[Bigfish]

Over the past few years I have put together a decent sounding 5.1 channel home theater and now have a serious urge to build a decent 2 channel system for sound.  Unfortunately, due to space confinements the speakers will have to serve dual duty for theater and 2 channel music.  I mentioned I have a serious urge as I have 2 Odyssey Mono Extreme SE Amps and an Odyssey Candela Preamp on order.  Based on hours spent browsing the internet I believe I will need a DAC and will then likely want to upgrade my speakers from the current Monitor Audio 9is (I am hoping they sound significantly better for 2 channel music with the amps and preamp versus the Denon 3806 AVR).

I must mention that I have listened to the Magnepan 3.6 speakers and fell in love with the sound.  Unfortunately, I cannot use them in my room as I cannot pull them 3 feet out from the wall and my wife would never allow the monster pannels into the house.   

As I am a newbie I am confused and would appreciate your comments to help me better understand the choices with the VMPS Speakers. 

1.  If you have heard both the RM 30s and RM 40s which do you prefer and why?
2.  Comments make me believe the RM 30s sound better if a subwoofer is included in the system.  Is this correct and does the same hold true for the RM 40s?
3.  I currently have an M&K Sub connected to the subwoofer speaker outlet on the Denon DVR.  How are the VMPS subwoofers connected into the speaker system?  Are they connected directly to the external Crossover (sorry for the dump question but I don't have a clue and am on a steep learning curve)?

Thank you!

Ken

[John Casler]

Hi Ken,

And Welcome to the VMPS Circle.

You are in for an exciting ride, by the sounds of things.

You will find a lot of similarities between the VMPS speakers, and a few differences.

Both have a form of planar/panel type driver performing through much of the midrange.

Both have a relatively broad frequency range for that midrange.

Both can offer you great detail and "inner detail" and delicacy to those details

I think you will find that the VMPS generally has a deeper richer bass response, especially as you mentioned, when used with a sub. 

You'll find the "integration" with a sub is a bit easier to dial in to a "seemless" FR.

With the new CDWG you may find the dispersion and power response more even with the VMPS.

You will also (if you have the amps) find that micro and macro dynamics are wider range.

The VMPS is not (with the exception of the new RM v60) a dipolar speaker, so you likely find the 626jr through the RM40 a bit more forward in their presentation in the near Field (6-8 feet), but the images will slowly move slightly out and away, as you move back from the speakers, much like at a live event.

The 3.6 Maggie is a remarkable speaker and has a truly enticing magic about it, but as you conclude it is very sensitive to rooms and placement.

VMPS also sound better when set up properly, but do have a few more adjustments to allow you to "tune" them in less than perfect placement.

And overall, the VMPS will provide a slightly higher SPL (for when you really want to "Rock OUT") and this is a good quality for HT.

Now as far as the RM30/RM40.  Personally, I like both of them with a sub to fill in the very bottom.

Much of the time moving a speaker out into the room for soundstage and imaging causes the bass to suffer a bit, so I would roll a sub in around 50-60Hz for the RM30C, around 35-40Hz for the RM30 M and maybe 28-30Hz for the RM40.  Try to keep "frequency overlapping" to a minimum, with steep slopes, intersecting at or slightly below flat.

The VMPS subs can either be ordered as "passive" meaning you supply the Low Pass Filter, and the amp, or they can be ordered with a 1000w amp of MASS DESTRUCTION, and finesse which also has the low pass built in as well as a single band equalizer to tame your worst "bass blip"

I have heard great things about your new toys coming.

With Klaus's front end and amps > to some VMPS speakers is a great start to Sonic Adventures.

[gongos]

Buy my decked out RM2s! No sub needed.

[warnerwh]

Depending on what model M&K sub you have you may want to keep it and use it. I like them and believe Marty De Wulf of Bound for Sound uses an M&K sub with his VMPS RM 40's. Both the 30's and 40's can benefit from a sub to handle the first octave. I know alot of people who don't use a sub and feel there's no need for it but personally I like full power bass.

The VMPS speakers imo are superior to the Maggies top to bottom. The planars are much more accurate and faster in the VMPS speakers. Also the bass on the Maggies is awful. That said they do sound pretty good in the midrange and treble.

Fortunately VMPS speakers have much more versatility for setup with the mid/treble pots and mass damping for the bass. With the CDWG you get VERY wide and even dispersion, perfect for home theater where there's more than one person.

You should check the dealer sticky and/or the owner sticky for places to hear them. I guarantee you if you haven't heard VMPS speakers properly set up you'll be way impressed. I've had numerous people over and to a person everyone agrees these are of the very best speakers per dollar out there, period. As far as I am concerned the quality of music I get in my room with my RM 40's is as good as it gets. Nothing made can embarrass them. 

Let your ears be the judge! There's really no way to understand without hearing for yourself.  If you live in the northwest you're more than welcome to come hear my system.

[Early B.]

I have an older pair of VMPS floorstanders. I use them both with a 2-channel setup and as my HT fronts. They are, hands down, the best speakers I've ever heard or owned. I don't use a sub for music.

There are a few ways to set up your system and integrate the speakers. For me, I have the speakers hooked up to a separate 2-channel amp. The amp is connnected to a preamp. I also have my receiver (L&R preouts) connected to one pair of the preamp's inputs. When I want to watch a movie, I turn on my preamp, switch it to the setting where the receiver is plugged in, and set the volume to 12 o'clock (or whatever setting works best. You'll need an SPL meter to calibrate it correctly). 

The benefit in this scenario is that you'll be using your Odyssey Monos for HT.

BTW -- if it's not too late, see if Klaus can add an "HT Bypass" on your Candela. This will make integration a bit easier.
 

[jonbee]

I think your room size should be considered, as well as WAF. The RM30 is the best solution to WAF and love of planars for a medium sized room that I've come across. They have tighter image focus, and a faster overall sound than Maggies (I've owned 4 pair), but as monopoles they will not energize the room in the same way. Since you can't pull them out from the wall far enough to handle the rear wave, same as me, you're better off with a monopole than a congested, muddled sounding dipole that's too close to the wall. My RM30Cs are about 8" from the backwall, and I think they sound good there. My domestic situation rules out any room treatments, so the imaging does suffer from that.
I use a pair of Carver subs, x'd over at about 40 hz. @36db/octave, and I'm pretty pleased with them. Once again, they were chosen for their size first, sound second. I found stereo subs to be a big improvement over one. It balances and extends the width of the soundstage compared to one. I wasn't quite happy with the one sub, going to two really made a world of difference. An alternative is to do without subs and use Brian's EQ'd sub amplifier on the woofers.
Either way, get at least the MLS cabinets and Auricaps and OXO, and I predict you'll be a happy camper for a very long time to come. I think the current RM30 may be destined to become a classic.

[Zheeeem]

I have had maggies for 30 years.  Still have 'em, in fact.  Tympani 1(U)s, recently rebuilt.  They're in the HT because my wife can't bear to part with them.  I like maggies, but they do have their limitation - poor-ish bass, dipole effect, directionality, and placement issues all come to mind. 

I bought a pair of RM30Ms about half a year ago, or so.  My wife won the coin toss, so the HT is in a 17x23 room and my stereo is in an 11x14 room.  I was looking for something better than magnepans and did not want to try to fit and dial in a sub in such a small room.  I did not compare the RM30s and 40s, since the 40s were going to be waaaaaaaay too big for the room.  In the end, the choice came down to either Quad ESLs, AP Virgos, Salk HT3s or the RM30Ms.  (The most serious contenders were the Salks, since Jim Salk, like Big B, is a nice guy who handcrafts his products.)

I am exceedingly satisfied with the RM30Ms.  They are captivating, and work well in my small room.  The bass is not definitive, but the sound quality down to where they roll off (around 30 Hz in my room) is outstanding.  They are faster, more detailed, image better and are more musical than any maggies I've heard.  I find that I listen to music A LOT now.  If I had a larger room, I'd probably consider a pair of RM30Cs coupled with a pair of VSSs.

[ka7niq]

I have never heard RM 30's, but I own RM 40's.
And, I owned and sold Magnepan MG 3A's, and Magnepan SMGA's.
I like the little Maggie's way better then the MG 3A's because it sounded more like it was cut from the same sonic cloth.
The MG 3A's tweeter constantly called attention to itself.

I have older RM 40's with the lower crossover points, non updated mid woofers, and a passive radiator with a slight hole in it caused by my overenthusiastic attempts to remove all the putty, and start over, LOL

I swear, just changing a power cord on my preamp made all the difference in the world.

I was getting a glare in the upper male voice, and female voice range that made me run my ribbons level way down.

The Jon Risch clone power cord I got from Cobra Cables cured it!

If you do get the RM 40's, I can tell you this.
If you don't like the sound coming out of them, there is a problem with what you are putting into them.

Now, back to the Florida/UCLA basketball game and some music!