[Brax]

Here we go again, I agreed to purchase a fairly new set of RM2’s from a local seller. These are the standard RM2’s with the mega woofer and FST upgrades. The seller tells me they are about 1 year old. The seller is down sizing his system and has already gotten rid of most of his higher end gear. I just need to sneak them past the wife, I haven’t told her about these yet. I figure I can count them as my birthday present, I turn 50 in about a month.

 I plan to use these speakers as surrounds and mate them with my RM40’s and LRC. At present, they may be overkill for surround duty but I am planning ahead to my dedicated home theater build that’s a year or two out depending on my job and the economy.  With the ability to reach down low with my VMPS system, there is no need for a subwoofer for music. For movies, I have my DIY 15” Blueprint Sono sub to handle the LFE stuff. You might as well tattoo VMPS on my butt because I am going to be a life long member in the VMPS family. Not to say I won’t upgrade, I’d love an RM40 center or add a set of dipoles for 7.1 surround. But that will have to wait until the HT is completed.

I’m excited to hear these little giants, well maybe not so little, but this will be the first time I will be hearing the FST. It will be a great chance to hear them for my self to see if I want to upgrade my 40’s and the LRC with FST’s. When I first get these speakers, I’m going to do an A/B comparison against the 40’s. I’ll post my views on how the RM2’s compared to the RM40’s once I have a chance to play with them a little.

[Early B.]

That's great. Looking forward to reading about the A/B comparison.

[JP78]

enjoy the rm2's. they are amazing speakers...you may even enjoy them more than the rm40's. i know the rm30's look sexier, but to me the rm2 is the best value in a true full range loudspeaker. hook them up as your mains sometime and report back when you can. 

[John Casler]

Hi Brax,

Yes you did well

I just took a pair of RM30's in on a new RM v60 order and have placed them in the "surround" duties position.

They are only 4-5ft from my ears.

The sonic is incredible!!!

Your RM2's I think might fit this function even better, due to the fact that they play deeper and are less deep (so they can be placed closer to the side walls).

I have taken a small pair of JAMO Dipoles I had lying around and put them on top to make the system a TRIPOLE.  Since it is "dispersed" and reflected sound, it does not interfere with the direct sonic from the ribbons, and I simply unplug them when I listen to "multi-channel" SACD or DVDA.

I know what you are hearing is pretty incredible.

As a side note, thanks to Scott for reminding me about the "high boy" RM30 tweak, it took the surrounds to a "new level" (figuratively and literally).

I might even suggest the same experiment/tweak with the RM2's to see if it provides any sonic benefits.

[Brax]

I picked up me RM2s yesterday, the owner said they were about a year old. Looking at the FST, he had never taken the shipping tape off of them (he was listening to them like that for a year). It looks like the tape goes under the foam pieces on each side of the tweeter. I am I better off cutting the tape along the foam or just peeling it off, pulling it from under the foam?

The speaker build is fantastic on these and even with the black face, they look great

[Brax]

I removed the shipping tape from the FST and only a little of the foam stuck to the tape. I’m sure it’s because the tape was on there so long, no big deal.

My first impression of the RM2 is that had it been my first VMPS speaker set, I would be very content to keep these as my main speakers. The FST seem to add a bit of clarity over my 40’s spiral tweeters, this also could be due to a lower crossover point for the tweeters, giving the Neo panels a little less spectrum to cover. The bass is crisp and clean and with enough output to vibrate the couch I was sitting on. With my room size 2 panels per speaker is enough to fill the room clean mid range sound at any volume level. I listened to a few CDs and BDs all the way up to concert levels and not a hint of distortion or straining. All in all the RM2 is a very capable speaker with sound quality inline with the VMPS tradition. I am very happy with these speakers and keep them in my system until I die, go deaf or win the lottery. I would recommend the RM2s to anyone looking for a speaker of this size in this price range, it would be hard to beat it’s value.

How do they compare to the RM40s? Without a doubt, the 40s are still the king. The 2’s sound very good, it’s just the 40’s sound better. I’m not sure why, maybe because of the extra Neo panels or the TRT caps in my 40’s but they sound somewhat fuller and richer. It’s very hard to put into words but I liked the 40’s sound better. I’d really like to hear my 40’s with FSTs installed, I think this will have to be a future upgrade for me.

[Brax]

For music I have a Meridian system and like to listen in Trifield mode. At lower volumes it sounds great, but when I want that concert level sound, it just doesn?t deliver what I envision. So the other day, I swapped out the LRC with one of my RM2s that I use for surround duty. WOW, all I can say is the sound was outstanding, the best I have ever had in my home and the best I have ever heard personally. It sounded and felt like you were in the front row of the concert. Yes, it was very loud and I don?t listen to it at that level all the time, but when I did, it?s was an experience. I would surely like to try an RM40 as a center but don?t have a spare lying around.
Right now, I don?t have the room for either a RM2 or a RM40 as a center right now but I will be starting my dedicate theater this year. Once I have the room, I will be upgrading my system to it?s final configuration. Just not sure which way to go.