[CornellAlum]

I am looking into purchasing a pair of 626r's with all kinds of upgrades.  Is the auricap upgrade honestly worth 400 clams?  I know the parts do not cost that much, and I honestly believe I could probably switch them out myself, though with the demo pair I am looking at, it probably makes sense to go ahead and get it done in the first place.  Is there something I am missing here?  Looking at the parts, it looks like they run about 50 bucks total...

Regards, and if anyone has general comments on the 626r's, I would love to hear them as well.

[woodsyi]

I don't have a pair of Auricapped 626Rs to answer directly, but I do have a pair of TRT RM40 and a pair of stock capped 626R.  Generally, it is amazing what we pay for in audio gear when you look only at the cost of parts.  What we are paying for is really the labor,  R&D, customer service and market reputation along with parts of any gear.  If you want a "deal" you will invariably have to give up one or more of these.  There is a reason why certain overseas products are cheaper! This means the best deal is DIY, but you have to factor in your time. What is it worth to you?  If you charge your client $500 an hour, it doesn't make sense to spend HOURS DIYing something to save a couple of hundred bucks unless it has theraputic affect on you.  On the other hand, if you have all the time in the world, you can learn yourself and build some fantastic gear for pittance.  As for me, I fall somewhere in the middle here but my quality time with my almost 3 year old daughter outtrumps any monetary savings at the moment.    

Having said all that, stock 626R driven by a 100wpc tube amp sounds really good in an office.  It's not as revealing as the mid/highs of TRT RM40s at home, but I have better acoustic treatment home.  If the 626R are to be your main music appreciation tool, I would get the cap upgrade one way or the other.  Just my POV.

[CornellAlum]

Thanks, I appreciate your input.  Anyone else care to comment?

Regards, looking forward to participating a little more in this circle come April.

Daryan

[BrunoB]

I am looking into purchasing a pair of 626r's with all kinds of upgrades.  Is the auricap upgrade honestly worth 400 clams?  I know the parts do not cost that much, and I honestly believe I could probably switch them out myself, though with the demo pair I am looking at, it probably makes sense to go ahead and get it done in the first place.  Is there something I am missing here?  Looking at the parts, it looks like they run about 50 bucks total...

Regards, and if anyone has general comments on the 626r's, I would love to hear them as well.

I am sure that a DIY upgrade with the Auricaps cost much more then $50 - you need a lot of capacitors for the midrange (about 50 uF).

I upgrade my speakers with the TRT Dynamicaps my self. The TRT's provides such a smoothness in the treble. Other capacitors I tried are Sonicap and Audiocap Theta. This  DIY  TRT upgrade would still cost you about $500. If you want to save money, another DIY option is to upgrade only the tweeter crossover with TRT (would cost about $60).

Note: this is just my DIY experience - I am not an expert at all.

Bruno

[Wayne1]

Here is a link to a shootout that the DAM had comparing a pair of stock 626Rs with spiral tweeter to an Auricapped pair with spiral tweeter to FST and Auricapped pair.

DAM 626R shootout

While the $550.00 dollar a pair upgrade may seem a bit expensive, it does include matching the caps to a VERY precise degree.

It may be a bit hard to get caps matched as precisely as Brian does it. He uses a VERY expensive cap meter and then hand peels the caps to get them perfect. That is what you are paying for.

Some folks don't think it is worth the money. Bottom line, to me, the difference I hear is worth it. YMMV

[CornellAlum]

Thanks Wayne, it sounds like it does make a difference.  One last question, then I will shut up and do some work   What are the sonic differnces between the 626r with auricaps and the RM'2's?  I ask because I can't stand subs in my smallish condo with very unideal accoustics.

Thanks again all,

Daryan

[Tyson]

IMO, if you want the best value in the VMPS speaker lineup, skip the 626R and especially the RM2, and go straight to the RM30.  Those are amazingly good sounding speakers that can be had for a great price (dealers will discount for AC members I've heard/seen).  It has similar imaging capabilities as the 626R due to the similar narrow front baffle, but has way, way more dynamics, transparency, and realism.  And a LOT more bass.

[Pocketchange]

I'm the happy owner of a MLS 626R ACaps, w/Larger Sub, hooked up in 2 Ch. mode.  I would like another Larger for the mix, although I don't know where I would put it.
I've NOT hooked up the optional LS XOs which are running full freq.
Pioneer SX1250 A/B'ed sounds like 18 year old Glenfiddich tastes!!
 

[John Casler]

Thanks Wayne, it sounds like it does make a difference.  One last question, then I will shut up and do some work   What are the sonic differnces between the 626r with auricaps and the RM'2's?  I ask because I can't stand subs in my smallish condo with very unideal accoustics.

Thanks again all,

Daryan

Actually the 626R is a "great" condo speaker.

Why?  Because you get all the benefits of the VMPS sound, in a reasonable size "including" BASS!!

I have been raving about the bass of the 626R ever since my first pair some years ago.  

Unless you are playing a lot of Gangsta Rap, it is great.  Now granted it won't do "Flight of the Cosmic Hippo" over 95 db, but in a condo you won't be doing that anyhow.

The thing the 626R "will do" very well is play beautifully and "fully" at low to medium SPLs.

That is, the FST, Neopanel and woofer are of the correct efficiency that they are "energized" higher at lower SPLs.  This means that they will sound better and more complete than a bigger, multiple driver speaker at the same volume level.

Many times, you'll hear people say how their RM40s "opened up" more as they turned them up a bit.

That is how this works.  

The different sizes will have a "db range" where they will sound the best.  Much like an engine has am "rpm" range where it performs best.

Now if you play much of your music at say 80-85db then as Tyson suggests, the RM30 is your baby.

If you cruise past 90 and 95db, then I see an RM40 as your speaker of choice.

This is a good thing to keep in mind when chosing your "ride". (sonic that is)

The determinants are basically two:

1) How loud you play your music
2) How big a space you have to play in

As far as the RM2 stock, compared to the 626R w/auricaps the main differences will be that the RM2 will play lower, might image a very slight "smidgen" less and will not have the tone, timbre, and resolution improvements of the auricaps.

[Tyson]

What John says is true.  I tend to listen to a lot of large orchestral music, so I need something that covers the entire frequency range, is able to capture minute dynamic gradations, capable of incredibly large dynamic swings, yet is also sweet and pure enough to reproduce solo or massed violins properly, and give the proper woody, reedy tone to oboes or bassoons.  The RM40's do this with ease.  The RM30's are pretty close to the 40's (based on what I've heard of them), in a much smaller package, but are good enough to be "the last speaker you ever buy".  The 626R is a superb bookshelf speaker, probably the best I've heard, and it does the microdynamic tracking, sweetness, purity, and upper bass very well.  But it won't be able to do midrange dynamics or purity as well as the RM30 with it's 3 midrange panels (the 30's are a lot more effortless sounding - in fact they sound "much" bigger than their relatively small size would suggest).  And mid/low bass?  No contest, in favor of the RM30's all the way.

Mainly my point is that loudness capabilities is not the only thing you gain when moving from the 626Rs to the RM30's, you also get a lot of good improvements in the midrange due to the larger radiating area that 3 midpanels give you, as opposed to just one.

[GefellTaper]

Well, I have settled on the 626r's with the upgrades from a very nice and more importantly patient vendor.  I a[[reciate the help and look forward to sharing my thoughts when they arrive and get settled in.   I plan on getting some 30's or 40's for mains and moving the 626r's to the rear at some point down the road.  

Now, time to research stands!

Daryan

[GefellTaper]

And my swan diva 4.1's sold in less than 8 hours on audiogon, wow!