Vitus integrated amp v 552/500

Hi-Fi Corner
387

Hi Dunc, if I may ask - what interconnects and cables are you using

  1. between Rossini and the 552, (and for the Vitus) are they the same?
  2. Which speaker cables? same on both?
  3. which Din/XLR between 552/500
  4. which power cable for the vitus?

thanks

388

@Dunc this is an interesting thread!

Considering the 500 setup was Naimā€™s flagship not so long ago, your findings are rather unexpected.

Have you tried comparing those two setups with well recorded acoustical music, like classical music? A cello solo, or some chamber music?

All the best,

C.

389

If its the same one and i guess it is, it was mk1

390

Hi, answers to questions

  1. No i cant, but using the same as i was before on the 500, witchhat morgana RCA to din and the nordic xlr to xlr that i got for my headphone amp, but its only a cheap one.
  2. Same, witchhat phantom
  3. Witchhat morgana
  4. Same for all units and the same as what i was using before.

I have them both set up and ready to go and all i need to swap over is the speaker cables as the rossini has 2 outputs

391

I dont listen to classical music at all, but the vitus would suit this kind off music even more.
My findings are all in this thread, as to the difference in sound from both that i am getting.
It was abit unexpected for me as well, but it seems over 100 have made the jump, so maybe not so expected once you start to find things out.

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392

interesting - I think Naim themselves at this point would say - please do use our amplifiers with our Naim standard supplied cables and/or Superlumina - and give it another goā€¦

but itā€™s your ears and your money.

393

Congrats from me Dunc and may it bring many years of musical indulgence. ATB Peter

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394

I am sure they would, but the standard cables would be worse than what i am using and the superlumina isnt going to make the difference up, especially over the morgana cables i am using.

I know its hard to believe but for me the 500/552 has been out classed by this, for sheer sound quality, but the sia025 does have negative points against it

395

Cheers peter, i also hope it does

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396

well you did say for Rock/Metal (which is what I listen to) the Naim will still be better?

the 552/500 is too much of an amplifier for me personally with itā€™s 4 boxes and burndy cable for what I need - unless I had the space (which I donā€™t) especially for the Fraim itā€™s not something I can go forā€¦ there is much appeal in a single boxā€¦

397

I once had Musical Fidelity MA65 monoblocks which were 65wpc and pure class A. They certainly got hot, so I had them on the floor just next to the speakers. Like you, I switched them off when not in use and found they didnā€™t take long to warm up, but sounded pretty good even whilst doing so.

Roger

398

Warning and apology: pedant alert. ā€œTrendsā€ refer to changes over time, so receivers outselling separates and integrateds outselling pre/powers tells us nothing about current (or past) trends. My suspicion and it is no more than that are that there are different trends in different sectors of the market. I do suspect that, in general, many folk are moving to simpler systems, but my evidence is purely anecdotal (and personal). Several threads on this forum, occasional reading of the online mags, chatting with dealers, visiting shows suggests many are seeking to reduce box count. However, there also appears to be a counter trend in high end DAC/streamers where several companies will now sell you a DAC to which you can add a clock, upscaler/sampler, network bridge etc to build a three or four box stack.

The future? Who knows and I suspect nobody does. It might only take some pop icon in a few years time to praise multi box systems as so much better than the rubbish all-in-ones of their parents to start a new trend. Naimā€™s current strategy seems to be to cover as many bases as possible within their hifi philosophy and that looks very sensible to me.

Roger

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399

I would say the vitus sia025 wouldnā€™t be the best for heavy metal or heavy rock music, its more refined rather than slam, if you get what i mean, sure it would sound ok, but i feel it could be easily bettered

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400

I agree Roger.

When you look at the majority of the very high end, separates is still the best and still how the manufacturers do things.

You can only do so much in one box.

401

@Dunc

Not that is has any real bearing but you will be going from the best of one high end brand to the entry level of the other.
That would bug me, I know what I am like and will equal more money over timeā€¦

402

Thatā€™s an interesting observation. Iā€™m not convinced Iā€™ll like Vitus for classical - smooth and buttery doesnā€™t usually do it for me and Iā€™ve never heard valve gear that can get the dynamism of a piano. Iā€™ve not heard any class A stuff that convinces me for quartets and piano either, but Iā€™ve heard very little recent class A gear full stop. Iā€™ll drop Richard an email and try to hook up in the near future when I can be sure Iā€™ve got rid of the virus.

403

Picking up your earlier assessment which you made above, I presume the negative of the SIA 025 which you cited is the inability of the amp to play rock music as convincingly as the Naim. Although not exactly a similar comparison, I share the same experience with the 282/HCDR/250DR and Sonneteer Orton. Although the Orton does the subtleties and refinement quite a bit better than the Naim, it falters with rock music as pace, slam in the lower registers and dynamics take a step backwards. Iā€™m not sure if itā€™s got something to do with the tuning of the amp or the low power/current delivery.

Perhaps an amp which excels in areas which you described canā€™t be an all-rounder that plays everything exceptionally well?

404

So my presumption is correct. Michaelb made the same observation.

405

It doesnā€™t matter if one is near the top or bottom off a manufacturer does it?
Also the sia025 is in the signature range which is the middle off the range.
Plus it seems the signature range starts above the 500 series, so i guess it all depends on where a manufacturer starts and stops there range, rather than getting the top one they do.

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406

No the way naim has a more forward and aggressive sound, would suit heavy metal music more, i would say.
As for negative points, i was talking about the heat it generates and the slightly annoying relay click you get when you adjust the volume.
But i do like the simplicity off it compared to the 500/552, just in cables alone, one power cable compared to 8, so no cable dressing to worry about, and all the other stuff that comes with cables.
But i do prefer the look off the beefy 500 and the other 3 boxes, as it does have a bit off a status symbol that goes with them, but in the end i have them for the sound they produced and on that they lose.

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