[Brian Cheney]

"There's a New Sheriff in Town!"  

(title of upcoming RM30 review by major online magazine, watch this space for details...)

[John Casler]

"There's a New Sheriff in Town!"  

(title of upcoming RM30 review by major online magazine, watch this space for details...)

And what a great review it is. (I got a sneak peak )

It might also be interesting to some, that there are other reviews of, and reviewers with, VMPS speakers.

Below is the RM30/LARGER sub based system, posted for Roger Gordon of Positive Feedback online.



And John Beavers is now a reviewer for the same site, with this 626R/Son of Ampzilla based system





Look for a sticky with a collection of past and present reviews as they come in.

[rkapadia@ROOP]

John,

You're right - the review is fantastic.  I think it's an honest apprasial to the speaker's abilities; if you take the time to put together complementary electronics and proper positioning the RM30 will satisfy like few other speaker systems are capable.

I also wanted to note that Roger Gordon is driving his VMPS RM30's with deHavilland SET monoblocks.  Class A, extremely high current output, and the midrange sounds absolutely seductive.  We soon hope to have a pair in the studio again to recreate that magic with the RM30's here.

[RGordonpf]

Roop,

The seductive midrange of the deHavilland 845-G SET monoblocks, per my review in issue 12 of Positive Feedback Online, was heard thru my old FF-3s (pre-ribbon).  I replaced the FF-3s with the RM 30s + Large sub after writing the review.  I am currently running the RM 30s full range with the 845-Gs.  The Large has dual voice coils and no crossover.  I am using an external electronic crossover to roll off the highs at 60Hz.

Since the picture in John's post was taken I have added a second Eagle 400 monoblock amp to drive the Large in stereo.  It's not really needed, but what else are you going to do with a single monoblock amp.

The RM 30s seem to be slightly easier to drive with the 845-Gs than the FF-3s.  I suspect that is because the Large is taking over the low bass.  However, if you have a large room or listen at very high spl levels, the 845-Gs may not have enough power.  In that case the deHavilland GM70 SET monoblocks (50 watts per channel versus 30 watts for the 845-G) may be a better match.  I have not heard the GM70 in my system.  In other systems, the GM70 tube does sounds different from the 845 tube.

The FF-3s were great speakers.  I loved them dearly.  But, the RM 30s are so much better.   The 845-Gs + RM 30s + Large is a wonderfully musical system that can play anything from a Mozart trio to the Blackhawk Down soundtrack.  However, per my review of the 845-Gs, SET amps are for music lovers, not audiophiles.  Caveat Emptor.

Roger Gordon

[rkapadia@ROOP]

Roger,

Thanks for taking the time to post.  I surely wouldn't attempt to run the deHavillands full range, as that would be a waste of the bass qualities of the prolific VMPS bass capabilities.  A nice inexpensive high-current SS design (i.e. Crown) works fantastic for the low bass and complements the deHavilland well.

Having a fair bit of experience with the deHavillands, I only wanted to corroborate on the magic of pairing the neo panels with deHavilland amplification.

The GM70's are a completely different animal versus the 845.  The GM70 tends to have a darker sound versus the 845.  Still, given the single power tube and excellent power output in the right system the GM70 offers magic of it's own for a fraction of the price of comparable designs (i.e. WAVAC).

[RGordonpf]

Roop,

Please humor me.  Our musical tastes, priorities and hearing are probably very different.  Thus, what I found with my system will probably be very different from what you will hear with your system.  However, please, when your 845-Gs arrive, play them full range into the RM30s with no external crossover.  Play a few recordings with deep bass.  Then biamp them (solid state on bottom) with an external crossover and play the same recordings.  If you decide to biamp, at least you will have made an informed decision.

With my musical taste, priorities, and hearing, I would rate the deep bass of the 845-G amps as the best I have heard from all of the tube amps I have listened to.  For me, the 845-G deep bass has only been bettered by a few solid state amps.  By playing the 845-Gs full range into the RM30s I get deep bass that has the proper timbre, tonality  and texture.  It is tuneful - no single note bass.

By adding the Large sub to the RM30s I get the best of both worlds - the beautifully textured, tuneful bass of the 845-G thru the RM30s plus the slam and shake-the-walls excitement of the sub driven by 800 watts.

When I originally bought the RM 30s, I intended on rolling off the signal to the 845-Gs.  However, after listening to them full range versus rolled off, the benefits of running them full range far out weighed the negatives.  Of course, YMMV.

I would be interested in hearing what your conclusions are once you get your 845-Gs.

Roger

[rkapadia@ROOP]

Hello Roger,

No slight intended; I apologize if I came across that way. Your setup and system are both quite different from my RM30 system, in that you have the fortune of augmenting the RM30 bass with a Larger Subwoofer.  Here in the studio, the size and location of the RM30 setup prevent any sort of meaningful bass augmentation and so I am bound to obtain the best bass possible from only the RM30's.

Regarding passive biamplification, I think it's the best of both worlds for VMPS towers.  I've experimented quite a bit with passive biamplification with the RMX, and there's absolutely no going back once heard.  I believe Julian of SedonaSkySound shares a similiar belief, albeit through different amplification (Julian prefers the Ampzilla 2000's).  Though passive biamplification on paper doesn't seem to offer much, for VMPS systems this really allows the system to shine by reducing the current load requirements upon each amplifier powered for the mains.   Given the excellent crossovers of VMPS systems, passive biamplification allows for some wonderful experimentation without a serious monetary commitment.  One power amplifier, one integrated amplifier (preferably for bass), and one preamplifier are all that's necessary to really see if biamping will make a worthwhile change in one's system.

I also completely agree with you regarding the deHavillands in that they function primarily to create music, and are secondary in the "audiophilisms".  The lack of distortion of the VMPS ribbons has spoiled me in really cranking up the volume at times, and for full scale works with +100dB SPL peaks it is difficult for any SET amplifier to create the same visceral impact of a high current SS solution when powering a VMPS system.

I think our different perspectives and restrictions for the VMPS systems only further illustrate that there are multiple routes to musical satisfaction based on one's listening preferences and living requirements.

[jcoat007]

When is the review supposed to be out?

[Brian Cheney]

Review appears in September.

[jcoat007]

http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue15/toc15.htm

 

[John Casler]

If I'm not mistaken it is scheduled to be in another "online" magazine, but I haven't seen it yet.

Do look for a review of the BCSE 626Rs in Positive Feeback Online however.

[J North]

The Sept edition is not done yet.

PF keeps adding articles throughout the month.

[jcoat007]

The Sept edition is not done yet.

PF keeps adding articles throughout the month.

I'm going to guess that it is not in PF since they just did a review of the 626R.

[Rory B.]

It was by that one guy Frank A or something who was writing for StereoTimes.com

[lkosova]

I was wondering when Frank would have that out. I think it wil be very positive.......

Larry

[John Casler]

It was by that one guy Frank A or something who was writing for StereoTimes.com

That is correct.