Vitus integrated amp v 552/500

GO GO Dunc… We can still get this thread to a 1000. Now, with the knowledge here we can help you to further improve your 500 kit with both Fraim and different cabling! :smirk:
On a serious note as mentioned above, maybe a good thread to serve as ‘ food for thought’ me included. Now Fraim…?! :face_with_monocle: ATB Peter

Have To admit @Dunc, that I’m happy your staying with your Naim system for now despite all of the obvious advantages to the 1 box Vitus. The reason however is somewhat selfish in that you and other contributors to this thread had me wondering what I’m doing with my 6 boxes,Fraim shelves,interconnects,cable dressing and power strip. Was actually toying with the idea of auditioning the Vitus 030 with the DAC module but no longer. SQ is so subjective at this level and affected by mood/disposition etc.Have to justify the 6 box craziness.
Thanks for being honest and forthcoming, not everyone would have been after all you have been through. Enjoy your wonderful system

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I am sure the one box vitus 030 and built in dac/streamer is a wonderful bit off kit, as is the 025.
Like i said they both have advantages and disadvantages and its down to you if you come out the other end with a one box or multiple boxes.
But right now the green lights are on, the room is getting darker and a familiar look is once again in the room, i dont know if it was hindsight today, or what, as right now it all should have gone, but for some reason it hasn’t.

Have you managed to hang on to your WH cables?

All the best

They sold in less than 10 minutes and are probably with the new owner, but rest assured i will have the full loom once again and very soon.
Another thing to remember, dont sell your other stuff too soon, as you never know lol

As I said earlier… :slight_smile:

For me, I stick with Linn and Naim, maybe not the best sound system out there, but this is system that deeply impressed me since the day I saw and listened to the 6-packed Naim Nap/Nac with the LP12 Ittok+Troika, and Isobariks.

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Blimey, just had a bout of deja vu. You’re not any relation to Stephen Tate (of this manor) by any chance?

Seriously though Dunc, I have enjoyed reading about your Vitus journey and it was honest and brave of you to tell all. Just goes to show the value of extensive home demos when you are spending this kind of money.

As you say, ‘the 500 kit will have to do’. (I feel for you).

Enjoy.

PS, you really must get that 500 kit Fraimed.

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+1
Otherwise, your sound system is compromised.

Yep, saw that coming from a mile away . . .

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Forgive me if I have missed it, but I don’t recall you saying anything negative about the Facts with the Vitus, other than that your dealer had said other speakers would sound better (and that of course is to his ears, not necessarily yours, as speakers can be so personal). Indeed, you said that the Vitus made the Facts sound better than they had with the Naim amp: if the same dealer was selling you the Naim amps, might he also suggest you could do better than the Facts? (And of course with either amp that might be true!)

It just seems to me that the dealer’s insistence that you could do better than the Fact 12 seems to have rubbed off as a negative, even though you were happy with them, and more so with the Vitus than the Naim!

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Dunc, you really should try Nagra :sunglasses:, the dealer I got my integrated from is a Nagra and Naim rep. He says that Nagra is by far the best sounding kit he sells, and I tend to believe him.

If you really fancy a change, consider the ATC actives … amps built in and no esoteric cables to worry about

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Surely the dealer simply prefers the sound from the Nagra, as one might prefer a Lexus to an Audi.

It’s not a belief system, it’s subjective for each one of us, though we do all seem to love being led, whether towards or away from Naim and give huge credence to any one person’s opinions.

I’m guilty of this myself, I probably wouldn’t have a Hugo were it not for SiS.

.sjb

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What a saga this has been! Glad you are settled with what you want, whether or not it is what you already have. Hope you manage to get it set up to give continued satisfaction

Quite possible SJB, at this level of gear you can’t go wrong with either brand. He did state that he preferred Nagra over ALL the brands he sells, not just Naim. Here are some of the brands he sells:
VTL, LFD,Arcam,Brinkman,Mark Levinson,BMS,Musical Fidelity,Sugden Audio,Rega…to name a few. But I agree, just one man’s opinion.

Many thanks for a brutally frank description of your agonising trial of the Vitus. These differences in presentation must ultimately be chosen according to subjective preference and taste: there are no absolutes here.

I hope you will continue to enjoy your Naim system. Perhaps, with obsessive set-up, it will achieve a new level of performance that you have yet to experience. Given that the Vitus had the benefit of Stillpoints then giving your Naim system a Fraim to sit on only seems fair.

Naim originally emphasised PRAT. It was all about communication, musical information and enjoyment. Sound stage and tonal accuracy were less important. With the advent of DR then tonal accuracy and soundstaging vastly improved.

DR was such a significant step that Naim could have changed all their model numbers. But thankfully they do not change model designations on a regular basis. They showed great restraint, as they also do with the understated elegance of their styling. Thank goodness Naim does not resemble the bling and vulgarity of a certain American manufacturer.

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Absolutely, and this is especially true for the NAP 500DR.

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Well been asked why in the end, and it really wasnt just one thing, that sealed it.
Remember this is my view only.

The advantage the vitus has is more detail and wider sound stage, that is for sure.
True balanced amp, with dual mono design.
Just one box is so easy and less cables and racking.
Price ?
But its disadvantages are, it has less bass weight and prat.
Its runs warm and then hot in class A
Its volume clicks when you adjust it up or down.
Doesn’t hold its price very well, plus some early models failed and the owners left in the lurch, somewhat.

But it did draw me in, but then i realised it was only really doing that on certain tracks and that i was only really listening to them and nothing else, in A/B mode it only really lost a bit off top end and lost its more warm sound, but once again to really get this to sing, 30 minutes wasn’t enough and its more like hours and seems to get better the longer it ran in class A, the problem with that is heat and boy does it do that well in class A, i could have lived with it in class A/B, but i couldn’t leave it in A all the time, and so it really made class A, a waste off time for most of the time.
Also the more i looked into it and found out more, i could see a pattern, in that quite a few had moved on after a year and struggled to sell it, and all taking bit hits, about £10k, that started alarm bells, as i have been happy with naim fir over 20 years, plus it has a great second hand value.
Also being told that my speakers wouldn’t be ideal, also sat on my mind, big time, as i love them and even though they sounded great to me, being told that they aren’t helping, wasn’t great. I didn’t mind changing cables etc, as after all these are geared up for naim more so anyway, but my speaker’s errrr.
With that on my mind and knowing that i really couldn’t even think about speakers for atleast a year if not 2, i knew that would also bug me.
Then the final thing was trying it once again, and feel very lucky now that things hadn’t gone to plan with cables etc, as if not it would all be gone, as once i got it all cabled up, i just sat there thinking what am i doing.
Its been a strange one this, and probably partly down to lockdown and having more time to think what if, but it also has shown me that i really need to demo things for a longer period and a few days is just not long enough.

I guess i really need to max out what i have, as i feel there is room for improvement, maybe fraim for the naim, service and dr the 552? not sure right now, but i feel my naim 500dr and 552 are here for some years yet

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Hi Dunc. Again thanks for another honest report. You can at least now look back, buy you are also now already looking ahead as to how your Naim gear could possibly improved, and good on you!
Your trials with a ‘different’ amp have I’m sure made other people here think twice. Lots of variables can make us drift off from the beaten track at times, and nothing wrong with that for sure.
Personally I was curious to hear something different having lived with the Naim sound since the mid 80s. As my system has been going off for the last couple of months or maybe even longer, the thought starts to creep in. Also sometimes it is easy to end up in a scenario, where you start thinking ‘ but is it me?’.
My 2x 555PSs/ 552 should be back tomorrow, and I am very keen to see some green lights back on tbh. after 3 weeks in absentia. I know the usual run in period shall be overcome, but I’m quietly confident that it will be one of those moments, where you just go ‘ Oh yes‘ :hugs:.
I won’t be banging on about this, but as you yourself have implied, I really do feel that the 552 needs to be DRed to create a synergy with the 500 DR. Also at your level I would clearly suggest Fraim to extract the very best from the 500 kit.
Again thank you for going on this journey for us and sharing it with us, some of us being meek and easily lead have now maybe already learned our lesson. Enjoy the music :+1:t3: ATB Peter

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Hi @Dunc

Within all this and the review/demo journey, I don’t think much has been said about your listening environment e.g. size of room and volume. I just wonder whether with the likes of the Vitus (given its current pumping nature) really lends itself to larger rooms, where a bigger soundscape can be created to marry to such an environment - and some of the heat thrown off isn’t so noticeable?

Any thoughts?