Melco Audiophile NAS

[ac16161]

Vitus is a Danish company, they make some pretty exotic stuff. Entry level is Reference range, then Signature, Masterpiece and a money-no-object level beyond that.

Some dealers move Naim customers over to Vitus if they are fed up with the box count and noisy transformers while also wanting more refinement or an upgrade path that does not involve Statement. And their kit is so much more involving than Linn's. I run the RI-101 integrated amp and it's a superb one-box amp (it's a slightly large box though). And despite the big transformer inside, it is way quieter than the Naim rig I once ran for a few months, it's silent.

I agree with you that one can do much better than a KDS, I'd argue you can do better for less money, and for the same money you can get a long way ahead. And now that Linn have discontinued the DS range I think they have gifted a segment of the market to the competition as Linn is so system-level now.

Vitus are new to standalone streamers though a module has been available for their amps before. The RD-101 is a streamer/DAC that came out last year, and unlike my KDS it produces engaging music. At Signature level there is a DAC/CD combo that is also available in DAC-only form, though I've heard a rumour that a streamer version of the Signature DAC is coming soon. Similar ballpark in price probably to the Rossini.

Only thing that's poor with Vitus at present is their website. Hopefully they'll fix that as some product info is out of date.