[ASCTLC]

Someone, anyone, please help.  My story:

Many of you may have heard about the fires out here in Black Forest CO.  My wife and I lost everything except the shorts & shirts we wore that day and the pickup we drove to the airport to pick up my dad.   We didn't get back until it was too late, they wouldn't let us in to get our documents, and receipts, and etc. Devastating is too minimal a description.  We're scared to death how we'll fair with insurance.  But one thing others are advising is how they deal with replacement (which we have) of items.

All, my beautiful VMPS Tower IIs are gone.  They were in pristine condition. I drove them with an old Hafler DH-500 and was amazed all those years I listened to them.  It was a combination I seriously doubt I will get to duplicate.

I'm searching but trying to figure out how I'm going to get insurance to replace them with same or like item.  Sorry, I'm just absolutely lost with what to do or how to proceed.  Any and all suggestions are welcomed in my time of extreme need.

Andy

[ST86]

Andy,

Very sorry for your loss.  I am sure right now you have more important things to take care of than Tower ii replacement. 

I don’t know much about insurance but a place to start may be finding the cost to replace the Tower ii.  Searching for past sales on Craigslist, eBay or Audiogon may be a way to find current values.

What you replace them with will be up to your ears and budget so I will refrain from recommending replacement brands and models. 

Best wishes with the insurance and rebuild.  Be safe.

 Ed

[SoCalWJS]

So sorry for your loss. That is some beautiful country and , having driven through the area, I cringed when I first heard about the fire.

I live in SoCal fire country (mountains of the Inland Empire), and have had to flee on short notice several times when the fire(s) start (we have been fortunate/lucky so far). One of the last things I do is to run around the house with a video camera, taking a quick scan of each room. We have accumulated so much cr@p through the years I'm afraid we'll leave things out or get in an argument with the Insurance company. I take the video with me. If nothing happens, I place a copy of the video into the firebox inside of our safe and replace the last one I made. At least it's something.

It's going to depend on your Insurance Company and the policy you have. I found out early, after one panicky departure, that our policy had a max value for electronics that would be nowhere near what I'd need to replace. I ended up purchasing a rider for electronics.

You'll need to sit down with your adjuster and go over everything.

As far as a replacement for your VMPS, you know it's unlikely to find an exact replacement. You'll probably have to switch to something else unles you are very patient or lucky.

Best wishes to you and your Family as you deal with this blow. Glad you are all safe.

[Elizabeth]

A great deal depends on the insurance, the agent, the claims adjuster you have (or will get)
I remember a sinking feeling when the claims adjuster wanted to know EXACTLY how many asprin were left in the container in my stolen purse. When I heard her ask that, I knew it was going to be annoying and difficult.
The funny part is I could have claimed $500 in cash just as well as the actual $70 I had in cash.. So insurance companies can be really annoying and stupid.
It is as much about the people who you get as the actual insurance. They can make your life better, or Hell.

[Hipper]

My sympathies for your predicament.

I have often wondered how I would cope if all my possessions were lost in some way. I hope I would appreciate that I was still around and take the opportunity to start afresh but I don't know if that's what I'd really do.

It brings to mind a question though. Most of us love the VMPS sound which of course was Brian's speciality. If we ever need to replace our VMPS speakers, are there any other speaker makers that have similar sonic tastes as Brian so that we can consider their products?

[rbbert]

My sympathies to you.  I know I'd worry way more about the lost music part of my system than the hardware, which is relatively easy to replace.

[rbbert]

...If we ever need to replace our VMPS speakers, are there any other speaker makers that have similar sonic tastes as Brian so that we can consider their products?

Too many to count easily, I would think.  ADAM, Virtue, Daedalus, Induction Dynamics, GR Research (and/or Serenity Acoustics), Legacy, NOLA just to name a few.  Many are even part of Audio Circle.

[ASCTLC]

Thank you all.  Yes, we have very important things to do but documenting these things are critical with insurance for getting replacement of "like kind".  A $750 Hafler 500 and a $1300 pair of ST IIs was an absolute dynamite combination for us.  Can I really find "like kind" like this anywhere for even double that cost?  What originally drew me to these when I auditioned them in the northern Illinois area was their equal  capability of classical music and hard rock music, not just one or the other well as all others I auditioned.

How this insurance replacement thing works is they depreciate your stuff down to whatever value. The value of my combination is probably going to be 3-5 hundred dollars if I'm lucky.  But even at new, this was about a $2000 setup, so they'll give me the $400 actual cash value (ACV) and when I replace this they'll write me a check for the other ~ $1600.  I can't go spend $5000 and get the additional funds, it doesn't work that way.  I could argue for it but without a audiophile geek reviewing the claim they have no concept to understand this.

I can get another Hafler DH-500, I've seen em.  Will have to be patient but I can get back that amp and it's raw power.  I guess I'm questioning a pair of speakers that had such lows, clear highs, wide sound stage (if I'm using the term correctly), power handling capability (my God did they take everything I could throw at them!) of sitting live in front of a band for any cost reasonable for us.  A lost DH500 for a replacement is an insurance simplicity because it's the same thing (let's keep this simple) to them.

I realize I haven't auditioned speakers for a very long time and maybe the new craze, tech, method, whatever you call it of small mid/high speaker cabinets combined with a separate sub can duplicate the equality of classical/rock capability we would demand of our system.  I just don't know how a speaker the size typical of a midrange and a speaker the size of a very large sub can bridge the musical frequency gap of speakers that would be sized and dedicated to those needed for those ranges.

Andy

[Brax]

Andy,

There is a whole VMPS setup for sale on Audiogon right now with a set of RM40s, a set of 626s a LRC and a larger sub. The downside is they are in California and he wants $4k for the setup.

[rbbert]

If you are interested in new rather than used, a couple of other brands to consider are Triton and Definitive Technology.

[ASCTLC]

Thank you guys!!  Used VMPS or suggestions for something new are extremely helpful at this time.  If anything to allay my concerns for something I believe is outside of insurance comprehension when I have so much to do.

If I can find Tower IIs in the pristine condition mine were I'll probably be all over them but if not I have to figure out another nearly equal solution after we get a home.  Insurance only gives us so much time to buy everything back (I believe 6 months! ).  Now you know the urgent request for info.

I don't have many unique issues with ins and what we had but this is one of them and it's distracting - when I don't have time for this nonsense.

Andy