Discovery - Product of the Year Award - HiFi+ 2004

It's a brave company that debuts with an £18500 phono and line-stage combination. It takes bravery on quite another level to put your faith in running them from batteries. Yet Vitus Audio seem to have passed both tests with no apparent trouble; the presentation of the products is as good as anything out there, while the battery supplies are simple,effective and failsafe. But, most importantly of all, the sonic performance fully justifies the extravagant pricing. Given the chequered history of battery power in the world of hi-fi, it's even more surprising when someone actually gets it right. Theoretically speaking, the benefits should be clear enough, but all too often the sonic results are marred by a lack of dynamic range and authority, further undermined by tortuous and unreliable operating procedures.

Well, maybe it's one of the few things that we actually have to thank mobile phones for, but batteries are considerably more compact, powerful and easier to use than ever before. Combine that with enough brute power and suddenly they take on a new viability. Which, no surprise, is exactly what's happening here. Listen to the Vitus pre-amp and you hear a wonderfully natural, unforced and beautifully paced performance. The fluidity of musical phrasing is combined with a real sense of grip and authority, whilst the music is entirely devoid of edge or grain. It makes for a seductive listening experience, one that combines the tonal appeal and dimensionality of vacuum tubes with the transparency and detail of the best solid-state designs.

Operationally too, these units are up with the best in terms of their facilities and the user interface that controls their considerable adjustability. The two, independently and externally adjustable inputs to the phono-stage are just one case in point that demonstrates the clarity of thinking that's gone into these products. There's much here than many a more established manufacturer would do well to emulate. When superb standards of fit, finish and operation combine with sound as musically enticing and convincing as this, the products responsible demand attention. That they come from a new and until now unknown company is as impressive as it is encouraging. Those who haven't lost sight of the purpose and goal of hi-fi should look forward to great things from designer Hans-Ole Vitus.