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REVIEW: VMPS RM40 Speakers

64.12.116.205


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Model: RM40
Category: Speakers
Suggested Retail Price: $4600/PR
Description: FLOORSTANDING RIBBON/HYBRID TOWER
Manufacturer URL: VMPS
Model Picture: View

Review by uw312@aol.com ( A ) on July 24, 2004 at 08:16:54
IP Address: 64.12.116.205
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for the RM40


Floorstanding 66" tall tower system with dual 10" woven carbon fiber woofers (one Megawoofer), four 8" Neodymium mid panels in symmetrical array with 2 spiral ribbon tweeters, 66x12.5x17" (HxWxD), 240 lbs each. Single amp or biamp operation switchable, bass cutoff 24 Hz (-3dB). Power Handling 500W, Impedance 4 Ohms Soundcoated. 1.5" MDF baffles

KIT w/cabinet $3800pr including shipping

Factory assembled $4600pr in lite oak, dark oak or piano black, shipping FREE in USA

OPTIONS: natural cherry or black walnut veneers $400pr add; rosewood $800pr add.

I have wanted to write a review on these speakers for some time, but I wanted to make sure they were properly broken in and set up first. I am also a bit reluctant to write a review as I am certainly not as well versed in the audio lingo common to the audio geek crowd (but I am working hard at becoming a geek, mind you).

About a year ago, I decided to casually listen to a number of speakers when in close proximity to brands that I had never heard of. I was actually quite pleased with my year-old Klipsch RF-7's that I was running off a modified Jolida 302b integrated. So, I figured that I wouldn't really hear anything compelling enough to warrant a change. I happened to be at a Tweeter's one day and noticed that they had begun selling the Vienna Acoustics line, so I listend to the highest of the series that they had, the Beethovens. I was immediately struck by how much more musical and "liquid" they sounded compared to the Klipsch. I began to understand what people meant when they said that a speaker, or a system was on the "warm" side. I stopped in at Tweeters farily regularly and wished my RF-7's could sound more like the VA's. But I began thinking that the Beethovens actually sounded a little too sweet and syrupy and they were being powered by B&K solid state equipment too - how would they sound with the Cary V12R I had just picked up.

I listened to a number of speakers including the Soliloquy 6.5, Magnepan 3.6, some Thiel, and I even brought home a pair of Legacy Focus 20/20 that I had found used from a guy about 100 miles away. I can't say much about the equipment I only auditioned, since I didnt have it in my room. But, I didn't care much for the Legacy's. They just had a bit of a dark tone that I think I initially confused for that laid back quality I was looking for. In some ways, they actually reminded me of the PSB Stratus Gold i's that I owned. They were fairly well resolved, but not the greatest, they really "jammed" well, but not really any better than the cheaper Klipsch. I felt that they did a lot of things satisfactorily, but didnt really excell at anything, which surprised me a bit at that price point. What's more, is that I thought these would be good speakers in my loft which is a fairly large 30x26 with 14' ceilings. At high volumes, the sound just blended together into a horrible cacophony that made one have to go over and turn down the volume. In any event, they didnt work for me, in my room with my equipment.

So, after reading a lot of positives about VMPS, and speaking with Brian Cheney, I ordered a pair of the RM-40's with FST tweeter sight unseen. For right around $4000, they seemed like a good deal to me, considering their size and driver complement. They were shipped free, via some company I had never heard before, but it was a bit funny to see this huge tractor trailer out front delivering two rather large boxes on our suburban street. They were well packed in foam inserts and arrived without any damage whatsoever (I wish I could say the same for UPS when they delivered both my Klipsch and PSB's). I had forgotten how big they were so I had some friend help me move them around. I could see how the size of these things alone would keep some people from considering them. Fortunately, I have no wife, and the g/f is into my system so it wasnt an issue for me.

After making connections to my amp, they immediately sounded horrible. But, everyone I spoke to said these things needed an extreme amount of care to set up. Here is another reason that I could see some people might steer away from the RM40's. I guess the idea is that with the tremendous amount of adjustments, they are versatile in that they can be made to sound a number of diffent ways and can work in a wider range of rooms than some other speakers. Well, we set about taking tiny scrapes of putty from each of the low-bass drivers. I did this every day for about three weeks until we had the "pea sized ball" of putty that Brian reccomends. Sure enough, just as Brian said, the bass really came into focus and went from being incredibly sloppy with hardly any extension to a very nice, tight, focuses bass that was some of the more musical bass that I have heard. None of that one-note boom that is so irritating. It took me another few weeks to be sure I had the low and high settings on the back set to their best values. VMPS suggests both should be at about 11:30, but I had to turn the bass back to about 11:00 and the treble up to about 12:30. These things were also a bit picky about toe-in and seem to require more than any other speaker I have owned.

Now, I had been running them with the Cary alone in 100 watt ultralinear mode and they worked very well. Out of curiosity, I hooked up an old Yamaha integrate amp and while they mids and highs were what I expected from a cheap SS integrated, I noticed that the bass was even tighter and more controlled. In fact, when I reconnected the Cary I forgot that the bi-wire posts on the VMPS are "upside down" (in my opinion) with the top set of posts going to the bass, and vice versa. I had the rear switch set for bi-amping and I accidentally connected the Cary to the bass and the Yamaha to the treble. I could immediately see that compared to the ss amp, the Cary just had trouble controlling the woofers (damping factor?). I had promised my friend the Yamaha, so I called Underwood Wally for a Sunfire Symphonic Ref. 250 to power the bass (and a Channel Islands passive pre so I could match volume).

After some more fiddling and volume matching, I have to say that I am quite pleased with these speakers. I think they are incredibly resolving speakers (like I think I might have mistaken the Klipsch for) but they dont sound the least bit cold or analytical. They had just a touch of that warm, bloomy mid-range that I liked in the Vienna speakers but it was not as overdone. The highs are great and do not appear to be rolled off at all. They are nice and smooth with a good bit of air around the highs which actually kind of reminded me of the Maggies. The bass was better than any I had ever heard except for a friends old pair of Wilson Watt Puppy's (4's?). I particularly like the mids on vocals and the highs on acoustical guitar. I was also a bit surpised at how dynamic they sound, even at low volumes. This is one area I felt the Klipsch did excel at, but the 40's are at least their equal. I also never realized how much of a difference a low noise floor matters. With the Klipsch, I could usually hear a very, very low buzz with my ear right up to the horn - maybe that is due to its high efficiency (sensitivity?). But I have turned the volume up way past 2:00 and I can't hear anything from the drivers on this thing.

They seemed to be very well suited to vocal and acoustic music and I found myself listening to many of my old James Taylor CD's - even some of the old ones that I thought were poorly recorded. I began to realize how dynamic they were when I listened to an old favorite, Supertramp's "Breakfast in America." I had never realized the difference in volume between the soft and loud passages before. I spent a great deal of time with some pretty loud rock, which the 40's handled quite well. I even tried to listen to some classical, but to me, the two or three bargain bin classical discs that I own, still seem very compressed, one dimensional and totally non-involving. These are probably the CD's, and the fact that I wouldnt be able to compare one classical piece from another. I may try the CD of clarinet pieces that came with my MF CDP.

I really can't imagine anything in the $3500-$4500 price range sounding a whole lot better than the RM-40's. The only thing I would complain about is the actually quality of finish and workmanship on the cabinetry. I'm assuming that the $4k you spend gets you a pretty good deal, when you consider that 6 10" drivers, and 8 seperate midrange panels. They might be skimping just a bit on the cabinets appearance - but frankly if they do that to keep the component quality high, I don't mind too much. But, you can see the saw marks around each of the midrange ribbon pannels where the saw kind of tore the veneer rather than cut it. In two places, I can actually see pencil marks that were to denote where to cut for the ribbon panels. The gaps around the 10" drivers are a bit irregular and leave small gaps around the side of the driver. They have used a really nice piece of veneer (mine are the regular light oak) but the finish on it is very average. I almost want to get some minwax and put on a nicer finish. But, even so, the cabinets do seem well braced and solid enough when given the old knock test. So, if you care a lot about appearance, be advised that they are nowhere near the finish of a Sonus Faber, or Vienna, or other similar product.

I doubt that I will be upgrading these any time soon. I'm betting they could probably handle better electronics that I am giving them. I may eventually get an old Krell for the bass, and perhaps another V12 to bi-amp the high end alone.


Product Weakness: Not unobtrusive. Seem to need a fair amount of good power. Cabinet quality is a bit lacking. Set up was a rather difficult process - but well worth it.
Product Strengths: Great musicality in a reasonably priced speaker. Good quality components. More flexible and adjustable than most speakers.


Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier: Cary V12R in Ultralinear (w/ Svet. EL34) + Sunfire Symphonic Reference 250
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated): Audio by Van Alstine T7-EC + Channel Islands Passive Preamp (for volume matching)
Sources (CDP/Turntable): Musical Fidelity A308cr / Basis 1400 + RB250 + Clearaudio Aurum Alpha Plus
Speakers: VMPS RM-40
Cables/Interconnects: Chris VH DIY Cat-5 project / Interconnects are VooDoo Reference and Wasatch Cable Works 103-105U
Music Used (Genre/Selections): Vocals - James Taylor, Karla Bonoff, Nicolette Larson, Tracey Chapman Rock: AC/DC, Kansas, Rush, Scorpions
Room Size (LxWxH): 30 x 26 x 14
Room Comments/Treatments: Carpeted with a lot of soft furnishings but large brick walls and big old factory windows
Time Period/Length of Audition: More than 6 months
Other (Power Conditioner etc.): None
Type of Audition/Review: Product Owner




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Topic - REVIEW: VMPS RM40 Speakers - uw312@aol.com 08:16:54 07/24/04 ( 57)