Are there any VMPS owners in this forum? (1 Viewer)

[EdNichols]

VMPS has a following in a couple of the other forums so I just wondered if there were any in this forum. If so what speaker do you own and how do you like it?

 

[Kevin_R_H]

Hello Ed,

I own VMPS RM40 speakers - I've had them for about a year. I run them full-range with tube monoblocks (my preamp is tubed also).

They sound just fine to me.

Kevin

 

[EdNichols]

Nice system,

Did you compare the RM 40's with anything else? If so, how did the VMPS compare to what you listened to?

 

[Jack_Geo]

Ed:

I own a pair of VMPS RM2 Neo's (had them about 6 months), and absolutely love them. I'm looking to get the center channel and maybe some 626R's for surround duty down the line.

They're big, heavy, and are a joy to listen to...I'm not sure what your situation is, but I'd definitely give them a listen if you're in the market for speakers.

Jack

 

[Tim_S]

I have a pair of RM1's. I previously had some mid-range B&W's and these are a large leap from those. I auditioned many others at dealers including the Revel Performa series speakers, some Dynaudio's and some Thiel's in the $2-3k raange and none really gave the VMPS' a close contest.

They are definitely not for everyone as setup is sometimes problematic. They are highly tunable whch means if you have the patience and the ear to set them up, you can do things you simply can not with most other speakers. On the other hand, if you aren't able to tune them well, you won't quite get the magic.

Tim

 

[EdNichols]

That is the only thing that concerns me. I have heard that they definetely require lots of tweaking. I know they have lots of adjustment and maybe that is how they are able to sound so good. Most speakers the only adjustment you have is placement in the room, whereas, I think with these guys you can adjust bass, midrange, treble also. I would be afraid I would just screw things up worse with that much adjustment. Any comment? Also, I am looking at the RM 1's and wondered if any of you have compared the RM'1's to the RM'2's?

 

[RobertR]

Ed,

You CAN tweak VMPS speakers quite a bit, but I wouldn't say you have to for them to sound good. I own a pair of ribbon edition FF1s, and I love them. I think the VMPS ribbon models in the $5k-10k range easily compete with other speakers costing 5 times as much.

 

[Kevin_R_H]

Ed,

Prior to buying the RM40s, I had extended auditions with each of the following speakers:

> Avantgarde Duo
> B & W Nautilus 801
> Gershman Acoustics Opera Sauvage
> Magnepan MG-20.1
> Martin-Logan Prodigy
> Sonus Faber Amati Homage
> Thiel CS-7.2
> Vandersteen Model 5

Note these speakers cost from $10,000 to $20,000. They all had strong points (and weak points). After almost a year of research and listening, I had decided upon the Gershmans for my new system. I had multiple conversations with Ofra Gershman in Canada. She was nice enough to even take some snapshots of their various finishes, and send them to me to help me decide which finish I wanted.

However, the completion of the home my wife and I were building got delayed 3 months, and in that interim, I "discovered" VMPS. I haven't looked back. Now I'm not going to tell you how the RM40s destroy all those speakers, because it wouldn't be true. But I'm certain that you could have 20 audiophiles audition all these speakers, and few (if any) would select the VMPS as being the "budget wannabe pretender".

As for speakers in RM40's price range, I auditioned only the Thiel CS-3.6. However, they were set up so poorly, it's not fair to judge them. Note my old speakers are Thiel CS-3.5s, and the RM40s surpass them (in my room / with my equipment) in just about every way.

I have no exposure to any other VMPS speaker.

Kevin

 

[EdNichols]

Kevin,
I guess you had a dealer whereby you could audition the VMPS or did you just take a chance and order them from VMPS on trial?

 

[Kevin_R_H]

Ed,

I ordered them on their 30 day trial.

Kevin

 

[EdNichols]

Jack,

What are using for your center now? I am assuming that it is not a ribbon? If not, how does what you have now match with your RM's on surround sound?

One more question for all of you, what are you powering your speakers with?

 

[John A. Casler]

That is the only thing that concerns me. I have heard that they definetely require lots of tweaking. I know they have lots of adjustment and maybe that is how they are able to sound so good. Most speakers the only adjustment you have is placement in the room, whereas, I think with these guys you can adjust bass, midrange, treble also. I would be afraid I would just screw things up worse with that much adjustment. Any comment?

Hey Ed,

I am a VMPS owner (who became a dealer) and I might say that the impression some have about tuning is overblown.

If you set the pots (high and mid controls) to 12:00 and remove a pea size bit of putty from the passive radiator that is all you "have" to do.

This will set the speaker at a rather "neutral" tuning and all you do is place it like any other speaker.

But if you really get into "tweaking" and such, then you can make "micro" adjustments to those systems to align with your system, room, hearing ability and personal preferences.

This cannot be done with very many other speakers. Instead of "searching" for an amp to match your speakers, like most of the others, you can adjust your speakers to match your amps, or room, or placement (etc)

Since VMPS is a rather small company, you can get plenty of set up help from either your dealer or from Brian Cheney himself sometimes.

As far as the difference between the RM1 and RM2, the main difference is that the RM2 will play louder, lower and with less strain at high volumes, since it has more drivers and larger woofers.

I like them and they are generally the first choice for most of my clients (I place over 30 brands of speakers)

Good Luck

 

[Matt Gordon]

...remove a pea size bit of putty from the passive radiator that is all you "have" to do.

Why is it there in the first place?

Not trying to start something, just asking.

 

[John A. Casler]

No, Matt, that is an excellent question,and it has to do with the fact that they come "over damped" from the factory since it would be a hassle for an owner to run out to the hardware store to pick up extra dampening putty (especially such a small amount).

It is actually good to "break them in" with a little extra mass, as it loosens them up a bit more quickly. Most however don't need the extra mass, and it can be removed and saved incase they change their rooms or the dampening character of their rooms.

9 times out of 10 however the pea size will get you close in the average room.

You would also want to remove more if you were running tubes full range, since their dampening factor and control of the woofer is generally not as powerful as SS.

Hope that helps,

ATB

 

[Jack_Geo]

Ed:

I'm currently not using a center channel...or surrounds for that matter. As I'm most concerned with music, rather than critical movie listening, I haven't taken the plunge. For the limited amount of DVD's I watch, the RM2's in stereo do just fine for me. I realize that in that way, I'm probably in the minority. Lord of the Rings still sounds pretty darn good, though!

I'm powering them with an old Fisher amp right now (don't laugh) but have two of the nOrh Le Amp II's on order. When they ship, they'll power the RM2's. Down the road, I'll probably pick up a separate amp for the low end, and use the Le Amp II's for the mids and highs.

I'm waiting for the IRD-Audio LLC-Sabai to come out, and that'll be my pre...

Hope this helps...

Jack

 

[EdNichols]

Jack,

I think that you are using an old Fisher amp to drive the RM2's is great!! Because if I do take the plunge I will be driving them with a an el cheapo receiver for a while until I can upgrade that also. If they sound good with the Fisher then I bet they will absolutely sing with the new amps. I'd love to hear about it when you get it hooked up.