Well, we are all disparate audiophile monkeys in this jungle, For my part I just do not get the Vitus way of things, exceptional micro detail, precision, blah blah. And yet I find the whole to be overly clinical, and lacking in the essential verve and emotion that conveys the live event in an early DCS kinda way. Rather confounded bonzo , given your predilection for organic sounding DHT digital, of which IMO Vitus is the antithesis of!
Vitus sia 025 vs d'agostino momentum integrated amps
- Thread starter cmanios
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Well, we are all disparate audiophile monkeys in this jungle, For my part I just do not get the Vitus way of things, exceptional micro detail, precision, blah blah. And yet I find the whole to be overly clinical, and lacking in the essential verve and emotion that conveys the live event in an early DCS kinda way. Rather confounded bonzo , given your predilection for organic sounding DHT digital, of which IMO Vitus is the antithesis of!
Most of the dealers I known told me of similar stories with the integrated amplifiers of the brands they sell ...
At some time in their audiophile life people find a need to simplify their systems and are attracted towards integrated amplifiers, usually changing of brand to avoid feeling they are moving backwards. Most of them, however, will move to separates again when they can.
They sounded great in Rhapsody's system. But those were not the integrateds, but the SM 102. I think amps have much more to do with the speaker than this blanket one design, e.g. SET for everything. Much easier to do that at the source.
Hey Ked, there is a night and day difference, as you know, between the SM102's and the say RI100 integrated as there is a big difference, although less so, between the Class A SM011s and the SM102's.
What I have experienced is the fact of the M3's being 91db changes everything with respect to the final sound using certain amps. The M3's changed the SM102's and made them sound like 400Watt Class A amps. Will be interesting to hear the SIA025 on the M3's!
I hope this won’t sound too biased.
I recently had an opportunity to compare in friend’s system SIA-025 with Momentum Integrated on Wilson Audio Sabrina.
While D’agostino may have a touch better bass slam and more open top end it can’t compete with Vitus midrange quality and overall musicality. Sound with SIA-025 has amazing texture, body and color. It reminds me a little bit Dartzeel NHB-108 in terms of micro dynamics, but with fuller and better controlled bass.
And don’t be fooled by its power rating. Those 25 watts (in A class) are way more powerful than many pre/power combination.
The same thing with bigger models.
In the past I compared directly Momentum preamp/stereo amp with 50W A class Vitus SS-101 (set as a integrated) on Avalon Isis. The conclusion was similar, despite the difference in prices.
Regardless of the technology, whether it’s tube or solid state I found those two amps (SIA-025 & SS-101) as a most satisfying one in my hifi adventure.
I recently had an opportunity to compare in friend’s system SIA-025 with Momentum Integrated on Wilson Audio Sabrina.
While D’agostino may have a touch better bass slam and more open top end it can’t compete with Vitus midrange quality and overall musicality. Sound with SIA-025 has amazing texture, body and color. It reminds me a little bit Dartzeel NHB-108 in terms of micro dynamics, but with fuller and better controlled bass.
And don’t be fooled by its power rating. Those 25 watts (in A class) are way more powerful than many pre/power combination.
The same thing with bigger models.
In the past I compared directly Momentum preamp/stereo amp with 50W A class Vitus SS-101 (set as a integrated) on Avalon Isis. The conclusion was similar, despite the difference in prices.
Regardless of the technology, whether it’s tube or solid state I found those two amps (SIA-025 & SS-101) as a most satisfying one in my hifi adventure.
Interesting feedback, thanks. I was really impressed with the Danny boys when I heard them with the Wilson Alexandria but that was with a full loom of transparent opus mm2 and vivaldi stack. Never compared them to anything. Difficult to find people who have compared them to some of the good electronics I have heard. Your feedback will contribute to helping me eliminate the urge to buy electronics that I cannot afford and do not require
I wouldn't describe the SIA-025 as clinical and lacking emotion. I like the warmth and dynamics when the music calls for it.
Regards
Cyclopse
Just the way I have interpreted what I heard Cyclopse, perhaps other factors were at play? Slight tangent, I also found the SCD-025 to be both extraordinarily detailed whilst extraordinarily cold, clinical and lacking in the humanities of recordings that I knew well.
Perhaps that's just me tho!
Hi,
Unfortunately classical music is not my first or even second choice. Sorry for that. I'm rather rock & jazz guy
But I preferred Vitus mainly because of more lifelike presentation. SS-101 has unique magic in midrange like good SET. Black background, fluidity and smoothness. But it's not only that - it has amazing dynamic potential and bass capability. More will tell you its weight - 85 kg. Kinda heavy for 50W amp
In comparison Momentum combo sounded brighter (but not bright in general), just more like nice, polite solid state with very good PRAT. Maybe bass was more punchy and better controlled, but for me Momentum combo lacks those addicting vocals and timbre of acoustic instruments.
Other thing is that there’s a giant difference in prices between two (around 2:1 in 2014).
Of course with D’Agostino you get two separate amazing looking, very expensive chassis and the preamp has multiple inputs. SS-101 has more minimalistic chassis though IMHO great looking, inputs are limited to a single pair of XLR and RCA and you have to pay extra for a remote if you want to use it as a convenient integrated amp , but still I found to be a way better value. I have not tried it yet with dedicated preamp like SL-102/101, but know people who prefer it with just this simple internal, relay based volume control.
To be precise all comparisons were made mainly with the DCS front-end (Puccini at the time), which is my first digital source recommendation for Vitus amps. I recently tried the newest Rossini player and the sound was even better. Hard to imagine what the Vivaldi stack can bring.
All the best,
Kamil
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