Vitus integrated amp v 552/500

I do think Peter if the time comes to go in the roof to get the 4 boxes down, it might be a heart stopping moment.
I still can’t believe i am even thinking about it, as the 500/552 was my end goal and in many ways it still is, i guess like you said, part of me is also hoping to completely hate the virus sound and can then put it out my mind forever.
It was the dealer that said the fact 12’s would be holding back the sia 30 and indeed not the best for the 25 as well, and i should look at moving them on once i get the vitus, but i love my fact 12’s and they are not going anywhere and if the vitus doesn’t work very well with them, then its another reason not to go for it, as they work fantastic with the naim

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In France, Naim 552/500 cost 54 k euros.
D’Agostino momentum: 58 k euros.

I would be very curious to hear it
image

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There is a lower version also, that i might just have to try and paul at hifi lounge with have one next week, as already spoken to him about it.
D’Agostino is what i was talking about here

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Taste does indeed vary, but I think that piece looks like something from ‘ Jules Verne’. :face_with_monocle: ATB Peter
To me the Vitus 030 looks ‘ Bad ass’, as does most Vitus gear. But hey that’s only me…

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I must also say, it looks are open to debate lol. But its ment to sound the absolute dogs you know what’s

Perhaps you will prefer these


( the lower model)

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And if you want to go to a single box solution there’s the momentum lifestyle by D’Agostino that looks brilliant!!

it’s a nice amp but after hearing it I would rather much have a 552/500 any day

That’s an interesting idea about mellowing. I find it’s always useful to reference the live experience - not stadium gigs but acoustic music. I’ve recently seen various top musicians such as Alina Ibragimova and Angela Hewitt so I know what it ‘should’ sound like. We have a decent. piano in the house. Even my relatively modest system can portray almost exactly that ‘real’ sound, and reality is what I seek. The idea of something being smoother for the older ear is abhorrent. I want a violin to sound like a violin, a trumpet to sound like a trumpet.

That’s not to say that Naim is the only way. It’s not. There are many ways to skin the proverbial cat. If I had a 552/500 the idea of Vitus or Aavik would be really attractive. One box. None of those pesky wires. I had an LP12 for years. Constant upgrading. I’ve recently bought a Rega 6. Set it up in five minutes. Job done. And it’s bloody lovely. Change can be good.

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well I don’t hear it as a Naim sound.

As I said when comparing songs played on a Linn preamp, songs have the same engagement to my ears… maybe Naim and Linn know how to make very musical preamps - and by this I mean linear phase (i.e maintain the timing of the music that is already there). As Naim told me themselves it is reducing losses to the signal as you go up the preamp hierarchy

The first statement doesn’t suggest that the Vitus wouldn’t work well with the Facts, rather that the speakers may be limit what the amp is capable of. I.e the other way round - better speakers would let the amp shine more.

I’ve heard Fact 12s twice, in two different dealers’ rooms. Same system driving in both, amp being Bryston 4Bsst2. In one room they were definitely holding back the music, whereas in the other they sounded excellent. It seemed as if the sound was constrained dimensionally, which I didn’t feel on the second occasion. It may be bcause in the first I heard against other speakers, notably my old IMF RSPMs and PMC’s MB2, whereas on the second occasion the Facts were the only speakers I heard. The MB2 is a better speaker to my ears - not only giving a better soundstage in that same room but also better dynamics. So maybe your dealer is simply suggesting that compared to some speakers the Facts may be limiting, and that the Vitus is capable of driving better speakers well.

Overall my conclusion with the F12 was that it was a great speaker but a bit limited, however it might be the right compromise if I ever had to move to a small room.

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That fits with my hypothesis, the reduced losses tending to balance out what others call the Naim sound in amps with the greater losses.

IIRC you do, however, prefer the sound of Dave through a NAC rather than direct to power amp, so some sound shaping going on somewhere after Dave.

My Naim separates thus far;
82/Scap olive/300,
252/250DR,
552DR/135s
52/135s

I’ve heard the vitus sia 025, dart zeel Cth 8660 integrated, Ayre Kx5/20, Sovereign glory power. Almost all these amps exhibited more power and a smoother signature than any of my Naim setups.

Not one of them engaged me into the music.
From my point of view these amps made great sound. But their presentation of that sound was very sterile. Naim amplifiers are exactly what I want from amplification. That zest, get up and go drive, PRAT whatever you want to call it.

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Opus- actually the 552/500 are $70K in the USA…gulp!

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No. I like to use a Naim amplifier as it was designed and get the Naim intended performance

There’s no Naim sound. Just the sound of the recording. And Naim gets me closer to the original recording

I’ll take one in black please

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I don’t mind what colour it is :0)

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$70 thousand. I’ll never own those. If I had that kind of crazy money, I’m still not sure that’s what I’d buy.

Ah, but I wasn’t suggesting I would buy one, but if someone wanted to gift one I’d be happy to accept it.

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Me Too. All gifts accepted :partying_face: