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Now I use both releases for reviews since they brilliantly demonstrate certain behaviour of a machine under inspection. With the Vitus the Fantasy album sounded very nice - not ‘good’ because much musical information both spatial and instrumental was lacking but still not bad overall. I needed that test to determine the extent to which the Danish converter’s voicing affects its ability to differentiate and impacts its selectivity. Differentiation was excellent and could actually become a control reference which shows even minute changes in color, tonality and dynamics. Its selectivity however was fairly average. Apparently that's the price to be paid for this and not any other type of sound.

How could I have such a pleasant experience with the muddled Fantasy edition? I listened to another recording known for not being very transparent or and selective, namely the Japanese HQCD reissue of the iconic Stokowski reading of J.S. Bach’s Toccata and Fugue. As the Evans it was very large and intimate, not really stunningly rich in detail and acoustic cues yet the presentation was unique in its immediacy, in how it appealed to my sense of its properties, to my need of these and not other proportions of music reproduced in the home. Those for whom ‘detail’ is an essential component of accurate reproduction won’t be happy. And I would not want to judge which approach is better since both alter reality to be up to individual preference. All I’m saying is that it was not a detailed selective sound.


On the other hand there was no trace of mud, choking or dullness to definitely be warm though not too much so. The two Bill Evans Trio editions showed something else too. The Vitus converter has phenomenal resolution. That is why the Fantasy edition remained so interesting. Here I don’t mean minute details which are absent on the recording but textures, consonance, intentional and accidental changes in intonation and such. That’s what the MP-D201 showed in a unique way.

And that also best demonstrated the differences between Vitus and EMM Labs XDS1 SE. The Canadian SACD player also seems warm but at the same time is very nicely open on top with an excellent tonal balance. The Vitus is clearly warmer due to its rounded-off treble and emphasized lower midrange. Yet it is with the Vitus that most our records already consigned to oblivion will revive. Even their bass will show itself more fully and actually better than they deserve. With high-quality recordings we also get better detail all presented on a large full lush soundstage.

You will appreciate the slight weighting of the sound to understand how it was done so let’s not kid ourselves. But really, what isn't done? This sound at least has character. You could even say that it's got guts. I focused on resolution and selectivity as the two most important indicators of the sound. Color is important too. However when we connect the MP-D201 to a good system we won’t immediately start analysing. For a long time we will just listen and be curious how the next album will sound. And curiosity always is a good sign that something interesting is going on. Whether we ultimately conclude that the sound is for us or not, it’s obvious that we are dealing with something deliberate and crafty.

That’s exactly how the Vitus converter works. Its character is clear from the beginning. It dominates the presentation to impose itself on the entire system. It’s an incredibly coherent sound with powerful very well differentiated bass. It is a bit on the soft side but within reasonable limits to resemble what we would get from good decoupled turntables. The midrange is obviously most important here and as such it is the Vitus magnet with the strongest attraction. Since the treble feels rounded off, the vocal range sounds even warmer and fuller. The sound is on the verge of casualness, i.e. one step further and it would be too warm. But exactly the same happens with turntables. In my opinion that’s what should ultimately decide whether the MP-D201 is for you. Its sonic character was developed for the greatest possible smoothness, silkiness and fluidity. As always you have to pay with something else. Here the price to pay is selectivity.


Conclusion. The Vitus DAC changes the sound. It presents it in a warm big expansive fashion. The treble is slightly weak and sweetened. The lower midrange and bass are a little stronger to reinforce the impression of the treble’s withdrawal. Such tonal balance allied with excellent resolution places the sound closer to vinyl (but not to analog per se as master tape still sounds different). It is an engaging sound which gently massages our necks while we immerse ourselves in the next album. Dynamics are high as evidenced by 24/176.4 HRx recordings from Reference Recordings fed from laptop via USB. A large symphony orchestra sounds spectacular because the DAC maintains proper proportions between instruments and at the same time can hit brutally hard when required.


Electronic music will sound less explosive and selective than we are used to. Jarré or Depeche Mode will show great color and not sound nervous at all but there won’t be an abundance of space between the sounds which we’d get with a more selective device. All inputs perform quite similarly which speaks well of the designer. USB was a special surprise because it really was not much different from S/PDIF and with 16/44.1 material can occasionally sound more direct and intimate than CD. The USB input slightly increased instrumental size and moved the perspective closer. I liked the AES/EBU least because the sound was a bit smaller and drier but that may be a solution if the whole system is overripe and too sugary.

The Vitus is a very expensive DAC with an excellent USB input and unusual tone color. It is not very selective and not all kind of music suits it equally but let’s remember that we are still talking about top high-end here. Well crafted it has behind it a specific individual with his own sonic vision placed directly at our fingertips. And this vision will charm many a music lover I’m sure. I could live with it.