Vitus integrated amp v 552/500

When the premise assumes the conclusion…

Between 2008-2012 (give or take), when I was more active on the Forum, there were literally dozens of similar threads. Every few weeks someone came along with a new revelation and a new path! More often than not, the goal was to show a simpler and cheaper set of equipment can achieve better results than Naim. And that may every well be the case! Remember the endless Superline/Supercap v. Urika debate? And so on… More often than not, those who moved on (and that’s totally fine) ended up on an endless costly upgrade path.

I’d say there’s usually a reason why so many of us chose Naim in the first place…

A simple google search reveals a UK dealer with similar equipment discussed here with strikingly similar pictures… Are there hidden commercial intents here? Not for me to say. Because it doesn’t sound to me that upgraditis is a good therapy :wink:

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I would expect the preamp section of a SN3 to surpass a 112 and probably a 202, closer to but not quite a 282, no?

I phoned to the Vitus dealer in Paris. He has only the RI 101.
His second shop has a RIA 030, but in Bruxelles.
So for now, no Vitus test for me. Perhaps in the future if I go to Belgium.

I wouldn’t say that the old Olive stuff has a particularly strong Naim sound in fact the only piece of Naim equipment I’ve heard that does have a very strong signature sound is the NDX2.

Correct me if I’m wrong…

As someone pointed out above with a Chord dac into Naim Olive there is no inherent Naim signature sound.

Of course the 500 series is no longer the best in the Naim Audio product range…

This idea of amplifiers being better for one sort of music or another is weird. It should be able to play anything and make it sound as it should. If it can’t do that it’s not very good in my book. I’ve seen Theatre of Hate. I’ve seen Angela Hewitt. I have recordings by both. My little system can play them both and render the sound as it is when you see either of them live. I don’t want Theatre of Hate to be blanded out and made to sound like Norah Jones. Real violin or trumpet can be pretty raspy and on the edge and I don’t want them blanded out either. I want a system that can make Theatre of Hate or Pixies or Nirvana sound aggressive and exciting, threatening even. I want it to portray the beautiful voice of a Stacey Kent to sound as it does when you are sitting ten feet in front of her. I want Sonny Rollins to sound as he does in the concert hall. Like I say, any system that can’t do this is a poor system.

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It’s between 202/200 and 112/200…for my ears and listening at dealer place.
282? Not really close.

Dunc, congrats on finding an amp that betters your 552/500! I have a question or two, is the improvement equal with the Rossini and your turntable? Are you running both in balanced mode into the Vitus or only the Rossini? Also, what about live (less produced) music? this is what I really appreciate with my Naim amps and an area I would find it hard to compromise on…

As, for your dealers comments on your speakers, I only heard them once but seem a strange conclusion given the level of your sources, assuming you like the speakers and they match your room!

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Hello Dunc,

Thank you for your kind reply.

The Vitus must be indeed an exceptional integrated amplifier, especially considering Hifi Critic’s flattering review.

The reviewer considers the NAP 500 DR as “rivalling the Statement monoblocks”.

Therefore, I presume that the Vitus could even challenge a Statement amplifier, which is Naim’s flagship.

This is rather interesting considering the Statement’s retail price.

Vitus seems to have done a great job with their amplifiers.

I found the aforementioned review on Naim’s website:

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I agree with this. Either te hi-fi sounds like it does in real life or it doesn’t.

At the same time, I think a lot of audiophiles don’t necessarily go to live concerts and have their own ideas about the sound they prefer - in some cases liking levels of smooth detail and spatial precision that simply don’t happen in real life. Often this is at the expense of tone and texture - especially the “harsher” elements of brass, strings and piano that are also part of their expressive range. Some stuff, including the top of the range Linn streamers simply leave me cold for this. Pianos and cellos don’t sound like they do in real life and they are equally flat and lifeless for jazz, not to mention Led Zeppelin. Will the Vitus prove the same? I don’t know yet, but I’m certainly willing to take it for a spin…

They’re very highly regarded. The dealer in question has a liking for ceramic midrange drivers and tweeters, which are very strong on detail but not always on texture and can be a little hard. The Vitus is also strong on detail, but renowned for being a little warm. There are all sorts of potential preference synergies there. One would simply have to listen…

You are missing the point i was trying to make, not saying the vitus doesn’t do rock music, more that the forward nature, plus its more aggressive sound the naim has, would probably be better suited to that sort off music.
A bit like, if you like deep, strong bass dont buy sbl’s, they still do bass, but you wouldn’t say it was their strongest accolade

Don’t tell me the speaker in question is Marten, and the dealer prefers the Marten driven by the Vitus…

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Well that quite poor then really isn’t it, or you could look at it being fantastic, depends how you see things.
A £20k amp just about as good as the one that costs many times more

Tidal, Vimburg and Avalon.

I’m not sure if you are responding to my post but it’s all clear now.

Quite, if you don’t try it you’ll never know.

This must be system dependent.

My very reason for choosing a Linn Klimax over alternatives (such as those from Naim) was specifically because it portrayed acoustic instruments (such as piano, string and brass instruments) more accurately, realistically and naturally than any alternatives I could find. I didn’t audition Chord (above TT2) or DCS streamers at the time.

Acoustic music makes up quite a large percentage of my listening and so this was particularly important for me. A description of Linn streamers (other than the Majik) as being flat and lifeless just sounds plain wrong to my ears. Just the opposite. What amplification partnered the Linn streamers you thought sounded flat and lifeless?

As a matter of interest, have you listened to any of the Chord DACs, and if so did you like them?

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Interested read this thread, thanks all.
@Dunc what does servicing and after care look like? One thing that gave me the confidence to spend big money on hifi was / is Naim products can be serviced and they hold their value.

Have you factored this into your thinking?

Regards
Gary

This was while I was last trying to reduce box count, so it was the top two-box Linn system at the time (a few years ago). It couldn’t capture the full texture of fortissimo lower register impact, bass pizzicato or the rasping of vigorous cello bowing, nor did it time particularly well. I was surprised how poor I found it.