Hey Documentroom, according to VA's website they have three US Dealer's & one Canadian Dealer. Vitus gear is made with extremely tight tolerances and built quality. They are using very expensive machinery to machine parts in-house and print their own boards. I've found their gear to be very reliable & have only heard of one issue with the new RCD-101 sacd player, however that issue related to the Sony SACD drive which was one of the new OEM parts.

melbguy1 December 24, 2014 20:26

Charles, your comments are like saying "I Like the look of that house" and deciding to buy it on that narrow criteria, when the framework and sound-proofing is substandard. You get what you want now, but find you wake up with a headache in years to come. Btw, I cited Boulder purely to highlight the large difference in engineering and build quality, not make a sonic comparison which is how you've take my comments. I obviously own a Vitus amp which suggests what my preference is. Personally, I wouldn't touch Constellation with a 10 foot pole. Yep, my mileage seems to be varying a lot here.

melbguy1 November 29, 2014 13:04

Charles, 'Stereo' on WBF rated the Constellation Centaur as "bronze" standard behind even Hegel. He rated Vitus Signature Series as "gold standard". He wasn't joking when he described Constellation as having average construction. Toga posted some photos on Audio Afficionado showing a power supplies for the Boulder 1060 and Centaur which highlight the striking difference in the standard of engineering. The Centaur looked like an 80's design and has a rabbit's warren of wiring, whilst the Boulder has impeccable design/engineering. You may not be able to view the above photos unless you're a member on there.

melbguy1 November 29, 2014 02:18

Doc, if you're going solid state, both brands you mentioned are good choices for synergy with S5. Though with Constellation I'm just going by reviews & show feedback as I haven't heard any Constellation gear. Lets us know how the auditions go.

melbguy1 November 27, 2014 06:50

YW Doc, btw here is a guy who is driving his Q7's with a Vitus RI-100 with the optional phono stage (and the RS-100/RD-100 is better!).

melbguy1 November 21, 2014 22:34

Good luck with your new room Doc. The S5's should hold their own in a big size room, but to be frank, I don't think your current ARC amps will enable your S5's to properly pressurize your room. If I can offer a suggestion, fyi Scot Hull from Part-time Audiophile just posted an interesting review of the Vitus RS-100 power amp & RD-100 dac/preamp which uses an updated version of Vitus's excellent analogue relay-based volume control which has "true" analogue inputs. The RS-100/RD-100 not only offer excellent bang for your high end buck & have excellent synergy with Magico, but will properly control your S5's in a large size room, or any speaker you throw at them. Scot rated the RD-100 preamp favourably against his Pass XP-30 pre. Just some food for thought.

melbguy1 October 13, 2014 20:36

Congrats on your system Doc. I also own a pair of S5's and share your enthusiasm for them. They are warm, amazingly resolving, dynamic, well balanced, coherent and have a slightly more laid back presentation than the Q3's. They respond well to some warmth upstream, so the ARC amps are a very good choice. Great choice with the AMG tt, Airtight cart & Ref 2SE phono stage. They are all great value and should work in perfect harmony. That would be the tt I would buy if I was venturing into vinyl.

Also it is pleasing to see your careful attention to detail with AC power, isolation & room treatments. We're on the same page there. Overall very nice rig good sir!

melbguy1 September 23, 2014 12:30