High End 2015: Vitus Audio

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HE15_Logo_GB_01I’ve been using some Vitus Audio Reference electronics in my reference system for some time now, mainly on the recommendation of a friend and long-time dealer, Doug White at The Voice That Is.

I’ve been very impressed with Hans-Ole Vitus, who cuts an altogether impressive figure in “real life” as he does with his product offerings. He’s very approachable, very much a pragmatic fellow, and an entirely no-BS kind of audiophile. That said, his electronics are the very epitome of “high-end”, and the prices of his “Master Level” electronics — the very pinnacle of his thinking and designs — are nothing short of eye-popping.

But for me, it’s that middle segment that I’ve always identified as the best blend of extreme performance and value.

No one is ever going to think of a €21k integrated as “affordable”, and that’s just as it should be. But what if I told you that that very same product, the SIA-025, is actually being offered at a lower price today than when it was introduced? And by a considerable margin — when I first investigated the SIA-025 in 2012, the list price was (about) €24k! A 1/8 reduction in price, without a “Clearance” sticker attached to it, is unheard of. No, I mean that. I can’t think of another current-rev product seeing a published price reduction, much less one at this level. Viva la difference!

New on the floor was the SCD-025 II (€19k), which features a brand-new USB input and a new DAC section, both of which now support DSD over USB. That fed an SIA-025 integrated (here used as a pre), into the new 100wpc SS-025 (€21k) stereo amplifier, and drove the big diamond-tweeter Berlina RC7 Mk II from Gauder Akoustic. Furutech cabling and a Stillpoints rack rounded out the set. A little Marshall amp, tucked into the corner, was actually a fridge.

I was listening to music from the $26k ReQuest music server into the SCD-025, but a monster Transrotor Tourbillon FDM, with a $15k Swedish Analog Technology tonearm carrying the new Ortofon A95 cartridge, was also in the room (total of about $60k), connected to the main rig by way of the Vitus Audio SP-102 (€32k) phono pre.

Deep bass, soaring highs, completely wrap-around-you music. The sound was absolutely sublime.

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About Scot Hull 1063 Articles
Scot started all this back in 2009. He is currently the Publisher here at PTA, the Publisher at The Occasional Magazine, and the Executive Producer at The Occasional Podcast. There are way too many words about him over on the Contributors page.