the way forward, though the downside is having to research and invest in a quality ph/stage and add boxes, as it were, even though the overall count would approximate what I have now.