Vitus Masterpiece Review Part 1, MP-M201, MP-L201 and MP-P201

Vitus Audio have been around long enough to be recognized as one of the High End Brands that are here to stay. This fact is easily supported by the number of awards andaccolades given to a number of their products and the number of strong followings. However, the entry price to these branded  products are indeed steep but are notuncalled for.

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At that season, I had an open challenge to all local audio distributors to bring in their best representation. Without hesitation, Swedish Statement Malaysia which represented the Vitus Audio, answered.

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The head honcho of Swedish Statement, Mr. Koo decided to send in the Vitus Signature phono stage SP-102 and it resided in my audio system since late 2012. At that same time, I was enjoying some other formidable audio components worthy, in all intentions, to be mine to keep. My mind then was pretty settled as to what I wanted in my audio system. Then came the last component to decide, the phono stage. A close friend of mine reminded me that why not consider the Vitus phono stage since all those beautiful music were partly its credit. My immediate response was a resounding “yes”.

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All that time, I have forgotten to accord credit to that phono stage. Come to think of it, the Vitus Signature phono stage SP-102 has never call attention to itself. There was no distinct character in its presentation, in comparison with the other components in the chain then.

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I called Mr. Koo of Swedish Statement and asked him if he dare to take up another challenge to install Vitus‘ best effort in my audio system for my consideration, without any commitment on my part and that my decision and preference(s) were to be final. That daring friend took the risk and that I saluted him.

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He ordered the Vitus Masterpieces, MPL-201 line stage and the MPP-201 phono stage, that came into my room within two months.

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The Deciding Factor; RESOLUTION, RESOLUTION And RESOLUTION…

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The main determining factor in my selection of any audio component …be able to hear more through the addition or change of a component to merit my attention, irrespective of how beautiful a presentation maybe.

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My initial response to the Vitus Masterpiece MP-L201 line stage and MP-P201 phono stage was, “I could hear so much more through that Vitus”. Therefore, with that exposure, I have allowed the Vitus combo to stay on in my system…which I did not regret.

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Then came the next challenge by Hans Ole Vitus to complete a Vitus Masterpiece system with their mono amplifier, the MP-M201 and their Digital to Analogue Converter MP-D201. I took that challenge with a condition; to design the MP-M201 (which was originally a pair of mono amplifiers per side) that is able to switch between mono and bi amplification. Simply the reason that I may not always own a speaker that was bi amplifi able. I was having in my mind the Gryphon Audio Pendragon loudspeaker system. Here, I needed the MPM-201 to function as a mono amplifier with the full benefit of its “BEEFY” Regulated Power Supply.

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Therefore, the MPM-201AF (Analogue Fellowship) edition was born, with auto switching between bi-amplification and mono amplification depending on the connected loudspeakers’ configuration.

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The following impressions were sourced by the TechDas Air Force One turntable with the Swedish Analog Technologies Tonearm (SAT)and the ZYX Omega Goldcartridge, as the main analogue source on duty.

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The RIGHT Volume Level,

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Many audiophile whom I have came to know, loved the hobby due to a particular song and/or “singer“. Then, they came into the hobby to build up that whole audio system so to better enjoy that song and some with higher expectation, to experience the artistryand presence of the singer.

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They shared to me that, “almost always a playback of a good recording of the human voice would make all the investments, even the “exorbitant” one(s), worth it…with an exclamation(!)“.

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Personally, the Vitus Masterpieces would represent the above mentioned “exorbitant” one that not only entertaining, but enlightening.

The enlightenment came in the form of discovery, the particularity and sensitivity to the playback volume level of the recorded “singer/human voicefor that song“. Whatever the audio set be, and whatever the genre of music played, I would always fiddle with the volume level to find that optimum level best express the most natural details; emotion and artistry of the artist/singer/human voice and/or instrument(alist).

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Component-wise, I found that each audio brand design/component has slightly different optimum volume level for vocal and/or instrument.

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Ever since the Vitus Masterpieces’ enlightenment my listening behavior have changed slightly. My regular guests noticed that I have started to listen at a softer levelcomparatively, especially at vocal. I could not agree more, I found the masterpieces have allowed so rich a detail to flow through that I need not have to push the volume any higher to hear more. The detail in the human voice was so rich that he or she could literally touch, caressand invoke me.

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Lately, I am into the Singaporean singer, Kit Chan. Both her albums from New Century Workshop that were mastered and manufactured in Germany (NCKCLP001 and NCKCLP070911) contained tracks that I used to like(before the arrival of the Vitus Masterpieces) have turned/upgraded to love,..till my wife complained that as if I have nothing else to play!

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(Do not get me wrong,) Those tracks sounded great in all audiophile terms, when played with the other High End audio in my keep (then). However, through the Vitus Masterpieces, there were elements of seduction at played; the revelation of layers of detail, especially in herartistry, and presence. Those regular guests whom came, heard, experienced and testified to the same.

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Voice TIMEd Correctly,

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Many would preach the importance of speed and some would extend further to PRaT (Pace, Rhythm and Time), and illustrated it through the music instruments. However, most audiophiles may be alien (no real experience) with most music instrument. To better appreciate that importance, why not use the human voicethat all could easily recognized?

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The Vitus Masterpiece system, as a whole, was “my TUTOR“. They allowed the vocalist’s expression be heard at a PRaT that every nuance was clearly heard with a start and a finish. I got to enjoy the artistry and tone(s) of the vocalist’s pronunciation of every word in the lyric…the (d)emphasis of one word over the other, or one noun over the other, the pause between words, the breathing, etc…that summed up a sentence, or lyric to a song,…the sensation of a talent show’s judge?!

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Here, the regular guest asked to play the track, “Ballad of Runaway Horse” by Jennifer Warnes from the vinyl album Rob Wasserman’s Duet (MCA 42131). The challenge was to have her singing at the right tempo that the listener be able to follow her, word by word and with differing tones, “as if she is reading the lyric to you”, with the occasional emphasis of breathing, pause and bite. “Jennifer was at the top of her game in that song with all her artistries portrayed”, exclaimed .

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“Many of times, we were treated with a presentation that robbed us of all the above, and in the worst scenario, the vocalist sang “so fast or out of tempo” that if she was in a hurry to finish the song to collect her pay check“(continued the regular guest).

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I continued the pursuit with Amina Claudine Myers in her (audiophile’s favorite) album,“Amina Claudine Myers Salutes Bessie Smith” (Leo Records LR 103), especially track 3 of side A, “Jailhouse Blues”. Her first utterance alone proved that there was more to be felt and heard. Sensationally, there was more power and energy in her voice, and audibly, I could hear her skill, feeling and emotion putting them under control. The vividnessand tangibility of her lips as she tried to express a stop(!) at the lyrics bordered touchable. That showcased the Vitus Masterpieces‘ prowess to present micro dynamic and transient in the human voiceand presented the vocal, the most recognizable tone, with all intimacy, seductivenessand believability.

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“My TUTOR”, was what lingered in my mind as I listened more and more into the masterpieces. I wondered what made them so compelling and intriguing that able to capture me in a time capsule of musical session? I realized that it was the quietness orextreme low noise level from the system as a whole that did the magic here. Yes, the experience was “almost magical”.

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To illustrate further with the vinyl album from Telarc,“Boito: Prologue to Mefistofele, and Verdi:Te Deum” with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus (Telerc DG-10045). That was a dynamic orchestra presentation with occasional complex passages and, amidst those complexity, chorus that arose and took helm over the musical score. The Vitus Masterpieces not only allow those chorus to be heard so clearly within their respective space, but allow each choir member to be heard as individual, or as a voice within (a group of) voices.

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What continued to impress me from that “quietness” was that each choir member was well delineated with a certain natural boundary, (not a forceful sharpness that we tend to overdo on our television monitor) within the allocated space for the choir and all under an “atmosphere” (or the air around the venue recorded).

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I Thought I KNEW That Song?!…

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I am sure that most of us have a song or more that we play most frequent thus the confidence of knowing every detail therein. Here, I was spinning my usual heavy rotation vinyl album from Nah Youn Sun, “Voyage” (Silk Road Music SRM008LP)where at track 1, side A contain a simple whistling that both my wife and I were well aware of. At that play, that whistling was so clear and believable that my wife who was outside my audio den asked me who was whistling in there.

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What prompted that response from her, I wondered? That whistling was more of (and at) the background, and supposedly soft to add to the mood of the score. The Vitus Masterpiece did not bring forward that whistling or made it louder. The whistling just sounded more palpable, at the right tonal balance and weight, and surrounded with layer of air that floated it nicely and real. In addition, you could hear and feel the atmosphere of the recording venue here. The above resulted in the whistling being so real to my wife who was outside the audio den  that she came in looking for that whistler.

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The Other ELEMENTS In The Music,

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The Vitus Masterpieces were able to present music with all the music’s elements intact. If they were in the recording, the masterpieces would not fail to showcase each element in their rightful place and space in the musical presentation. I wished to add and highlight that each element enjoyed a presence, as it was meant and intended to be, in the score.

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Back to the same vinyl album of Nah Youn Sun, in track 4, side A, the saxophone was so full of weight, density and presence that even the air flowing through the instrument carried weight.

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As for stringed instruments, the plug of each string and it’s vibration could be easily heard together with the amount of control and strength the musician applied to each string.

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What set apart the Vitus Masterpieces from the other competitions was that you could feel and hear the string(s)’ vibrato, dynamicand transient, together with their tangible weight.

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To me, there was a whole lot of realism here that these masterpieces have reason to be named so.

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In the jazz album of “One Foot in the Gutter (A Treasury of Soul)” by the Dave Bailey Sextet (Epic BA 17008) each musician enjoyed a presence with weight in his own space within the group.

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Here, the presence carries such palpability that literally you could hear a clear full bandwidth of each musician, as if each musician was being presented by one dedicated full bandwidth loudspeaker. To me, that result was clearly the (in)ability of the Vitus Masterpieces to notemphasize any particular bandwidth that may cloud the musical presentation and the individual presence of each element therein. You could say that my experience here was that I could hear and feel the full body of each musician.

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The piano played by Diana Krall in “Live in Paris” (Verve ORG 003, vinyl 180gm/45rpm) took on such presence even when it was not suppose to be in prominence but in competition with the cello or bass in track 2, “East of the Sun (and West of the Moon) of side B. Every key played by Diana was so palpably weighted that it actually came alive in my audio system.

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The landscape of a sound or music presentation could cover other elements. However, I wished to direct the attention on the expanse of the scenery of the presentation.

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The Vitus Masterpiecessystem, with the right recordings, the presentation could go beyond the walls and ceiling of the audio room. So far, I have already heard and experienced great detailingand imaging with great density within the wide, deepand high soundstage of the presentation. I wished to introduce the factor that hold the above together to make up that “expanse of the scenery” or “soundscape” of the musical presentation, “the Air”.

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Here, that same air which so clearly and cleanly separated each musician and the main artist/vocalist, gave out that sensation as if the air became an entity itself with the musicians. It could be understood  that the air was not just distancing the musicians in the presentation but at that same time, holding the whole presentationtogether, thus expressed the “soundscape” of the music.

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A good sensation of such entity-ish air was found in Diana Krall’s Live at Paris. There the audience, the musicians backing the jazz ensemble and Diana in the middle of them all, were well separated and individualizedby that “air-entity”, and all within the “soundscape” of presentation.

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The level of transparency of the Vitus Masterpieces was “Damn Bloody Great!” (Remember my exclamation,“I could hear so much more through that Vitus”) as could be expected at their asking price. 

“As audio component, they were like a magnifying glass of the highest resolution, and musically, they were like musical instruments“.

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Their effect of the presentation of recorded detail was not “thrown at your face” or “highlighted beyond what was intended”. I preferred to believe that their presentation was native to the actual recording or what intended to be (an assumption…yes, I was not at the recording session).

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I remembered that the Vitus Signature phono stage SP-102 has that similar (but not at the same level) effect of presentation that I forgot its presence (to that extent?) in the system. Comparatively, a quick change to the SoundSmith Strain Gauge, gave immediate differences in effect of presentation. Could it be said that the Vitus Masterpieces, being much better than their Signature brethren, was so faithful and transparent to the recording that you would not notice the audio component at play but the music? I like to believe so…

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In support of the above mentioned belief, I noticed that the Vitus Masterpieces, instead of imposing their effect, character or coloration (if any), were transparent to the “character/coloration” of the connecting component(s), cables and etc. If you were a person of tweaks and candies for your audio components and audio room, you would definitely hear the change(s) made. I learnt quite a bit in tweaking my system from the “Tutor”.

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As I have mentioned above that the Vitus Masterpieces were of extreme low noise and that attributed to their transparency of (even) very low level detail…expect unhindered and clean dynamic. Unless, you have heard an even lower noise components out there, which I have yet to (of course, I have not hear them all), these components were truly masterpieces in their respective department.

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Take any of the current reissue from Analogue Productionsof Living Stereo Classicaltitles and easily one would experience so cleaned and so defined the low frequencies, with well delineated information and direction that one would not know bass until it hit one.

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I noticed that the entire range of frequencies, from the lowest low to the highest high were both clean and clear, and contained throughout with informations. In other word, I could hear as clearly and cleanly music contents at the bass as I could at the treble range.

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There was that added sensation of realism with each musical instrument, treated with full bodied-ness, within an orchestra, sending wave after waves of low low bass information coming at the listener. There were dynamic materials that I could literally, feel the waves of low bass coming at me without hearing the boom. That was as real as it got from any audio system thus far for yours truly.

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Next stop would be the Vitus Masterpiece DAC MPD-201 in the system…enjoy.

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Website: vitusaudio.com

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