[drphoto]

Has anyone heard both of these and would care to comment?

I've not heard the Alpha, nor any line array design.

I did hear the 40 last year in DC w/ Pass Lab amps and Accuphase pre/source and thought it was unbelievably good, about the best I've experienced. (stock caps, I believe)

[Al Garay]

If your budget allows, you should also consider:
* Excelarray from www.selahaudio.com
* Orion from www.linkwitzlab.com

Andre from http://www.e-speakers.com/ also has some Line Arrays and interesting high-efficiency speakers with ESG ribbons, PHL mids and Lambda Acoustics woofers for the bass.

Back to your question, you may want to contact John Chapman from Bent Audio, who is one of the few guys lucky enough to own both the VMPS RM40 and the GR-Research Alpha. They are really different speakers with different characteristics and price points.

Congratulations on being able to obtain some of the best speakers available.

Al

[drphoto]

These two are in the ballpark pricewise. The Alpha kit is around $1800 and the enclosures are $2K. There's a dealer for VMPS that's offering the stock 40 for around $3800.

Of course if I was a woodworker and could fabricate the Alpha boxes myself, it would be a different story.

I like the idea of ribbon drivers covering such a large (and critical) part of the audio spectrum in both designs.

I suppose I'm most curious about the difference between the presentation of the lower mid/bass in an array of small drivers vs. the larger woofs of the 40.

Now whether I can afford either is still up to business staying good (and if I value sound over food/beer!)

May just end up w/ used Maggie 1.6 and modding the x0ver...as has been the plan for some time. ($1200-$1500)

Currently have ancient modded Maggie 2c. IMHO, you just can't beat a large speaker. My neighbor just got Proac 1.5. In most ways they are 'better' than the Mags in my system (more detail, smoother, more air, etc.) but they sound like speakers and the Mags, for all they're flaws sound more like music.