[J]

How would these two speakers compare? I've never heard vmps speakers (i own two original subs)

My 12 year old son would like a home theater setup in the basement. I could give him my old psb 800's that are in the great room and move my studio 40's that are in the loft (my little ht setup) to the living rm . That way I could do a upgrade for myself

[J]

Nobody knows?

[John Casler]

Nobody knows?

Hi J,

It may be that not too many have gone from one to the other with enough comparisons to post any.

They are very different speakers and "in general" there are some things to consider.

The 626Rs are slightly larger, and heavier.

They probably will both play as loud as you require in a medium sized room.

The greatest difference will be in the soundstage and detail that the ribbons acheive compared to the larger dispersive charachter of the Paradigm.

This will mean that the 626R will have greater detail, sharper imaging, more accurate soundstage, and a slightly smaller sweet spot.

The 626R will certainly be much better for 2 channel serious listening and certainly equal if not better for HT and casual listening.

The Paradigm might be a more forgiving speaker.  Meaning that it may mask bad recordings at the expense of accuracy.  This is the general nature of higher dispersion drivers compared to more focused ribbons.

While I have heard the Paradigm 40s many times, it was not in direct comparison to the 626Rs, which I have in my current system.

Set up well, driven with quality electronics, (as a dealer and owner) I find them hard to beat in the price range.

[J]

John ,
Thanks for the reply. I was thinking about the basic 626 not the 626r.  My 40's sound good but are on the bright side. Are the 626 a warm sounding speaker?

My system
Marantz 5400 reciever
parasound hca1500 for front channels
studio 40 v2        ( front)
small paradigms  ( rear )
old psb  (center, have not upgraded yet because I may change fronts
A pair of vmps originals , not hooked up ( I may borrow my arcam amp from bedroom for fronts and use parasound for subs until I can get a qsc.

Are there any plans for vmps to make any smaller speakers ?(for rear)
My loft is around 13x13, couch is six inches from back wall.

Thanks
John

[Tyson]

The 626's are not bright like the Paradigm's (which I find unlistenable after about 30 minutes or so), but they are not inherently warm sounding either.  They are neutral sounding, IMO.  They will reveal the character of your upstream gear, but not in a ruthless, painful way.  Can you hear weaknesses if your upsteram is not top notch?  Yes, but it's never unpleasant, and the 626's can be tuned to compensate for inherent weaknesses and personal tastes.

[sharper]

He's asking about the standard 626 not the 626R. This is the one with the polypro woofers and the SEAS tweeter. Can anyone help him out?

J,
   I've not heard the standard 626 but I have owned VMPS models with polypro woofers as well as the newer models with carbon fiber woofers and ribbon mids. I would expect the standard 626 to be warm, punchy, and somewhat detailed. The newer 626R will be for sure much more detailed and neutral like Tyson indicated. That said, my first VMPS speakers with polypro woofers were the most enjoyable speakers I've owned. I'm not a Paradigm fan (even though they're made in Toronto and priced well here) and can't comment on how they'd compare. I find them boring and not very musical.

Scott

[J]

He's asking about the standard 626 not the 626R. This is the one with the polypro woofers and the SEAS tweeter. Can anyone help him out?

J,
   I've not heard the standard 626 but I have owned VMPS models with polypro woofers as well as the newer models with carbon fiber woofers and ribbon mids. I would expect the standard 626 to be warm, punchy, and somewhat detailed. The newer 626R will be for sure much more detailed and neutral like Tyson indicated. That said, my first VMPS speakers with polypro woof ...

Thanks , thats that was the opinion I was looking for!

[James Romeyn]

Brian will kill me, but I could not recommend any 626 cone-dome model, & have owned several (there have been maybe a dozen or more driver options over the years).  Though the current versions may be superb, I concluded there may be something inferior in the combination of the driver layout & crossover types employed.  There appeared to be a signature unmusicality, contrasting with the musicality of most VMPS speakers.  But this is only my personal experience.  Every other current VMPS model I can think of is unbeatable at the price or multiples of.

The 404, Dipole Surround & 808 are great.  The Dipole Surround SE (misnamed, actually bipolar) is a sublime standmount.  Maybe you could afford the DS or 808 in kit form, fairly easy to assemble.

[Dunedain]

Jim, what happened to your VMPS web site?  It hasn't been working for some time now.