VITUS SM-100 amp. What do they sound like?

This is a follow up to my post above. I have had the SS-010 with the Coltranes for about 6 weeks. I would like to expand upon a couple of points:

a. Naturalness - the sound coming from the Vitus and Coltranes is very very very natural. There is nothing harsh nor soft, just very natural. The sound is fully extended on both ends without being bright, sterile or soft. I really can't emphasize this point enough.

b. Tonality - of all the amps I have owned/heard (Boulder, Vac, Spectral, Nagra, ARC, Krell, Jadis, KR Enterprise, MBL), this is by far the most natural and pure tonality I have heard. This said, I have not heard many of the best SET amps, so please take this into consideration. Imagine a kick to a bass drum that not only has dynamic impact, but sound reverberation, decay and tonality that sound like a real life drum. Yes, a real life drum. While playing the Shelly Manne / Jack Marshall "Sounds Unheard Of" LP, there are many isolated sounds that allow the listener to fine tune their systems. In this case, I was easily able to fine tune my analog setup to make the bass drum sound lifelike. Notice I said lifelike and not hi-fi. The amp just allow the music to pass thru without any coloration or emphasis in any tonal region. Dynamics were wonderful and tonality was just like you would hear with a real life drum.

I would be happy to address any specific questions you might have. Please post them here on audiogon or call me 952-472-9099.

Thanks, Pat

They sound great! Especially with Coltrane. But I'm not really good at describing sound, I'll leave that to the real "experts". Suffice to say that Coltrane - SM-100 combo is very fast and dynamic. And great... I never heard the ML 33H so I cannot make any comparisons. But I'm personnally thinking of getting me a pair of sm-100.

Maxx1973,

As promised, here is my feedback on the SS-010 and the Marten Design Coltranes. Please note, I have only had the Vitus SS-010 in my system for 4 days.

1. I first noticed that this is the only solid state power amp that I have had in my system that is grain free. There is absolutely no sense of electronic grunge/grain with this amp.

2. The Vitus SS-010 is built to the highest quality, on par with Boulder and Lyra Connoisseur (two of my favorite highest build quality pieces).

3. The Coltranes, as you know, are 89db efficient. The 25 watt Vitus SS-010 amp drives them without any strain. I have a modestly sized room (14'x17'x9') and I listen to relatively loud levels on rock and large scale classical. The amp is only 4 days old, so I have yet to start maxing output, but will report more later. I can only imaging that the 50w and 100w units would add that much more headroom and drive for larger room requirements.

4. Top end is crystaline without any etchiness. It really is surprising coming from a solid state amp.

More to come later. Please note, in the spirit of full disclosure, I am a dealer for Vitus and Marten Design.

If you have any questions, please feel free to see our website www.banpuku.com

Hi Maxx1973,

As the importer of the line I can lend some insight. All Vitus amps tend to perform with more apparent power than their power-rating implies. I've used the 50 watt SS-101 vs. a pair of well-regarded 1200w monoblocks on a pair of German Physiks "The Carbon" loudspeakers - only to have the Vitus sound more detailed, more in control of the LF, and delivering better spatial and imaging cues. No sense of strain whatsoever.

I've used the 25 watt SS-010 to drive several conventional loudspeakers, including Peak Consult Princess System and InCognito-X, and never wanted for power or resolution. Peak COnsult have actually used this very same 25 watt amp to power their ultra-huge DRAGON loudspeaker in demonstration - chosen because the amp delivered everything that the Dragon was capable of doing.

The sound of a Vitus amp is very clean, undistorted, unstrained, powerful, and very highly resolved. Tonal balance is the best I've heard from a solid-state amplifier and among the best I've heard in the world, period. Built like a Sherman tank, too.

Anyone???