To Jeff Fritz,
I read your review of the Vitus Audio SS-101 amplifier with great interest. I presently own the SM-101 MKII monoblocks, but was wondering if the Boulder 2000 Series would be a better fit for my tastes: extreme neutrality, dynamics, and transparency. I was also considering the Burmester 911 MK3 monoblocks.
I would greatly appreciate as detailed a reply as you can give in this regard. I did a brief comparison of the Burmester mono amps with my Vitus amps and found that the Burmester gives a light tonal color to all recordings, which raises a little doubt about its transparency, but had better control over the bass than the Vitus. The Vitus also had very soft focus. Did you feel the same with Vitus or is it some ancillary equipment causing that?
Warm regards and happy holidays,
Sudesh
The last Vitus amplifiers I had in-house produced extremely controlled bass and had an excellent sense of dynamics. They did not sound overly warm or throw an artificially large soundstage, but were not what I would call hyper-focused either. Still, my recollection of the Boulder 2060 was of extreme neutrality and transparency -- two of your requirements. The Boulder gear is, like the Vitus, not warm or artificial in any way, and, as of this writing, might be the quietest (along with the defunct Halcro) amplifiers I've ever had in my system. I have never had Burmester in my system so I cannot comment on them.
One other contender you should definitely consider -- particularly at the price point -- is Gryphon. The newest Gryphon products are faster-sounding and more transparent than anything the company has produced in the past, but they still retain the best attributes of the older gear, namely vise-like bass control and a massive soundstage. My understanding is that the new Mephisto is also very transparent. A single Mephisto might be just what you are looking for. . . . Jeff Fritz
