[G871]

Hi all, I'm new to VMPS speakers and just submitted my intro post. I explained how I recently bought a pair of Super Tower/R SE's and am now looking at buying a pair of tall boy Larger Subs this Sunday, but they have the older drivers and since it's a 8 hour round trip, I'd like to have an idea of what my upgrade options are before making the trip.

I've done a lot of research and see that the Goldwood HD 15" woofers can be used in the Larger, and those are what's in my Super Towers. (Along with CSS passives) Looks like the Goldwoods are still available, but not the CSS.

I've also read that some of the Dayton subs are similar to some of the later larger sub drivers, but those posts are all pretty dated now.

Are there other options I should be aware of? I've read that Brian very carefully matched the actives to each other, and to the passives as well of course...so I don't want to just take stabs in the dark and end up with frankensubs that don't live up to the VMPS name.

Is John Casler still active here, or anywhere else?

Hope to come up with a good plan. Thanks.

[JCarney]

Here is a link to John's info here on AC. It has his email address there, or you can send him a private message after three or four approved posts.
https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?action=profile;u=92

Good Luck,
JCarney

[BrentSnyder]

All 44 of the drivers in my two pair of VMPS are original and still work as designed.  Once you get your subs give them a good long try out, you may find there is no need to do any replacement at all.

[ST86]

Hi G871,

I agree with Brent.  Giving them a listen first may save a lot of time and money.  In case you decide to change/update drivers, this may help:


When I had my Supertower/R I updated the passives with Dayton 15" passives.  They use metal washers for weights, I found that three weights was the right "setting" for me.

Here is a link to the passive:

https://www.parts-express.com/Dayton-Audio-RSS390-PR-15-Reference-Series-Aluminum-Cone-Passive-Radiator-295-504?quantity=1

The bass section of the Supertower/R (15" and 12" in parallel, 15" passive) is supposed to be very similar to the Tall Boy sub, which has the same size drivers and passive.  The bass section to my Supertowers was updated to the Goldwood 15" that you mentioned, the 12" used a Misco driver.  I was very pleased with the driver/passive combo.  A word of caution, you may have to slightly enlarge the cabinet openning for these passives to fit.  There are a number of ways to do this.  Feel free to post here or PM me if needed.

Side note:  My son recently bought two Tall Boy subs and asked me to take a peek inside to see if there was anything that needed attention.  I removed the screws to the drivers but was unable to remove the drivers.  For his subs, the drivers are recessed into the baffle and are stuck in there so tight I could not remove them without risking damage (maybe due to sticky gasket tape?).  Anyway, just an FYI in case you run into the same issue.  Also, another FYI, the Tall Boy weighs in at 135 lbs.  Something to consider when packing and unpacking them.

Best wishes on the purchase!

Ed

[G871]

Ya know, that's actually a good plan. I'll get them set up, experiment with placement, and see how it goes. I just got a little worried when I saw some people saying the larger subs can't handle home theater use without the passive being overdriven....but when I do watch movies, I never have the volume cranked up very high. With music, that's another story. It would be great if I'm satisfied with them as is!

Thanks for the support you all! I'll post an update with pics when I get home with these bad boys.

[Jstower]

Hello G871, so a couple of things to do for speakers and subwoofer.
Good luck
   1. You want to vitrify the passive radiator with yellow glue, click the link and scroll down to find.
     https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=47927.0
   2. Add some dampening material to the speaker baskets, Brian did this on later speaker.
   3. Remove the toggle switch from  your Super Tower /R SE’s and use external jumpers between the binding post.

[GeorgeAb]

I think Brent nailed it, likely no issues with them as they are. I too have a pair of larger subs and they have never given me any issues after many years of use. Using a 12" and 15" active drivers with that much displacement they do not have to make large excursions which is likely the reason for longevity. I did find a spare 12" and 15" original VMPS drivers which I found used on eBay. They do not come up often, but they are out there. I was glad I found them just for insurance. https://www.ebay.com/itm/226138181072 https://www.ebay.com/itm/226138181077. If you have any issues with the active drivers reach out (cost + shipping). Congrats excellent subs IMO.

[spitfun]

I too used the Goldwoods to upgrade my Supertower III's and I swapped out the passives for the CSS brand that are also able to be weighted with washers-they also have a bit more travel, very happy.