[TheeeChosenOne]

mls will be happy to fashion an MDF "gasket" to fit under the panels to bring them up flush with the front of the baffle.  Or, he could make a rectangular trim ring that would cover the outer edge of the panel including the screwholes.  Since we're only dealing with about 3/16" of an inch here, what do you prefer?

This is a cosmetic problem easily remedied in the field....

Brian,
Concerns will always loom from VMPS customers that such "cosmetic" corrections like trim rings or internal gaskets will ultimately color the sound.........Just look at how many VMPS customers tweak their speakers to the nthteenth level.

........The only[/u] way to adequately pemanently fix this issue is to have the next batch of speaker boxes CORRECTLY CUT[/u]....


Again Brian, thanks for offering to correct the speakers of Zybar and others..............for a problem that should obviously have been caught early on in assembly/woodworking and not shipped out in such a blatant state in the first place.......

[Brian Cheney]

The solution I suggested, an MDF gasket installed under the panels, will not alter the sound deleteriously.  

It would be nice if there were never any problems with manufactured goods.  A container from China is a surprise package and you deal with any problems as they turn up.  For example, I instructed my assemblers to black out the panel cutouts, since the mls factory had not.  Apparently this was not done, for which I apologize.

More importantly, I spend three days with George's speakers in my soundroom, carefully comparing each change (mls cabinet, lambswool behind the mids instead of fiberglass) and tweaking the speakers' level controls and PR adjustments for optimum sound from a single Son of Ampzilla run fullrange.  The owner must still adjust the system to his room and equipment, but these speakers were thoroughly checked out in a manner no other manufacturer I know of would do.

VMPS is about value and sound quality.  We have spent large amounts in recent years to upgrade cosmetics, and will continue to do so.

[ekovalsky]

This is a cosmetic problem easily remedied in the field.  If the owner prefers he can ship the cabinets back to us for repair, and we will pay shipping both ways.

That's beyond generous.  Shipping those monsters costs a small fortune, and VMPS' profit margin on these can't be very high at dealer pricing.

Of course no one who has just purchased an expensive pair of speakers wants to perform work on them to rectify problems that should have been spotted by the factory.  Both zybar and I had issues with our first pair of 40's that rendered them non-functional, and we both grudgingly performed "surgery" to rectify the problem.  Understandably, neither of us were very happy in the beginning

 

But, Big B came through for each of us.  And overcoming the fear of working on the speaker opens the door for the inevitable factory-approved upgrades and tweaks that will be offered -- sometimes at no cost and always without voiding the warranty.  My RM/X (second pair of VMPS speakers) thankfully had no issues but I've already performed several procedures on them -- replacing the fiberglass in the midrange subenclosure with lambswool, removing the passive radiators to "vitrify" them, and then replacing the vitrified passive radiators with different high compliance versions sent to me for free.  I have no doubt I will be "going in" again in the not too distant future, and I'm not afraid to do it.

Many VMPS buyers probably set up their speakers once, then forget about them and just enjoy music for years.  And I suspect few of them frequent this forum.  

Those who lurk here are always looking for the latest tweak or upgrade and VMPS keeps 'em coming.  When I bought the RM/X, and if I buy another model in the future, I will do so with the knowledge they will be a work in progress until I part with them.  And as far as I am concerned that is a good thing

!

[Marbles]

Just an observation, IMO, all of the speakers I've seen except the RM30's had a problem with the midrange panels being set too deep in the cabinets.  This should have been caught at the begining two years or so ago and corrected.

The latest thing that should be corrected is the RM30's with the new megawoofers.

The inset holes for the new megawoofers were never changed and look like crap.

This should be changed immeadiatley, if it hasn't been done yet.

I should mention that my RM30 with the standard woofers looks great with no problems at all.

[rosconey]

3 days you had them set up and didnt see the problem-i also take it when you handled them too set them up during that 3 day period you also didnt notice the backs were painted not finished-lol-arent the speaker hookups on the back
take off the sun glasses-

with cabinet quality being the reason for doing mls cabinets in the first place this isnt a good start .

appears cabinet maker has changed but in house qc still doesnt exist

[perfectionist]

blind monkey doing qc for vmps again?
i cant fathom how it wasnt caught at the factory when drivers were assembled in the units  its not like its hard to notice

time for big b to hire a person who will look out for such things-at  a certain price you shouldnt have such issues or expect customers to fix qc problems.

i guess because i do my own work and hate doing things twice or having people ask for a fix i do it right the first time.

I'm not a vmps owner, but I have to throw my two cents in here.
In my quest for new speaks it came down to two choices, RM 40's or VR-4's.  I only went the VR route as I couldn't listen to either speaker and the VR's would be easier to resell if I no like.

But, if I had ordered a pair of MLS RM 40's and they came to me with raw mdf showing around the drivers, I would have been F'ing fuming.

And as pointed out, this was clearly visable from early photo's.  I was wondering if I was the only one to notice it.  How something like this could slip by is beyond comprehension.

At least Brian is "stepping up" and offering to make things right for recipiants of the new mls cab's and it sounds like it will be rectified in subsequent releases.  

[shokunin]

3 days you had them set up and didnt see the problem-i also take it when you handled them too set them up during that 3 day period you also didnt notice the backs were painted not finished-lol-arent the speaker hookups on the back
take off the sun glasses-

The veneer on the back has been  a KNOWN issue, it's nothing new.  This shipment did not have veneered backs, what is in question is the trim and black painting of the visible MDF.

[zybar]

The solution I suggested, an MDF gasket installed under the panels, will not alter the sound deleteriously.  

It would be nice if there were never any problems with manufactured goods.  A container from China is a surprise package and you deal with any problems as they turn up.  For example, I instructed my assemblers to black out the panel cutouts, since the mls factory had not.  Apparently this was not done, for which I apologize.

More importantly, I spend three days with George's speakers in my sou ...

Brian,

Any idea what the faceplates would look like?  Maybe the better approach for me is the gaskets you mentioned.

George

[Marbles]

It also looks like there is a problem around at least the top woofer.

George, is that the case?

[mlschifter]

Brian,
Concerns will always loom from VMPS customers that such "cosmetic" corrections like trim rings or internal gaskets will ultimately color the sound.........Just look at how many VMPS customers tweak their speakers to the nthteenth level.

........The only[/u] way to adequately pemanently fix this issue is to have the next batch of speaker boxes CORRECTLY CUT[/u]....


Again Brian, thanks for offering to correct the speakers of Zybar and others........... ...

All duly noted...

We will make them to ANY Spec Big B gives us... happily...

I know Brian will do whatever it takes and I will do likewise... happy to so do...

On the next run(s) we will do these things internal to production... IF Brian instructs me to do these things... It's easy for us on the production side...

These cabinets are really quite lovely, in fact, as the builder of several VERY High End cabiinets (mbl, Epiphany, Genesis, etc. etc. etc.) I would put the VMPS cabinets on par with virtually anything out there from a cosmetic standpoint...

... and I'll stand next to anything we've built for Brian. I stand next to the man... and the product...

Humbly for sure...

Mark

[zybar]

It also looks like there is a problem around at least the top woofer.

George, is that the case?

Yes, the issue also exists with both woofers.

George

[zybar]

Brian,

Any update?

George

[Brian Cheney]

We are making MDF gaskets that will bring the drivers up flush with the baffle.  Should arrive end of the week.

[zybar]

We are making MDF gaskets that will bring the drivers up flush with the baffle.  Should arrive end of the week.

GREAT!!

Can you bring them to RMAF if they come in time?  If not, just ship'em after the show.

Thanks again.

George

[shokunin]

You may want Brian to just ship them, MDF under 1/4" is pretty brittle, especially in narrow pieces like a gasket.  You could easily bend it and crack it.  

You probably would want to do a test fit in one of the panels and then glue the gasket to the raw MDF to prevent the gasket from splitting if they are not pre-drilled.

[Geo]

You guys are beginning to freak me out a bit.  
I'm an extremely happy RM40 owner (best sounding speaker system I've ever owned) and I've owned a ton +!
I'll probably be looking to do the MLS cabinet upgrade sooner or later (maybe I should wait awhile until things calm down here).
I'm thinking of going to three RM30s for our home theater system, does anybody know if the RM30s have any issues I should clear up before ordering?

Regards,

geo

[jermmd]

I have the black gloss RM30's (standard price) and I use the grills.  I was unaware of the uneven routing around the megawoofers until someone mentioned it on this forum.  It is a non issue for me and I am very satisfied with the cosmetics and build quality of these speakers.

The only real issue with the RM30's is that they don't go as low as, or with the authority of, the RM40's.  This is also probably a non issue as you should use a subwoofer in a home theater setup.  They do go low on their own, just not a deep as the RM40's.

Joe M.