Just got my new African Ebony RM 40's

shokunin · « **Reply #20 on:** 28 Sep 2004, 03:34 am »

Niiiiice.

I think you cherry 40's are probably the best of domestic made cabinets. They look far more refined than my originial RM40 cabinets.

TheeeChosenOne · « **Reply #21 on:** 28 Sep 2004, 04:31 am »

Is it me or do the pictures show the ribbon panels and woofers a little sunk into the wood on the Ebony speaker ? (I can see a lighter shade of wood on the angled picture).......

ekovalsky · « **Reply #22 on:** 28 Sep 2004, 05:18 am »

Very, very nice! Does the veneer cover the back and top or just the sides and front? The cherry seems so red next to the ebony. I've always preferred the rich, dark wood finishes.

Big B & John C & MLS, how 'bout building me a pair of RM/X in ebony ??? Probably wouldn't cost any more carving them by hand than Dorne is charging for his HDF piano black

Daniel · « **Reply #23 on:** 28 Sep 2004, 05:31 am »

Wow, congrats George. Those speakers are beautiful. I have no doubt that the new cabinetry will make for an improvement over the old ones after they are broken in. Don't give in to temptation though. Leave the putty and pots alone for now!

satfrat · « **Reply #24 on:** 28 Sep 2004, 08:17 am »

Quote from: Rob Babcock

WOW! Those things are gorgeous! A little darker than I thought they'd be, though.

Gee Rob, they're African Ebony, I'm surprised they ain't a browner black!

Just kidding here, those are some kind of drop dead Gorgeous George,,,,,,,,errr, I mean drop dead gorgeous speakers George.

Just didn't sound right the first time. Anyways, congratulations George, they're gonna look right to home in your home theater envirement,,, ENJOY!!!!

Regards, Robin

ctviggen · « **Reply #25 on:** 28 Sep 2004, 11:00 am »

Congratulations, George. Those are nice looking. The crates are also better then the ones in which I received in my Piano Black speakers. The Piano Black is very nice, though. It'll be interesting to see whether you can tell a difference between the two, in terms of sound.

woodsyi · « **Reply #26 on:** 28 Sep 2004, 01:05 pm »

Very nice! I can't wait to get mine. By the way, let me be the first to say, Zybar's RM40s go Bohemian! Let the Hungarians and the rest of EU (did Hungary get in?) find out what a fabulous BARGAIN the VMPS speakers are compared to those high priced German speakers, especially with the strong Euro.

John Casler · « **Reply #27 on:** 28 Sep 2004, 02:55 pm »

Quote from: ctviggen

Congratulations, George. Those are nice looking. The crates are also better then the ones in which I received in my Piano Black speakers. The Piano Black is very nice, though. It'll be interesting to see whether you can tell a difference between the two, in terms of sound.

I think the Piano Black have a slightly "darker" sound.

Just Kidding

shokunin · « **Reply #28 on:** 28 Sep 2004, 03:04 pm »

The only other finish I'd like to see would be a "high-gloss Ebony" like the Steinway pianos. The question for george is... are ya gonna put the foam "lapels" back on

meilankev · « **Reply #29 on:** 28 Sep 2004, 03:32 pm »

George,

Congratulations on the new speakers!!!

I admit to being a little surprised, however. I don't know what the difference is between the cost of your new speakers and what you received for your Cherry RM40s. And then you add to that the effort of packing/shipping your speakers to Europe as well as the potential cost/effort of any future "tweaks" to the MLS RM40s.

I can't help but wonder if any sonic and/or aesthetic improvements are worth all that. But then, you've never been one to shy away from doing whatever you feel it takes to improve the sound of your system.

Kevin

sbcgroup1 · « **Reply #30 on:** 28 Sep 2004, 04:58 pm »

George, congrats.

I have the same BCSE African Ebony 40's as you. Picked my whole system up from the shipping terminal with a UHaul about a month ago (couldn't wait for delivery...lol).

Anyways, I felt the finish wasn't that incredible. Since they're made in China, I felt the quality was more akin to lower standards. There was a chip on the lower part of the speaker on the front where the lower driver is. And they aren't fully wrapped.

The piano black laquer on my larger sub was pretty cheezy too. You could definitely see a sticker that was put on there to get the "lacquer" effect. It was done a little better on my RM 30 center channel. And even that had a scratch on it.

Anyways, after breaking in the speakers for a few weeks straight (left them on 24 hrs a day), and adjusting the damping and mid/treble pots to my liking, everything sounds so amazing, I can't even describe it. It sounds like people are playing live acoustic sets right there in front of me! Movies are totally insane. All the components in my system are a great match with each other (John Casler rocks).

So, like I said, I felt the cabinetry could have been better, but the sound is totally amazing. And we love the sheer size of all the equipment! It gives you that huge sound! It looks really cool in our living room:

BELOW: On the left you can see the RM40 taken with a flash on (clearer pic...less accurate than with no flash).

shokunin · « **Reply #31 on:** 28 Sep 2004, 05:01 pm »

Quote from: TheeeChosenOne

Is it me or do the pictures show the ribbon panels and woofers a little sunk into the wood on the Ebony speaker ? (I can see a lighter shade of wood on the angled picture).......

Hmm.. it could be that the MLS cabinets are not "painted" black where the neo's and woofers go. The older cabinets had black paint in the recessed areas. Maybe the MLS cabinets are not painted for a particular reason.

zybar · « **Reply #32 on:** 28 Sep 2004, 05:17 pm »

Quote from: meilankev

George,

Congratulations on the new speakers!!!

I admit to being a little surprised, however. I don't know what the difference is between the cost of your new speakers and what you received for your Cherry RM40s. And then you add to that the effort of packing/shipping your speakers to Europe as well as the potential cost/effort of any future "tweaks" to the MLS RM40s.

I can't help but wonder if any sonic and/or aesthetic improvements are worth all that. But then, you've never been one to shy away from doing whatever you feel it takes to improve the sound of your system.

Kevin

Kevin,

A deal I couldn't resist fell into my lap so it financially made sense. Many of the tweaks I made to my Cherry pair of 40's have now become part of the product so I am good there as well. I feel that I learned so much getting the first pair to where I wanted them, that the second pair won't be too bad.

I am not expecting a night and day difference between my old 40's and the new MLS ones. I do feel that for the price difference I paid, the money will be well spent and provide.

Over the next few days/weeks we will see if I was correct.

George

sbcgroup1 · « **Reply #33 on:** 28 Sep 2004, 05:38 pm »

Yeah, the panels and woofers are sunk in to the wood a little.

-Ed

Mad DOg · « **Reply #34 on:** 28 Sep 2004, 05:42 pm »

sbcgroup1,

if i'm not mistaken, i don't think all VMPS cabinets are being made by MLS. don't think the sub cabinets are coming from him.

the decision to not go with a full wrap was most likely a VMPS decision and not an MLS decision and was probably related to cost. anything is possible, but a full wrap would cost more money.

Mad DOg · « **Reply #35 on:** 28 Sep 2004, 05:51 pm »

Quote from: sbcgroup1

...Anyways, I felt the finish wasn't that incredible. Since they're made in China, I felt the quality was more akin to lower standards...

since the same factory in China builds cabinets for MBL, it is very possible that they offer different qualities of finishes. if you can't afford a lexus, you buy a toyota. the same factory can produce different quality cabinets to cater to the specific needs of their clients.

but if u think the new cabinets aren't that great, you should've seen the old stuff...

John B · « **Reply #36 on:** 28 Sep 2004, 06:14 pm »

Do you use any vibration control devices on those components? Having a sub and a 30 within your rack structure would seem to be the ultimate test for whether vibrations have any effect on SS components.

sbcgroup1 · « **Reply #37 on:** 28 Sep 2004, 06:20 pm »

Quote from: Mad DOg

If you can't afford a lexus, you buy a toyota. the same factory can produce different quality cabinets to cater to the specific needs of their clients.

but if u think the new cabinets aren't that great, you should've seen the old stuff...

Jeez...has the cost of things really gone up THAT much? You mean all of those thousands we spent on speakers wasn't enough?

Quote from: Mad DOg

If you can't afford a lexus, you buy a toyota.

How about "If you pay for a lexus, you drive a toyota?"

Well, anyways, aside from a few aesthetic quirks, I would have still bought the same speakers again, because they sound so good. They really "open up" when you turn up the volume. And I love the size of them!:)

-Ed

ctviggen · « **Reply #38 on:** 28 Sep 2004, 06:22 pm »

I think there is a high gloss option, but I opted to go for the piano black because all my stuff is black. The finish on the speakers seems matched with the finish on my Pioneer Elite TV and matching stand.

sbcgroup1 · « **Reply #39 on:** 28 Sep 2004, 06:23 pm »

Quote from: John B

Do you use any vibration control devices on those components? Having a sub and a 30 within your rack structure would seem to be the ultimate test for whether vibrations have any effect on SS components.

Actually, believe it or not, the speakers are so solid that I don't get any vibration problems whatsoever. It may help that everything is on carpeting instead of hardwood floors, etc. And we drive that sub hard!! lol.

It probably also helps that those CineNova amps weigh alot to further anchor down the racks.

-Ed