I own vitus sia 025. Demoed the gryphon diablo 300
before going vitus. Both are fantastic but decided to
go vitus because of its midrange warmth that i find
so appealing that listening to to neutral speakers like
magico, wilson and vivid is almost like listening to bbc
inspired speakers, hence the midrange magic. Even
bad recordings becomes good.
if you like prat, slam and ultra neutrality, go with gryphon.
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The SIA-025 as a lower powered, sweet sounding class A amp is quite a different beast from the RI-101 which is a 300 watts class AB brute. (But still excellent) How either of these may compare to Gryphon I will leave to others that have heard both. I doubt you could go wrong with any of these choices however, as they are all top echelon gear.
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Thank you so much guys.
I like Prat and musicality. I can deal with tone such warm or neutral but won’t like slam or soulless. I’ve been exposed to sweet and romantic probably because my past gears and CDs so I could con’t or change to new path...
I have heard both units from 2 diff systems and would like to hear more from the wise. |
Here is our take on these two fabulous beasts
in general Vitus gear is sweat sounding, with a perhaps a bit more lively of a sound, with a bit less slam then the Gryphon, At a few shows the Diablo 300 sounded good but was not the wow inducing sound of the bigger more expensive Gryphon products.
You may want to add the T+A gear to your uber list, the T+A PA 3100HV is one of the worlds finest integrated amplifiers and hits a beautiful neutral point of being a bit on the warm side with excellent detail and a very big holographic sound stage.
Dave and Troy
Audio Doctor NJ T+A dealers
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You should definitely consider T+A PA 3100 HV on that price range |
Gryphon all the way! Plain musical |
I heard the Gryphon Diablo 300 and T+A PA 3100 HV driving Magico A3 speakers. To my ears the Gryphon Diablo 300 was more detailed and opened compared to the T+A PA 3100 HV. Maybe with different speakers the results would be different.
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nasaman,
I owned the Diablo 300 for a while and have listened to the Vitus sia-030 on Focals like I own. I think that supermerio’s comments above are “dead on” on all counts. I personally think that if you have neutral speakers that the Vitus sia series is really nice. If you wants tons of bass control and liveliness the gryphon Diablo is it. All of them are great imho. Happy hunting! |
A manufacturer that doesn't get much coverage stateside is Grandinote. Take a look at their Shinai or Prestigio integrated amplifiers should lower power output be acceptable.
I also second @thyname 's recommendation for T+A , as well as both of your choices in Vitus / Gryphon.
All the best. |
Gryphon and Vitus are both great amps. I demoed both the Diablo 300 and the RI-101 and liked the RI-101 since it was a bit more organic and fit the sounds signature I have been looking for for a while. The Diablo was great, just felt that it sounded a bit harsh on some songs. If I was to guess it was from the preamp side not the amp. I felt the RI-101 combined the full body sound like tube, with clear/crisp highs, and tight controlled bass. I have never heard anything quite like it. I can only imagine how good the SIA-30 is.
If you like more forward vocals then you may like the Diablos better. It’s a total personal preference. |
A very good comparison summary of the Vitus integrateds
on Lotus HiFi website in the Blog section.
Vitus will not give you a "front row" presentation- it is more mid hall , balanced with great depth and tonality. Plenty of slam imo.
I heard the Diablo 300 with Wilson and it was very good..maybe a little dark/earthy. Ultimately, and I know this is pretty petty but I just did not like the looks of the Diablo. Looks cheap with the plastic fascia and oddly shaped. Silly, right?
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nasaman OP
Vitus versus Gryphon Your SF’s have an evil load right through the bass Stereophile: The speaker is still a demanding load for the partnering amplifier, with an impedance magnitude that drops to 2.5 ohms throughout the upper bass (fig.1). There is also a punishing combination of 4 ohms magnitude and –50 ° electrical phase angle at 70Hz that will suck gobs of current from the amplifier. https://www.stereophile.com/images/archivesart/1207SFEfig01.jpgT I don’t know about the Vitus as nowhere, does it state what it can do wattage wise on the bench into 8 4 then 2ohms loads, and if it’s Bi-polar output or Mosfet, it’s an unknown especially into these magic speakers of yours if driven right. With the Gryphon’s you know your getting an amp that will breath easy into 2ohms all day, and that’s because it’s bi-polar output huge power supply and very well designed. Your speaker at 90db will love the Diablo 120 or even better the Diablo 300. And they sound just like what you said you like you sound to be. https://gryphon-audio.dk/shop/integrated-amplifiers/gryphon-diablo-300-integrated-amplifier/ Cheers George |
nasaman OP I searched a bit harder and found a PDF from Audio Esoterica which states, "the output stages of the RI-101 are two bridged amps per channel." (Good reason to keep that quiet, and why there are no low impedance loading figures) Audio Esoterica RI-101
One aspect of the circuit design that has not changed is the topology of the output stage, which is bridged (aka ‘balanced’), which in this implementation means that Vitus is using two separate amplifiers per channel, with each amplifier powering one leg of a differential signal. This circuit topology means twice as much voltage swing and twice as much power (theoretically four times the power), plus lower noise. However, it also means twice the distortion and twice the output impedance (and therefore half the damping factor). If this is the case then stick with the Gryphon/s as the worst thing that happens when amps are bridged is they loose current ability, damping factor and stability into low impedance’s, and that’s what you have and need with the SF’s as I showed. Cheers George |
Thank you George for going extra miles... I really appreciate.
i however bought a Vitus locally and loving it to death. Saving up to upgrade the line. Might give Gryphon Diablo 300 a try in few years. Great stuff. Totally diff level. |
Nasaman
what model of vitus did you get? |
I bought the integrated Ri-100.
It’s so impressive... I’m saving up for a bigger one |
nasaman OP
I bought the integrated Ri-100.
It’s so impressive... I’m saving up for a bigger one Hmm! you will go round in circles. Try the Gryphon Diablo 300 before doing that, as that will also drive your SF’s nasty bass load impedance better than either Vitus, as it’s also the same mono’d stereo configuration as the 100. Realize that you do don’t need any more wattage as the SF’s are 91db!!!!! effecient, you need current, low damping factor and low impedance stability. mono’d stereo configuration (gives more wattage) This is what the SF’s don’t need However, it also means twice the distortion and twice the output impedance (and therefore half the damping factor, half the current less low impedance stability).
Cheers George |
Nasaman
congratulation! Please use balanced cable as much as
possible, it will be better. |
Nasaman, congrats on your purchase!
Georgehifi, you stated above you didn't know the specs of the Vitus products, not sure it's fair to give advice relying on Vitus's website marketing/specs.
While the Diablo 300 is an amazing and powerful integrated, the Vitus products have some of the most enormous power supplies around.
Vitus has a unique sound signature and if he loves the RI-100, then I have absolutely no doubt he would love the RI-101 and up even more. The SIA-30 has a similar power supply as their Masterpiece 4 piece mono blocks.
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The Vitus was so good, I could not even leave my listening chair with many attempts.
I’m A/B’ing XLR and RCA right now. With my type of music, my gear and room, RCA always come out top for the last 15 years but this Vitus.... XLR came out slightly cleaner and more enjoyable and they’re lower grade than the RCA. All cables from Purist Audio. Thanks all |
The Vitus was so good, I could not even leave my listening chair with many attempts. Yet you said this after a couple of days, I must ask why??? if it was so good. Ri-100.
It’s so impressive... I’m saving up for a bigger one With 91db speakers you have much more than enough wattage from the ri-100 (300w!!!!). More wattage will bring nothing to the table as they are still bridged amps. Georgehifi, you stated above you didn’t know the specs of the Vitus products, not sure it’s fair to give advice relying on Vitus’s website marketing/specs. You obviously did not see that later or have no idea, I found they are bridged amps, and when amps are bridged they are not the best into the kind of load OP’s Sonus Faber’s bass loading have. https://www.stereophile.com/images/archivesart/1207SFEfig01.jpg Cheers George |
I have heard as well that balanced inputs, if possible, are the way to go with Vitus given the design.
I do have to say if someone likes tubes but wants the power/bass control of solid state they should try to demo Vitus gear. Been looking for this kind of sound signature for a while and was shocked the first time I heard the RI-101. |
supermerio: are you running the Vitus in A or A/B mode? I've heard that the Vitus loses some of it's magic in A/B. If there is a Vitus dealer out there I'm curious if the RI-101 is better than the SIA-025 or SIA-03 if you have to run the latter in A/B mode. |
Russellrcncom
ilisten mostly in
a/b as i like the brighter and more
aggressive type of presentation it brings to the
music i listen to, it livens up the leading edges of
of guitars,trumphets, violins etc. If iwant a more
intimate vocal and liquid presentation; i switch to
class a.
It was actually a choice between sia 025 or the r100
seperates. I did have a little bit of remourse as i should
have gone to seperates since i heard it has a
much better slam and a bit lower noise floor.
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I have owned the Diablo 300 for a year and can tell you it was a very bad match for my Thiel CS 3.7 speakers.
If your speakers tend to be bright than don’t buy the Diablo 300 you will regret it as i did.
Vitus is much more musical, liquid sounding and has a lot of finesse as opposed to the Diablo 300.
Buy Gryphon only if your speakers are very smooth like Sonus Faber.
I now went the Vitus route with an SIA-025 Mk2 and am very happy.
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