Vitus integrated amp v 552/500

His son is in the business… and indeed designing amplifiers under a brand of his own…

Hi Dunc, wishing you many years of enjoyment with your new acquisition. As HL states above I think it’s great, that people maintain an open mind about different brands, as some of the Naim kit is getting a little long in the tooth. Enjoy and all the best Peter

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But if performance is one of the most important criteria then ime with all things being equal this an an area which also has room to be addressed. Incorporating a subwoofer/s is essential to the overall performance of the system.

For eg. there’s a possibility that sub bass fq’s might not work as effectively in the same room position as mid and HF fq’s. With a subwoofer/s and with the mains unburdened of at least the lower two octaves the subwoofer/s can hopefully be placed in a more optimum position in the room for sub bass fq’s.

When the mains and subs/s are effectively aligned, calibrated, dialled in and with the mains unburdened of at least the two lower octaves the difference to the overall performance is profound :slightly_smiling_face:

Btw, i recently also came across this system -

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Hi @Musicraft

I assume these are pics of a real installation…

May I ask why are the mains speakers not more into the room ?

I see many recommendations of speakers to be positioned @ 1/5 into the room etc… for imaging / sound staging etc…

Request you to kindly elaborate on the speaker placement logic used here.

Thanks

Room looks awfully lively also.

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Well asked a few questions regarding these points

Build quality is like a tank, and looks just as good as naim.
No on going service costs, due to the components used.
If you do have a problem, its no real different really, just take it back to dealer and it will get sent back.
As for switching between class A to A/B, then fine to do and wont cause any on going problems.

These class A amps really are very different to the standard amps, everyone should try one in their system, its been a real eye opener for me, but still glad i have tried the 552/500, or i would have always wanted to see what all the fuss was about.

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There no other brands worth trying Dunc? Must be other stuff in that price bracket which maybe better still?

Maybe, but its doing what i want as in sound quality, plus its got all the balanced inputs i need.
Plus i have a good deal in place on my kit against it, that would be very hard to beat i think.
I could try other kit and go round and round, but did some homework on other integrated amps first and this looked the best one for me and so far it hasn’t disappointed

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Enjoy the music Dunc. That’s what really matters at the end of the day.

Best regards, BF

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Enjoy Dunc - sounds like a great and clear outcome for you. I will have a 025 for homedemo soon. Really curious.

Do you only listen in class A mode, or do you use a/b eg for certain types of music/background listening.

Br Lars

Also Dunc, which IC and speaker cables are you using?

I could be all wrong but personally I think Naim could not bring out a “significantly” higher level integrated that would rival the performance of the separates based on technical or marketing reasons. The integrated amp should be around 202/200’s level and not higher than that, otherwise nobody would be buying the separates. For this reason, even if Naim could overcome the technicalities and design an integrated amp with say 252/300 or 552/500’s performance, it would defeat the purpose to come up with such an amp as nobody would be buying the higher level separates any more.

Of course, my speculation may be completely misguided. One thing is for sure though. If a super-duper integrated amp with 552/500’s performance is possible, it will surely need to be a lot larger and heavier than the current Supernait 3.

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Never say never, @ryder. :slight_smile:

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Just class A for now
As for cables, then right now i am using my witchhat phantom speaker cable and some xlr’s that came with the demo vitus, but next week i am going to try some different speakers cables, xlr’s and a much better ethernet.

Well other companies mange it, so cant see why naim couldn’t.
Some people will always want the 4 box set up, but more and more these days dont want all the boxes, the huge rack, the mass off cables, etc. Naim need to move with the times and offer a much higher performing intergrated, and with that revamp the long overdue 500 and 552 maybe ?

As a dealer said to me, not that long ago, these days he gets much more people moving on from naim than joining it and thats not good going forward for a business.

Hi @Dunc -

Like a few of us around these parts, I suspect you’ve read about ‘what’s out there’ which is far easier than actually getting it in to your room, especially with some of the smaller-market esoterica (as I call it). In my time, especially with speakers, I’ve read a glowing mag review and then sought to explore a listen, only to be advised there are only a few pairs in the UK!

While Naim remains (to me) a strong UK brand, it’s certainly there to be shot at for all the reasons apparent from this thread - perhaps, the moreso, as many long-time Naimees move in to their dotage and may entertain a different soundscape, with far less fuss kit-wise - - matters not helped, of course, by the inflation in Naim-land’s pricing, which has been far ahead of CPI/RPI (and for many ‘real incomes’ have fallen since c.2008).

If you’re willing, please could you continue posting with your experiences as the weeks go by?

It’s also interesting that HiFi+'s review of the FACT12s suggested they really respond well to extra current (as do most high quality speakers).

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I’d be really interested to hear how you find it sounds in A/B

The FACT 12s sounded great when I heard them powered by some Bryston monoblocs, which can certainly deliver plenty of current.

I moved to Krell power amps some 15 possibly 20 years ago.

They integrated exceptionally well with Naim pre amps but were much better at driving a wide range of speakers, especially my Wilson’s but even the old Bariks.

There have always been plenty of alternatives to Naim. Beauty, in the form of sound, is in the ear of the beholder.

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Hi Don. Out of curiosity have you ever had any problems or need of servicing with the Krells? ATB Peter