Vitus integrated amp v 552/500

I thought it was because they fan the flames! :roll_eyes: :crazy_face: :innocent:

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Dare I add a nice set of acoustic curtains to your suggestion :crazy_face::partying_face: ATB Peter

I would have thought subwoofers are only needed if there is something wrong? No?
I once tried a subwoofer, and it sounded awful. I still have a 5 m long Naim cable that connects the Supercap to the subwoofer in the house, maybe someday it may come handy.

Having spend many thousands on Naim equipment in the pursuit of owning the finest sounding equipment, it is quite unnerving to think that there may actually be something out there which may offer an improvement.

Naturally, owners will defend their ‘purchase’ and be reassured by others who have also followed the same path. After all, no one likes to think that they’ve invested a fortune in something that can be ‘bettered’ by an alternative.

Technology moves on, however, and whilst their kit may at one time have been “the best” in its particular class, that won’t always remain the same. Take the iconic LP12 for instance
 once “the only turntable” (from a high end perspective) and yet now, there are many alternatives at lower cost (RP10 for example)

Equally, there will be others who like the idea that people move away from Naim and they too are reassured by people who share their viewpoint.

From my perspective, I had a similar journey with Linn - everything from LP12 to Keltik active speakers driven by 4 Linn power amps 
 until I found that active ATCSCM50’s were far better for half the cost!!! (at the time).

Previously, I had wrongly thought that with Linn, that there could be “no other” and had ‘bought into’ their whole marketing philosophy.

Today, I use Rega, Naim, Chord and ATC - no Linn at all :grinning:

At the end of the day, enjoy what you have and when the time comes for a change (upgrade), consider what is available at present 
 things move on.

I fully accept, however, that it would be very hard to ‘swap’ many Naim boxes for something completely different, as opposed to adding further Naim boxes :grinning: :grinning:

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In what way please?

Primarily, bass is light, does not go low as expected, sound is lean, clinical.
I would think you would not really need a subwoofer at all if you have 552+500.

Street prices for the 552 and 500 are more like 21K-26K though
 And I’ve seen s/h ones about a year or two go for 18K-20K.
I paid around 16K for a recently fully rebuilt 500DR. The only thing from the old amp were the chassis and transformer


Pounds or Dollars?

@Dunc. Well if you’ve moved your speakers around, you are all buggered up now. That you hear almost no difference is because you’ve worn out your critical listening abilities. Also contrary to what many may like to believe it’s: #1 the Room, #2 speakers and speaker Placement, #3 source and Recording quality. And so on. I’d leave the speakers and Naim stuff as it is. Return the Vitus , get hammered dance around in your underwear while listening to your great hifi. Then in a month start again. But that’s just my opinion, I could be wrong.

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Dollars, in the US.

which subwoofers would you recommend ?

Daniel -

Vitus are Class A and A/B amps - with an emphasis on Class A. If you look up Class A amplification on Wiki and alike you’ll see this offers greater detailing and warmth but at the cost of heat production. The sound, as well are being ‘warmer’, is also slightly softer (these traits great for vocals, mid-range - not so good for rock). Where it can lose out (there are trade-offs) is in slam, drive and what you might call ‘live energy’. Don’t be fooled by the low-Watt rating of Class A amps. Wattage and current delivery are very different, and it’s the latter which enables the driving of speakers. The Vitus amps can drive larger and more demanding speakers very well - look up some of the videos on YouTube. A NAP 500 would struggle - not really be a fit to such demands.

Naim, thus far, hasn’t made a dedicated Class A amp (the Statement amp is AB) and is probably unlikely to do so, as the traits of Class A don’t sit with Naim’s ethos of producing as close to a ‘live’ sound as possible, albeit this means detailing & separation are compromised (when compared to a Class A amp). Put another way, Naim prefers ‘attack’ in its presentation but it comes at a cost. The birth of the 552/500 amp range many years ago introduced more detailing, separation and power - but a well-executed and cheaper Class A amp (e.g. Vitus) will deliver more detailing and a different presentation.

Whether you like the differing approaches/aspects of delivery is, of course, a personal choice and will be influenced by other things e.g. genres of music you like, what your room can handle, your choice of speakers et al (including the relative costs).

I’m sure the question for several readers of this thread is whether Vitus has managed to use the benefits of Class A (A/B) and (somehow) managed to inject speed and a good measure of PRaT (as Naim calls it) in to the mix. If so, this would be a highly attractive offering.

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I think that’s a very good summary.

Hello HappyListener,
Thank you for your answer.
As I understand Vitus offers an other sound presentation.
I think I will still stay for a while by Naim :wink:
Daniel

Just a little update

Put my naim kit back in yesterday and spent a long time getting all the cables as good as they could be, much better than i did last time i altered my rack from 2 stacks to a lower but 3 stacks ( done this about 8 week ago) the problem that gave me was cables, as the boxes low to floor and being next to each other, the cables touched the floor etc. I guess now this probably started things going wrong for my system and started me on this new road.
But after the other day and having my naim gear spaced out and the cables much better, everything just came alive once more.
Now i dont know if its all down to the cable dressing or if i had not got a cable quite right before, etc, but it is sounding lovely once again.

The Vitus sia025, no doubt its a great amp and performance is very high, the sound it makes is also lovely and the one box simplified arrangement makes life easy, no problem’s like above or going forward etc, but its its biggest draw back for myself and wife is the heat it gives off, now i said it gets hot, but the other night we decided to watch a film in the same room, i hadn’t really notice it, as been in the room most off the day, but the wife noticed a big difference in room temperature and it was down to the amp, its like having a radiator on. Now i can live and work around this if i can hear a much improved sound.

So right now after talking to richard (dealer) i am going to leave my naim system as it was for the next few days and enjoy it and then try the vitus again, but this time i am going to leave the bitus sitting on its stillpoints infront off my stack, using a very nice power cable supplied by richard and some nice xlr to xlr to run from my rossini to vitus, then all i need to do is swap my speaker cables over.

So thats where we are right now.
Cheers dunc

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I suspect you don’t need to keep the Vitus on all the time.

Hi @Dunc ,

Have you noticed any material differences when playing the Vitus in Class A/B mode compared to A? – I’m also wondering if the heat output would be materially different between the modes too? A/B setting should be cooler.

That sounds ideal - I guess I would say that because it’s what I suggested previously. You will have given the Naim a good run for its money and then can do the same for the Vitus. I suspect that if it’s sitting on the floor it will get less hot anyway - that’s how you usually see them. Try the Vitus for a few days to give it an equal opportunity to reveal what it’s like long term. Whichever way you go you will have a fantastic system that should give enormous pleasure. If you stick with the Naim you’ll at least have it set up properly, and if you choose the Vitus you’ll have a sound you prefer.

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Put my naim kit back in yesterday and spent a long time getting all the cables as good as they could be, much better than i did last time i altered my rack from 2 stacks to a lower but 3 stacks ( done this about 8 week ago) the problem that gave me was cables, as the boxes low to floor and being next to each other, the cables touched the floor etc. I guess now this probably started things going wrong for my system and started me on this new road.
But after the other day and having my naim gear spaced out and the cables much better, everything just came alive once more.
Now i dont know if its all down to the cable dressing or if i had not got a cable quite right before, etc, but it is sounding lovely once again.

Thats one of the biggest issues I have with my Naim kit. When it’s “right” it’s incredible but it goes off so easily. Cables hanging just right, connection interface just right, box spacing just right. I seem to spend half my time enjoying music and the other half tweaking speaker placement, moving cables, remaking connections, wondering if something needs servicing etc
just looking for whatever it is thats not quite right

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If it’s set up properly it shouldn’t go off. It just needs looking at and cleaning contacts once or twice a year. But having had a 552 I agree that it’s a lot harder to get ‘just right’ in the first place. These top notch one box integrated amplifiers are hugely appealing as a concept - it’s just a matter of finding one that you love listening to music with.

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