The expression “entry level” covers a vast swath of price points in the high end. For Vitus Audio, a premium maker of electronics from Denmark its Reference Series, which includes the RI-100 is at $13k, entry level. The Reference RI-100 is a line stage integrated amp but it’s not my first date with a Vitus Audio amp. In Issue 218, I reviewed the Signature Series SIA-025, a marvelous Class A line stage integrated and at a vertiginous $25k the most expensive one I’ve reviewed to date. So it would be natural to assume that the RI-100 at roughly half the price could be a big step down. Not by a long shot. The RI-100 is essentially the Vitus Audio RS-100 solid-state stereo amplifier with the addition of a linestage preamp. It outputs a stout 300Wpc into 8 ohms and tips the scales at 88 lbs.
As powerful as the RI-100 is, that was not the key sonic element that stands out for me. What really struck home was the lack of an electronic signature throughout the frequency spectrum. It’s supernaturally quiet. There’s impressive transient speed that seamlessly integrates with a richly harmonic sonic landscape. It’s not euphonic in the classic tube-sense of the word, nor is it etched or pushy like less desirable solid-state.
It also reproduces the delicate world of space and ambience around the music like few amplifiers I’ve experienced. It’s a quality that fixes a musical image in a precise position but without disturbing the distinct ambient space that image is occupying. It’s like a mysterious curtain of reverberant sound, an ambient backdrop–a near-subliminal energy dense and alive–that the musical images are enfolded into and play off of. The string sections of Appalachian Spring have buoyancy and a lack of stridency that on more than one occasion had me recollecting the flawless treble performance of the pure Class A SIA-025 [Reference Recordings].
On balance, it gives away little to its highfalutin pure Class A Signature Series siblings. They present music in its fullest spectrum with astounding presence and energy. Both are fluid and articulate. But to these ears, the Class A SIA-025 has a riper flavor, and a micro-presence that expresses the smallest dynamic gradients and image clusters (orchestral section layering and choral groups come to mind) in a way the larger amp can’t quite match. By the same token the RI-100 powers through the broader swaths of large-scale symphonies and high intensity pop/rock in a way that makes most other amps seem a bit submissive in comparison. An alpha amp if ever there was one. More to come on this one soon.
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By Neil Gader
My love of music largely predates my enthusiasm for audio. I grew up Los Angeles in a house where music was constantly playing on the stereo (Altecs, if you’re interested). It ranged from my mom listening to hit Broadway musicals to my sister’s early Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Beatles, and Stones LPs, and dad’s constant companions, Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett. With the British Invasion, I immediately picked up a guitar and took piano lessons and have been playing ever since. Following graduation from UCLA I became a writing member of the Lehman Engel’s BMI Musical Theater Workshops in New York–working in advertising to pay the bills. I’ve co-written bunches of songs, some published, some recorded. In 1995 I co-produced an award-winning short fiction movie that did well on the international film-festival circuit. I was introduced to Harry Pearson in the early 70s by a mutual friend. At that time Harry was still working full-time for Long Island’s Newsday even as he was writing Issue 1 of TAS during his off hours. We struck up a decades-long friendship that ultimately turned into a writing gig that has proved both stimulating and rewarding. In terms of music reproduction, I find myself listening more than ever for the “little” things. Low-level resolving power, dynamic gradients, shadings, timbral color and contrasts. Listening to a lot of vocals and solo piano has always helped me recalibrate and nail down what I’m hearing. Tonal neutrality and presence are important to me but small deviations are not disqualifying. But I am quite sensitive to treble over-reach, and find dry, hyper-detailed systems intriguing but inauthentic compared with the concert-going experience. For me, true musicality conveys the cozy warmth of a room with a fireplace not the icy cold of an igloo. Currently I split my time between Santa Fe, New Mexico and Studio City, California with my wife Judi Dickerson, an acting, voice, and dialect coach, along with border collies Ivy and Alfie.
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