pass labs xa 100,5 vs Vitus sm 101


hard to decide to replace my xa 100.5 with vitus sm 101
how much gonna improve my sys.
mikelikehk
Hi Melbguyi
Much appreciation for your info
One of my friend ,a vitus dealer ,wanna sell me this 3 yr demo sm101 at $25000,I have no idea if the deal worthwhile.
My current sys : Ayon cd5s with pass lab xa100.5 and speakers revel salon2. And I'm bi-amplifying with 2 sets of Andromeda speaker cables.
They sound wonderful. I never listened vitus so have no idea about it.
What you think about the price ?
Thank you very much for your advice
YW Mikel. To be honest, $25k is not a good deal on the SM-101 mono's. If you want my opinion, for that budget I would buy the current Vitus SIA-025. The SIA-025 was recently updated & now puts out 25 watts Kl.A & 150 watts Kl.A/B (switchable). The SIA-025 is a great integrated amp & has a lot of power. The benefit of this move is, you would have a much better preamp than your Ayon (based on the SL-102). I used to own a modded Ayon CD-5s. It has a nice linestage for the money, but it is not a good idea mixing SM-101 mono's with your Ayon imho. Plus SIA-025 would be more in balance with the rest of your system & you can direct funds from a future Vitus preamp toward a better front end (eg: Vitus SCD-025Mk2). You have the basis of a very nice system. The Salon 2's a very nice indeed & have a great BE tweeter. Food for thought..
Ebm, I can't say I agree with you. Have you heard the SIA-025? Or SL-102 preamp? Moreover, have you taken any time to learn about the design and extremely high build quality of their products? I can tell you, Vitus are using even more expensive and accurate CNC and robotic machinery than Boulder. It is awesome. If you want to talk about over-priced gear, let's start with Raidho and Zensati for two.