Anyone replace Stratus Gold's with RM 40's???

perfectionist · « **on:** 3 Aug 2004, 01:13 am »

If you have replaced PSB Stratus Gold's specifically with RM 40's I would love to hear from you. I am having a very difficult time finding a replacement for them at a reasonable price.
Which speaker does what better?
I have auditioned a few speakers in the 6k price range and I haven't heard anything that I like better yet. There is no VMPS dealer in my area.
On my shortlist are VM 40 and Von Schweikert VR-4III SE.

zybar · « **Reply #1 on:** 3 Aug 2004, 01:51 am »

I have listened to Stratus Gold i's and they really aren't in the same class as the RM 40's. By comparison the Gold's are colored and don't provide anywhere near the detail of the 40's.

The Gold's struck me as a really good college speaker - they will play loud and rock, but lacked finesse, soul, and musicality (compared with some of the better speakers I have heard).

If I were buying speakers today, here is my shortlist around your pricepoint:

VMPS RM 40's
VSR VR 4-SE (I beleive a new model is about to come out)
Legacy 20/20
SP Technology Continuums
GR Research Alphas

George

Charles Calkins · « **Reply #2 on:** 3 Aug 2004, 02:37 am »

Perfectionist:
I don't think you can go wrong with the Von Schweikert VR-4111 SE speakers. I've had mine for 8 months and am very happy with them. When I was dealing with Paul Gardner of VSA he said for me to try them out for 3 months and if I didn't like them they would come and pick them up and give me a full refund. I thought that was a pretty good deal so I did it and still have them. I've never heard the VMPS RM 40 but obviously it is a great speaker. I do know that it's very tall at 66 inches whereas the VSA are only 46 inches tall. And heavy!! they come in 3 cartons and each carton weighs 122LBS. Good luck on your search for speakers.

Cheers
Charlie

JCC · « **Reply #3 on:** 3 Aug 2004, 02:57 am »

Read the review on AudioCircle on the DA-1.

These are fabulous speakers, and Daedalus has a special price, and one month trial period.

I own a pair, and they are fabulous both in sonics and looks.

audiochef · « **Reply #4 on:** 3 Aug 2004, 03:39 am »

Perfectionest,
apples and oranges, 40s all the way!

JasonW · « **Reply #5 on:** 3 Aug 2004, 03:51 am »

I replaced my PSB Stratus Gold i's with my Merlins. I found the PSBs to be a wonderful, musical (don't know where the description of amusical and lacking soul came from) very reasonably priced speakers, escpecially used. There are many much more expensive speakers, as you have found that aren't better than the PSBs. I found the Merlins to vastly outperform the PSBs in every conceivable area.

zybar · « **Reply #6 on:** 3 Aug 2004, 11:42 am »

Quote from: JasonW

I replaced my PSB Stratus Gold i's with my Merlins. I found the PSBs to be a wonderful, musical (don't know where the description of amusical and lacking soul came from) very reasonably priced speakers, escpecially used. There are many much more expensive speakers, as you have found that aren't better than the PSBs. I found the Merlins to vastly outperform the PSBs in every conceivable area.

Jason,

To my ears the Golds didn't retrieve enough details and painted a very broad picture. I also found them a little too colored (voices and piano didn't sound right to me) and the bass was a little loose and not as clearly defined as I look for (BTW, after having an hour + discussion with Perfectionist, many of these reasons are why he is looking to change speakers). When I add up these shortcomings, it isn't a "musical" speaker to me. By lacking soul...I meant that I wasn't able to form a good connection and able to really "see" into the music. The Golds didn't make me want to sit and listen for hours and hours.

Not sure if you agree with my findings, but I do apologize for not expanding what I wrote enough for you (or anybody else) to understand what I meant by those terms.

George

JasonW · « **Reply #7 on:** 4 Aug 2004, 02:08 am »

Zybar, Actually, I agree with most of what you have said. I added up the faults of the PSBs and found they were too forgiving and colored, though I never had a problem with not feeling emotionally detached/uninterested (lackin in soul). We both agree that the faults led us to upgrade.

You say amusical, I say forgiving. You say tomato, I say tomato. (Boy, that saying loses some of its meaning when put on paper...)

Best,
Jason

zybar · « **Reply #8 on:** 4 Aug 2004, 02:14 am »

Jason,

I am glad you posted that first message in response to my post. Sometimes I forget to explain what I mean and just assume that somebody will understand my message. Obviously that isn't the best way for me to post.

In the future I will try and include a little more info to allow others to better understand what I mean or where I am coming from.

George

sbcgroup1 · « **Reply #9 on:** 12 Aug 2004, 02:57 pm »

Quote from: perfectionist

On my shortlist are VM 40 and Von Schweikert VR-4III SE.

Time to join the VMPS BCSE Club!!!!

-Ed

perfectionist · « **Reply #10 on:** 16 Aug 2004, 04:59 pm »

I'd like to thank all that replied to my posting.
There are obviously many factors one is confronted with in choosing a new loudspeaker. One of the biggest for me was the lack of dealers in my area of products that I was interested in. After doing extensive research, conversing with other audiophiles, two hours of phone conversations with Albert, and many other factors too numerous to mention, I bought a brand new pair of Von Schweikert VR-4 HSE's. I purchased them w/o ever hearing any VSA product, something I said I'd never do. Early listening sessions have proven this to be an absolutely amazing speaker system with only about 100 hours of break-in. I have never heard anything quite like them and they have raised my system to a much higher level.
The VMPS section of this web site and the comradery of owners is way cool. I was already missing it after commiting to the VR's.
I have system pic's in the gallery if anyone is interested in having a look.
Thanks again...

Rory B. · « **Reply #11 on:** 19 Aug 2004, 05:17 pm »

At least grab a VMPS Larger Sub, or something.

It's good that you are satisfied with your purchase. What was it about the RM40s that ruled them out in your book? If it was size, you should have asked about the RM30s. They have a smaller home-theater-speaker profile.

shokunin · « **Reply #12 on:** 19 Aug 2004, 05:39 pm »

Hey perfectionist,

Glad the VR's are working well in your system. There is no right or wrong speaker and what matters most is that you're enjoying the music and presentation of the VR's!! There are people on the audiocircle that have VSA's, maybe Albert might want to consider creating a forum on the audiocircle.

John Casler · « **Reply #13 on:** 20 Aug 2004, 12:28 am »

Quote from: perfectionist

The VMPS section of this web site and the comradery of owners is way cool. I was already missing it after commiting to the VR's.
I have system pic's in the gallery if anyone is interested in having a look.
Thanks again... .

Congratulations, It is great to find a speaker that "fills the Bill".

At least it starts with a "V" too

And just because you don't have a VMPS product (yet

) doesn't mean you can't stop in for some stimulating conversation.

You're still a "comrade" for thinking so seriously about VMPS

perfectionist · « **Reply #14 on:** 31 Aug 2004, 10:43 pm »

Quote from: Rory B.

At least grab a VMPS Larger Sub, or something.

It's good that you are satisfied with your purchase. What was it about the RM40s that ruled them out in your book? If it was size, you should have asked about the RM30s. They have a smaller home-theater-speaker profile.

Nice to see some additional posts on this subject.

Rory, size doesn't matter, at least, "that's what she said."

I have 10' flat ceilings so that really wasn't the issue. It's not having dealers in my area.
If it turned out that I wasn't happy with the VR-4's I figured it be easier to sell them.
They come in three boxes of identical size and are UPS shippable.
And as we know, the RM40's are just a bit larger. Speaking of larger, as far as a sub, they go down to 16hz, and I've got the techno to prove it.
They don't look like much, but like my momma used to always tell me, "good things come in small packages."

Dear John, you never know. After all, (gratuitous plug)

I never thought I'd be selling my Manley Neo-Classic 250's (see Agon)!!!

John Casler · « **Reply #15 on:** 31 Aug 2004, 10:55 pm »

Quote from: perfectionist

Dear John, you never know. After all, (gratuitous plug)
I never thought I'd be selling my Manley Neo-Classic 250's (see Agon)!!! ...

Sounds like you need (another gratuitous plug) a couple AMPzillas to fire those VR's to "perfection".

perfectionist · « **Reply #16 on:** 1 Sep 2004, 02:42 am »

Quote from: John Casler

Sounds like you need (another gratuitous plug) a couple AMPzillas to fire those VR's to "perfection".

[/quote]

John,
Funny you should mention the AMPzilla's. They are at the bottom of my shortlist 'cause I can't seem to find any info/website on them.

My shortlist:

Parasound Halo JC-1
Bryston 7B SST
AMPzilla 2000 mystery amp

If anyone is still lookin' at this thread, comments on amps appreciated.

P.S. I require monoblocks.

zybar · « **Reply #17 on:** 1 Sep 2004, 02:43 am »

Jeff Rowland 201's

BTW, they sound pretty damn good, have a very small footprint, run "ICE" cold, and put out lots of power.

George

perfectionist · « **Reply #18 on:** 1 Sep 2004, 03:28 am »

Quote from: zybar

Jeff Rowland 201's

BTW, they sound pretty damn good, have a very small footprint, run "ICE" cold, and put out lots of power.

George

A very astute Aphile bud of mine keeps telling me to put these on my shortlist.

But, I just don't see these cute lil' amps developing the horsepower required to properly rock the house...

zybar · « **Reply #19 on:** 1 Sep 2004, 03:33 am »

Quote from: perfectionist

Quote from: zybar
Jeff Rowland 201's

BTW, they sound pretty damn good, have a very small footprint, run "ICE" cold, and put out lots of power.

George

A very astute Aphile bud of mine keeps telling me to put these on my shortlist.

But, I just don't see these cute lil' amps developing the horsepower required to properly rock the house...

They have better bass (it went deeper with more authority and was more clearly defined) than the big Pass X250 and X350 amps (which are known for having very good bass). Don't make the mistake of judging them by their size.

The 201's have no problem grabbing and controlling the dual 10" woofers in my RM 40's in my decent sized room (25x18x7). Ask the people who come over, I like to listen at higher volumes and the amp has absolutely no issues.

George