[Unforgiven]

So read a lot on the forum so decided to register.

I inherited these VMPS speakers many years ago and have been running them on a Sony DTR1000. One day I got curious about them and started reading and I can't really tell which Versions I have. They are probably 20 ish years old. Great condition, never abused. So the questions is what do I have and are they worth keeping?

[Unforgiven]

Rears

[Unforgiven]

Center

[Stimpy]

So read a lot on the forum so decided to register.

I inherited these VMPS speakers many years ago and have been running them on a Sony DTR1000. One day I got curious about them and started reading and I can't really tell which Versions I have. They are probably 20 ish years old. Great condition, never abused. So the questions is what do I have and are they worth keeping?

These are usually referred to as the ST/R's; the Super Tower/Ribbon model speakers.

QSO404

QSO626


And of course, they're all worth  keeping!  Maybe not worth huge money now, but I'm sure that they produce huge sound.  Still more than competitive!

[Unforgiven]

Oh ya they will definitely rattle the windows, I just don't know enough about audio to determine what is the right way to set them up. Honestly if I knew a good home to send them to, I probably would just because I am not doing them justice. So until then, Ill keep reading about them.

I run the fronts in a Bi Amp setup and the rears are dual sided so I am not exactly sure how to face them or if I should hang them or what.

[Stimpy]

Oh ya they will definitely rattle the windows, I just don't know enough about audio to determine what is the right way to set them up. Honestly if I knew a good home to send them to, I probably would just because I am not doing them justice. So until then, Ill keep reading about them.

I run the fronts in a Bi Amp setup and the rears are dual sided so I am not exactly sure how to face them or if I should hang them or what.

I've always loved the look of VMPS speakers.  Especially, the models with an asymmetrical driver layout, with Left Right matched asymmetrical speakers.  That just looks so cool!  As such, the ST/R's have always been some of my favorite VMPS speakers visually.  Plus, there's also quite a variation among the VMPS models too; with various woofers, mids, and tweeters:








As to set up, VMPS speakers need room to breathe.  You need some distance from the speakers, to allow the various drivers to blend together, due to the 1st order in-phase series crossovers.   Also, it's not just important, but required to "pinch putty" on the down firing passive radiator, to adjust the damping of the bass, and set bass balance relative to the mid/tweeter levels.  Go here, for an explanation:

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=30236.0

Be patient with putty pinching.  Try very small changes, adding or removing putty.  Start with the right channel speaker first, since many early analog recordings were mixed and mastered right heavy, I 'think' due to LP/album formatting requirements (to the best of my knowledge)?  Still, if they sound good, they are good.  I wouldn't worry too much about it.  But, nothing wrong with a little tweaking, to improve an already good speaker.

[Shear Bliss VMPS]

Nice speakers specially the ST/R of which I too own. When I got mine a few years back they only needed re-foaming so I shipped the 15"s and 12" to Bill LeGall at Millersound, Pa. Bill does awesome work!

When it came set-up time James who worked along side Brian on this model was invaluable for his knowledge of things VMPS, thanks again James!! James stated that Brian used a 1oz fishing sinker to start on the 15" passive. He finished by adding 4-5 inches of putty. On mine I pounded the 1oz sinker flat round and hot glued into place, adding putty directly to it, simple.

On mine I opened the bass slot to make putty loading easier and added casters for easy movement, these still run with a lot out there at 3 times their original cost, perhaps more IMHO ..... enjoy them!!

[duck851]

I run the fronts in a Bi Amp setup and the rears are dual sided so I am not exactly sure how to face them or if I should hang them or what.

If the rears are dual sided (woofer and tweeters on both sides) then rather than QSO404's they are the Dipole Surround model.

[Stimpy]

If the rears are dual sided (woofer and tweeters on both sides) then rather than QSO404's they are the Dipole Surround model.

Thanks!  I missed that part.   

As to positioning dual sided surround speakers, the speaker should be set directly in a hard-left, hard-right position, out from your viewing/listening seat (side wall mounted).  THX surround specs suggested that the front face of the speaker, with no drivers, created a sound 'null', that worked better for movies.  This mounting set up was intended to create a more diffuse surround sound bubble, so that the ear didn't localize where the speaker was positioned.

Me personally, I always used a normal direct radiating speaker, for my surrounds.  The direct radiator created a more direct pin-point sound, that I like better.  For me this worked best, especially with music playback in surround.  You could easily move from a null positioning, to a position a few feet further back (more of a rear wall mounting), and get basically the same effect as a regular speaker.  Try it both ways, to see which you liked bast.

Good luck!

[Unforgiven]

Hey sorry guys that I kind of disappeared, I am a military pilot so my schedule is like a roller coaster sometimes. I'll have to google a lot of what was said here and read some more because everything was definitely not speaking my language. Appreciate the help though, all sounds like good starting points for me.