Vitus SM-103 Monos Demo

[AThrillOfHope]

Many thanks. Before we switched to the Vitus SM-103s, we tried a variety of other amps, including MSB, Gyrphon, Westminster Labs REIs, Pass Labs, and a few others. Once the 103s broke in the decision was immediately clear. You can’t unhear them, so nothing else would do.

I think MSB makes some great amps, but for me both their DACs and amps lack the warmth of natural sound. Not everyone is the same, so I can understand why some would like them. Our EMM DAC just barely edged out the Select II in our earlier testing. This said, I could have lived with the Select II, but it wasn’t my favorite. I didn’t know that they weren’t even recognized in the 2022 products of the year - I guess I need to read my copy. They did just come out with their Director. So, this may change the sound for the better.

Hi Joe,

Thanks for the feedback on the DACs and amps.

May I ask how the Gryphon sounded compared to the Vitus? I have owned Pass and currently own Gryphon Essence monos—which is nowhere near your level, but hope to get there one day.

The Gryphons are by far the best amps we have had to date. But I have heard the Dagastino Momentum monos (XVX) with the Wilson Alexx Vs and MSB Select and Nagra HD preamp. Bar none the best system I have personally heard.

Do you have an opinion as to how Wilson compares to Magico?
Sorry for the questions—your expressed love of music and audio makes your opinion so valuable here.

Sincerely,
Greg

 

[Audire]

Hi Joe,

Thanks for the feedback on the DACs and amps.

May I ask how the Gryphon sounded compared to the Vitus? I have owned Pass and currently own Gryphon Essence monos—which is nowhere near your level, but hope to get there one day.

The Gryphons are by far the best amps we have had to date. But I have heard the Dagastino Momentum monos (XVX) with the Wilson Alexx Vs and MSB Select and Nagra HD preamp. Bar none the best system I have personally heard.

Do you have an opinion as to how Wilson compares to Magico?
Sorry for the questions—your expressed love of music and audio makes your opinion so valuable here.

Sincerely,
Greg

Thanks. Gryphon sounds great. But for me it sounded a little “dark.” Don‘t get me wrong it sounded really really good (and “very” powerful) but for my taste just a little too dark. But their sound signature fits other people perfectly.

Wilsons are great speakers. One of my first high end experiences was with the WAMMs - a long time ago, but I still remember them to this day. I heard my friend‘s Alexia Series II. They sounded very good, but not near the experience I had with the older WAMMs. However, again “for me personally”, as I’ve grown in my listening preferences the Wilson bass sounds somewhat boomy. Magicos on the other hand have a more refined and IMO better executed bass. And with the right amps (and Pre) the Magico mids and highs are to die for. But if I had the proper room, either (prefer a larger Wilson, Alexx on up) would be accepted.

At this level it’s hard to go wrong. These are all fine products at the top of the audiophile chain IMO.

 

[Audire]

Did you compare the Thrax power amps - would love the opportunity to listen to a Heros - Dionysos combo & a Vitus combo in the one room...

I haven’t tried their amps. They run hot so they aren’t a consideration for me here in Florida. But I do have their Pre and DAC enroute. Should be here next week for a demo.

 

[mtemur]

I bought the Shun Mook Diamond Resonators about 20 years ago. I used Giants with the ASR Emitter 2 amp (only under the amp, not under the three power supplies). And I had the old ( = bigger) Supers under the Wadia 830. Speakers were HGP Fuga ST (out of business). That worked great. Then came the Giants under the SIA025 and the Super under the SCD025 with Gauder RC7 speakers. This was not a good pairing. Mpingo discs also "work" only on the Gauder speakers, but not on the Vitus gear.
Stillpoints, Ansuz Darkz or Harmnoix are similar in character, Shun Mooks are quite different.

I think SIA 25 has a lot of screws below making it difficult to place the SM?

IMHO shun mook resonators (super, ultra or giant) are not sounding great under any amplifier. A little bit tipped up and as if something is off. It’s ok if you have a bass heavy speaker. On the other hand they sound great under source components. IMHO shun mook products sound amazing and like nothing else when used properly and if you are lucky.

 

[ashandger]

Many thanks. We are just beginning to look for a different line stage, DAC, and CD. I have a Thrax Pre and DAC coming next week.

Our DAC testing will hopefully include the Horizon DAC, Ideon Absolute E & Time, Thrax Maximinus, Aqua HiFi Formula xHD DAC, Playback Designs MPD-8 Dream DAC, and Berkeley Alpha DAC Series 3. We’ve already eliminated the MSB Select II, Reference, and Luxman from further consideration. We already own the EMM DA2V2 DAC and it is our current reference point to compare against others.

As far as Line stages we will be trying the Thrax Pre and Vitus Master Piece. We’ve already tried the Vitus Signature Pre and the jury is still out on it.

As far as CD we currently own the EMM, and have eliminated the Playback Designs and Luxman. We will hopefully demo the Vitus Masterpeice CD and the Kalista DreamPlay.

Many thanks for the wonderful feedback. Please keep us posted on your trials. Vitus amps are now firmly on my shortlist. Many thanks

 

[AThrillOfHope]

Thanks. Gryphon sounds great. But for me it sounded a little “dark.” Don‘t get me wrong it sounded really really good (and “very” powerful) but for my taste just a little too dark. But their sound signature fits other people perfectly.

Wilsons are great speakers. One of my first high end experiences was with the WAMMs - a long time ago, but I still remember them to this day. I heard my friend‘s Alexia Series II. They sounded very good, but not near the experience I had with the older WAMMs. However, again “for me personally”, as I’ve grown in my listening preferences the Wilson bass sounds somewhat boomy. Magicos on the other hand have a more refined and IMO better executed bass. And with the right amps (and Pre) the Magico mids and highs are to die for. But if I had the proper room, either (prefer a larger Wilson, Alexx on up) would be accepted.

At this level it’s hard to go wrong. These are all fine products at the top of the audiophile chain IMO.

Thank you for your time and feedback. I know the Wilsons are ported speakers and the Magicos are not, which largely explains their different handling of bass, I believe.

Not to sound sappy, but your journey has piqued my interest in brands I never seriously considered. Thank you for this. This is what community is all about--support and encouragement.

A quick observation which you have encouraged me in: the Gryphon Essence monos that we have paired with our Wilson Alexia 2s are designed with a subdued bass frequency--largely due to their 110 watt Class A rating. Ironically, you have made me feel better about this one element of the Essence monos that we missed from our previous 1200 watt Class AB amps: the BOOM. But the more we listen and discuss, there is a difference between powerful bass and just a big bass response. Proper bass should reach the lowest frequencies (where are Essence monos struggle just a bit) but do so in a polished, tight, and accurate manner. And this is one thing the Essence monos do extremely well.

In short (ha--ruined that many posts ago), an accurate and distinct bass is far more important than wattage to create a quantity of bass response.

Bless you, my fellow audiophile friend.

 

[Barry2013]

Many thanks for the wonderful feedback. Please keep us posted on your trials. Vitus amps are now firmly on my shortlist. Many thanks

I don't have any experience of Shun Mooks under amps and have used Stillpoints for some years now.
I had Ultra Vs under my Vitus 025 which then went under my 030. I was advised that the Ultra6 V2s worked particularly well with the 030 so I tried them. They proved an ideal match for my 030 and I have had four of them under it for the past 18months .
Whilst I don't know I would be pretty certain that they would be an equally good match for other Vitus amplifiers.

 

[Thieliste]

Many thanks. We are just beginning to look for a different line stage, DAC, and CD. I have a Thrax Pre and DAC coming next week.

Our DAC testing will hopefully include the Horizon DAC, Ideon Absolute E & Time, Thrax Maximinus, Aqua HiFi Formula xHD DAC, Playback Designs MPD-8 Dream DAC, and Berkeley Alpha DAC Series 3. We’ve already eliminated the MSB Select II, Reference, and Luxman from further consideration. We already own the EMM DA2V2 DAC and it is our current reference point to compare against others.

As far as Line stages we will be trying the Thrax Pre and Vitus Master Piece. We’ve already tried the Vitus Signature Pre and the jury is still out on it.

As far as CD we currently own the EMM, and have eliminated the Playback Designs and Luxman. We will hopefully demo the Vitus Masterpeice CD and the Kalista DreamPlay.

Joe if you like a very engaging sound you should also add the Totaldac d1-Twelve Mk3 to your demo list.
Just my 2 cents.

 

[Easy Gliders]

*** these amps are ours to keep, or we can change to silver, app 3-6 months - still deciding *** Tough decision.

@Audire, are you keeping these black ones or ordering a silver pair?
I am thinking of upgrading my SIA-030 to these mono blocks. Thanks for your enthusiastic and favorable reviews.
Anymore updates on these Vitus SM-103 mono blocks?

 

[Audire]

@Audire, are you keeping these black ones or ordering a silver pair?
I am thinking of upgrading my SIA-030 to these mono blocks. Thanks for your enthusiastic and favorable reviews.
Anymore updates on these Vitus SM-103 mono blocks?

The black ones next to the black M3s look fantastic to us, so we are keeping them.

However, the other Vitus MP gear we purchase will be silver to match the remainder of the color theme set by the stack of three silver Aurender units on the left side. The stack in the middle is black for contrast.

 

[Audire]

We’ve decided to bite the bullet and order at least a Vitus Masterpiece L201 Mk. II Line Stage and the absolutely stunning Vitus Masterpiece T201 Mk. II CD Transport. Delivery time is unknown at this point. The order goes in tomorrow if everything works out.

We are still thinking about the DAC. We enjoyed the Ideon Absolute E + Time very much. It’s the top DAC so far that we have demoed. Lampi still hasn’t contacted me back concerning when they are doing go do a home audition. We may try another DAC in the mean time.

 

[LL21]

We’ve decided to bite the bullet and order at least a Vitus Masterpiece L201 Mk. II Line Stage and the absolutely stunning Vitus Masterpiece T201 Mk. II CD Transport. Delivery time is unknown at this point. The order goes in tomorrow if everything works out.

We are still thinking about the DAC. We enjoyed the Ideon Absolute E + Time very much. It’s the top DAC so far that we have demoed. Lampi still hasn’t contacted me back concerning when they are doing go do a home audition. We may try another DAC in the mean time.

Congrats and exciting.

I have to say you have been very disciplined, very thorough in your evaluations across the various designers in audio in your system...and then very definitive about your impressions of the Masterpiece Series...which by all accounts is indeed phenomenal. I think you 'must' audition the Masterpiece DAC at this stage?

Given the preamp, amp and now transport as well...I hate to ask 'how can you not?' but...how can you not? It seems like there is every chance it too blows you away!

 

[Easy Gliders]

Congrats and exciting.

I have to say you have been very disciplined, very thorough in your evaluations across the various designers in audio in your system...and then very definitive about your impressions of the Masterpiece Series...which by all accounts is indeed phenomenal. I think you 'must' audition the Masterpiece DAC at this stage?

Given the preamp, amp and now transport as well...I hate to ask 'how can you not?' but...how can you not? It seems like there is every chance it too blows you away!

My friend, who has a whole system of Vitus Masterpiece stereo power amplifier, preamp, DAC and CD transport, home auditioned a MSB Reference DAC and felt that the MSB Reference DAC is better than the MP-D201 MK.III DAC. He is going to get the MSB Reference DAC soon. His speakers are the Marten Mingus Twenty.
Since you have changed many of your components, you may want to audition the MSB Select II again.

 

[Audire]

My friend, who has a whole system of Vitus Masterpiece stereo power amplifier, preamp, DAC and CD transport, home auditioned a MSB Reference DAC and felt that the MSB Reference DAC is better than the MP-D201 MK.III DAC. He is going to get the MSB Reference DAC soon. His speakers are the Marten Mingus Twenty.
Since you have changed many of your components, you may want to audition the MSB Select II again.

Unfortunately, Vitus hasn’t upgraded their MP DAC in a long time. It’s only NativeDSD up to 128 and PCM up to 384kHz with 32 bit resolution. So, I can understand after hearing the MSB Ref he would desire to change … but there’s better than MSB at least to my ears.

I‘ve heard the MSB Select II and Ref DACs. I listened to them prior to purchasing our EMM Labs DA2V2, which sounds amazing. The Ideon Absolute E + Time just recently bested our EMM DA2v2 DAC. I just posted our impressions of it here. Both the Horizon DAC and the Ideon have better specs than either our EMM or the Vitus.

I still have to demo the Horizon DAC before I make my final decision,

 

[LL21]

Again, you are very thorough...I respect that. Look forward to hearing how it goes with Horizon.

 

[Amir]

Thank you Joe
I think Vitus is the best ss amplifier in the world.

I think a full vitus setup (T201/D201/L201/103) will improve the sound, Vitus players are very very analog sounding

 

[Aj123]

Thanks for the photos and the updates.
I have the Vitus 030 and the Sikora Standard Line and the same tonearm so I have high hopes that you will be happy with the Vitus power amps.
I find there is such a captivating flow to the Vitus sound and a near perfect balance to their resolution and musicality so will look forward to reading your further updates

Hi Barry, with regards to the Sikora turntable , do u use kv12 and the kuzma? Am contemplating the latter as well, but unsure on the optimal length. Would appreciate ur thoughts. Currently using the kv12 and DV 507s..thx.

 

[Audire]

Hi Barry, with regards to the Sikora turntable , do u use kv12 and the kuzma? Am contemplating the latter as well, but unsure on the optimal length. Would appreciate ur thoughts. Currently using the kv12 and DV 507s..thx.

I'm not sure what Barry is using. I use two Sikora KV12 arms (very good), but Sikora just came our with another arm that is supposed to be even better (KV MAX Zirconium). Sikora himself used a Kuzma on his own table for some time before he created his own tonearm. It should be excellent.

 

[Barry2013]

Hi Barry, with regards to the Sikora turntable , do u use kv12 and the kuzma? Am contemplating the latter as well, but unsure on the optimal length. Would appreciate ur thoughts. Currently using the kv12 and DV 507s..thx.

Thanks AJ
I use the KV12 which I am very happy with.
I have not used a Kuzma so cannot comment from personal experience, but I am aware that they are highly regarded
My guess is that a 12 inch tonearm would be more suitable.

 

[Audire]

New updates coming:

Vitus MP-201 MKII Line Stage
Vitus MP-T201 MKII Transport

Shunyata Omega XC Cable for Everest Power Conditioner
3 x Shunyata Cable Cradle Wall Plates