Hi All,
Just got my RM40/TRT/FS yesterday.Oh boy,aren't they heavy(my friend and I muscle those beasts upstair),image the 350lbs RMX!Fortunately,they survived the shipping nightmare.Only a couple of tiny area behind the spks,but not visible few feet away!I've been dealing with big spks such as Sound Lab A-1 and many big models as well,so many shipping nightmare occured through the years!So difficult to ship those monsters sometimes!
I set up the RM40 in a very small size room(11'x14'x8'),I thought they might overwhelm the room,but guess what.if you doubt they only perform better in a lager room and keep you away from buying them,think a again!I can tell you with confidence,they perform flawlessly in my small room.And they are not even "broken in" yet,I didn't even touch PR putty and MID/HIGH adjustment,I just leave it alone.
Over the years,my reference spks has been Sound Lab A-1(own my first pairs in 1987),and we own so many pairs of them;from U-1,A-1,A-3,A-4,A-2x and B-1 when I was very active with the manufacture.Even though, A-1 perform awesomely from the mid bass and up,but I always feel short on the low bass.And they are so big to move around and very room dependent (even they sound good in a small room,but they really sound better in a larger room)plus the shipping nightmare.
If you ask me,will I own the A-1 again?My answer is"I will with no hesitation",but for $18,000(with Toroid transformer).I'll think twice again.And yet,RM40 cost only $4600 standard,even with all the options(TRT and FS tweeter) and shipping,the pairs cost around$6600,still 1/3 of cost of A-1.Will,you do the math!
I order the RM40 unheard from Jim Romeyn at RibbonSpeakers.net.I've known Jim since the Mid 80's,after all this years,he's still with Brian Cheney at VMPS,and with all the enthusiasm,that really tells me a lot.And I ordered it by pure accident(VMPS web-site pop up when I was surfing the net).Will,maybe is "Fate".
Anyway,my pairs are piano black,with TRT and FS tweeter upgrade(the sweetness of this tweeter is really something when it compare with Sound Lab A-1).And best of all,the base of the RM-40 are improving like the RMX,very solid and stable.Unlike the older version,a bit top heavy and wier looking on the botton.Well done,Brian.
In conclusion,RM40 is not only a HIGH-END best buy, but I think is a "STEAL" IMHO.In case you wonder what kind of equipments that I use.
Here they are:
Front end:BitWise system1 Transport and D/A(this 14ys old unit still making music with no shame).
Pre-Amp:Atma-Sphere MP-3
Amp:Atma-Sphere MA-2 II.?(Fully modified at Jena Labs).
Wire:Home Brewed interconnect and spks cables,except 15' symphony balance cable from pre to amp by Jena Labs.
Too bad,I'll be gone for the rest of the week.Honestly,I don't really want to 'Leave the House",so I can enjoy these new toys!!!!!!!
Happy Listening to you all.
Steve
