"You have got to check out Vitus," Jon Iverson enthused. When I did, I took his point. Vitus Audio is the love child of Hans-Ole Vitus, who takes a holistic approach to audio design. Vitus products are, he explains, the result of relationships—not just parts and circuits, but how they interact with one another. I suspect, from looking at the gear, Vitus is also concerned about beauty, too.

Vitus uses "super precision resistors, matched transistors, and direct-coupled input stages. Its locally shunted power supply provides "absolute silence," Vitus claims.

The SL-010 line stage ($14,000) and SP-101 phono section (can't read my notes) appeared to back up that claim. Music emerged from silence with three-dimensional clarity, possessing surprising warmth.

I'm going to keep my eye (ears) on Vitus.