As a temporary measure until the new website is completed, below is a partial (and partially updated) list of descriptions of the VMPS speakers
RM/x - ElixirSpecificationsFrequency response: 20Hz-25kHz +0/-3dB
Dimensions & Weight: 72H x 14W x 20D, 350 lbs
Drive Compliment: Bass: 12" sidefiring WCF Megawoofer bass, 10" front WCF midbass, 12" Downfiring Slot Loaded PR
Mid: six Neo ribbons, 200Hz (-3dB)
Treble: FST ribbon tweeter, 7kHz - 40kHz
Finishes: automotive 7 layers piano black standard
Unique qualities of the RM/x: 1. Permit user adjustment of treble angle of incidence in the vertical plane, so that any listening position in a given room is covered ideally. The RM/X utilizes a tweeter pod with a 45 degree downward arc any part of which can be set by the listener for the desired coverage. While the cabinet shape was the long-festering brainchild of industry veteran James Bongiorno, it could not have been built without the specialized equipment and 3 dimensional custom design software of Dorn Dibble in El Sobrante.
2. Eliminate the horizontal diffraction path for mids and trebles. The poor vertical dispersion of long ribbon panels takes care of the interference and lobing in the vertical plane. This feature is the enormous credit of Jim Bongiorno's concept, which took heroic effort to turn into reality.
3. Solve the problem of common room modes. There are sidefiring, bottom firing and front firing woofers on the RM/X which means 3 different bass path lengths into the room, confounding the resonances typically found in rectangular rooms. Even if you listen in a cube you'll be helped.
4. Offer solidity and rigidity like no other enclosure. In order to eliminate horizontal diffraction the front baffle starts out as a 14cm thick billet of MDF, which is cut away by the CNC ball mill on either side to a depth of 10cm, leaving nothing but air on either side of the ribbon array. The tweeter pod is not only directable but uniquely shaped to prevent diffraction. It is elevated completely free of the main cabinet.
The Ribbon Monitor Extreme (fanciful name "Elixir") has a "standard model" price of $13,900 per pair plus shipping.
The RM/X utilizes a new highly advanced tweeter, a 1cm wide x 5cm long free-swinging true ribbon with 96dB sensitivity. Moving mass of the tweeter is 13 milligrams, response is -3dB at 40 kHz, and the sound is the sweetest we've heard.
One free-swinging ribbon = 96dB/1m/100W RMS
Due to its outstanding low frequency response the new tweeter will cross over in the 7 kHz range. Mated to the RM/X's 94 dB midrange section you should get by on 15W of tube for the mid/treble, plus solid state amplifier for bass. This new tweeter is available in all our ribbon speakers for $400 per pair additional.
Auricaps add $550, TRT's $1200 as usual.
The VMPS RM 40 --2002 BEST OF CES AWARD WINNER With the VMPS Ribbon Monitor 40 we set a new standard for quality, value, and the latest technology wrapped into one slim, elegant package.
This 240 lb, 66” tall floorstanding speaker boasts the 10” Woven Carbon Fiber Megawoofer lowbass and 10” WCF midbass from our acclaimed FF3 SRE in a symmetrical array with four 8” Neodymium midrange ribbon panels (200Hz to 6.9 kHz) and two 1” spiral ribbon tweeters (flat to 25 kHz) in a column only 12.5” wide and 17” deep. Thin dimensions and full driver symmetry guarantee pinpoint imaging and a soundstage both wide and deep, with layering and detail that is simply breathtaking. Cabinetry is one and one half inch thick MDF baffles ( plus 1 1/8” sides and top) treated with Soundcoat for 10dB less panel vibration. The result is 24Hz bass with ultraclean 115dB/1M output levels at an unprecedented low price of $4599pr.
Neodymium is a relatively new alloy that can hold eight times the charge (i.e. magnetic field strength) of our old strontium ferrite panels while providing sufficient energy to extend the light, quick ribbon (1.25g moving mass) down to its 200Hz cutoff, which is fully utilized in this design. As a bonus there is no stray field from the Neo magnet structure, linearity is unsurpassed, and fidelity to source outstanding, far beyond the capacities of even the best cones and domes regardless of shape, size, or diaphragm material.
There are three ways to operate the RM 40, so-called because of its 40” vertical ribbon mid/tweeter array. The first is full range, with a single amplifier as a source. The system presents a steady 4 Ohm load, resistive above 200Hz, with 90dB/1W sensitivity and enormous output and dynamic range. More ambitious audiophiles can easily switch the system to the biamp/biwire configuration by remeoving the jumpers connecting the upper and lower binding posts, and run a separate bass amp through the speaker’s passive bass and mid/treble crossovers which, by the way, consist of all premium parts such as Axon polypropylene caps and hi-Q Erse 14 gauge laminated core inductors. The third option is biamping with the passive bass crossover removed, an outboard 24dB/octave electronic crossover driving the separate bass amp, and a second amp running the ribbon panels through their builtin 6 and 12 dB filters.
No matter if your tastes run to high-end Music or Home Theater, once you have heard the sheer responsiveness and velocity of our unique handbuilt woofers, exclusive high efficiency Neo ribbon midranges and spiral ribbon tweeters, you won’t want to go back to dynamic speakers including those six-figure “prestige” systems so beloved of some high-end critics.
The RM 40 was the centerpiece of our 2002 Consumer Electronics Show demonstration room which won “Best of CES” from TechTV, the media arm of the Electronics Industry Association, host of the Show. The RM 40 won as best High End Audio product in a field of 261 exhibitors (of all High End products, not just speakers, although our competitors in that regard all ran 5 to 20 times our price) with 35 total products nominated. The finalists were the RM 40, the ER Audio $35,000 tube power amp, and the ARCAM AV-8 preamp/surround processor ($4,000). A field of 26 judges canvassed the Show for winners, giving VMPS the nod in High End Audio.
Inspite of stiff competition the final vote was unanimous for the RM 40 as Best Product.
SpecificationsFrequency Response: 24Hz to 25 khz -3dB
Output levels and distortion: less than 1% fullrange at 1W drive 115+dB SPL available at 1m
Weight and dimensions: 66x12.5x17” (HxWxD), 240 lbs.
Drive complement: 10” PR, 10” WCF Megawoofer, 10” WCF midbass Four 8” Neodymium ribbon mids, two 1” spiral ribbon tweeters; single amp or biamp operation
Impedance and sensitivity: 4 Ohms (3.6 Ohms min); 90 dB/1W/1m
Power Handling: 500 W rms; 20W rms min for bass, 10W rms min for mid/treble
Finishes: lite oak, dark oak;(Standard)
piano black; cherry, walnut, rosewood. maple, african ebony, and birch optional
RM30 MainSpecificationsFrequency Response: 32Hz to 25 khz -3dB
Output levels and distortion: less than 1% fullrange at 1W drive 110+dB SPL available at 1m
Dimensions & Weight: 48 x 8 x 20” (HxWxD), 125 lbs.
Drive complement: Twin 6.5" PRs, 10” WCF Megawoofer, Twin 6.5” midbass 3 8” Neodymium ribbon mids, one FST tweeters; single amp or biamp operation
Impedance and sensitivity: 4 Ohms (3.6 Ohms min); 90 dB/1W/1m
Power Handling: 500 W rms; 20W rms min for bass, 10W rms min for mid/treble
Also available in
Model RM30C without 10" Woofer.
Finishes: Lite Oak, Dark Oak, Piano Black; standard,
Cherry, Rosewood optional
RIBBONSIf there has ever been a Holy Grail of speaker design, it is the push-pull, transformerless, high impedance, unobstructed, high output, high power handling 500Hz or lower short ribbon midrange suitable for 3 way systems. If that seems like a lot of adjectives and qualifiers, let us explain.
Ribbons were invented early in the century, no more than five years after the moving coil (dynamic) driver. A true ribbon is the simplest possible transducer: a magnetic field plus diaphragm-voicecoil-in-one. Only in recent times have ribbons lived up to their potential, however, thanks to new magnetics (Strontium 8 and Neodymium) and novel methods of etching thin "voicecoil" traces and attaching them effectively to film backing (necessary to prevent long ribbons from sustaining travelling waves which make them twist and undulate). Not that even modern manufacturing has made ribbon assembly easy. Our 7", 52" and 75" panels must be handmade from charged magnets, pesky ferrite bars which readily pinch the operator or fly apart from the extremely strong repulsive charges. Indeed our ribbons could not be fashioned from aluminum or the metal popular for stamped speaker baskets, because any less than 14 gauge steel and the panels can literally buckle
from the force field. Automated production being impossible, ribbons will always be expensive and hard to make.
Since various kinds of ribbons have appeared in high-end speakers over the years the consumer best inform himself about various design options. The most popular brand of "ribbon" speakers in the past decade are not ribbons at all, but single-ended planar dynamic woofer/midranges mated to transformer-operated ribbon tweeters. Single-ended (magnets on one side, usually the back) planars have very high THD, often 30% or more. We find their sound quality poor because their waveform fidelity is so poor. Thus the importance of the aforementioned push-pull characteristic, i.e. magnets on either side with equal propulsive force in both directions. Since ribbons tend toward low impedance they have almost always appeared in tandem with transformers, which dull and distort their sound. VMPS panels measure between 3.2 and 6.0 Ohms resistive, no transformer necessary. As for output levels, sensitivity and power handling, our panels excel in all three areas, thanks to improved technology, and the magnet structure does not impede the sound output.
The VMPS Ribbon Monitors are about more than just midrange, although the low, low moving mass (about the same as the air they displace) and flat frequency response of our panels (within 1dB from 450Hz to 6 kHz) make for fabulous, state-of-the art middle frequency reproduction.
Ribbon Monitor RM-2The RM 2 has a 12" woven carbon fiber woofer, 12" slot-loaded passive radiator (22Hz/ -3dB), dual midrange ribbons, and dual treble ribbons for increased power handling (250W, 115dB/1m max SPL) and vertical dispersion. The quality of sound over the full frequency spectrum is unsurpassed, a giant leap forward over dynamic competitors. Note that any moving-coil driver is burdened with at least 100 times the moving mass of our ribbons. The result: high inertia, sluggish transients, and compromised transparency and definition regardless of cone composition. It can be stated without hyperbole that even the costliest cone midranges and dome tweeters are now obsolete, rendered virtually irrelevant to audiophiles who seek the best sound per dollar spent.
SpecificationsBass: 12" woven carbon fiber, 12" PR
Midrange: dual 7" ribbons, 450Hz cutoff
Treble: dual spiral ribbons, 6kHz to 30kHz
Impedance & Sensitivity: 4 Ohms/91dB/1W/1m
Power handling: 250W rms /4 Ohms, 20Wmin
Dimensions & Weight: 45Hx15Wx16D", 130 lbs
QSO 626RThe QSO 626R is a dual 6.5” 3way styled to match our VMPS Ribbon Monitor and SRE series speakers. Cabinets are 24” tall, slender (10” wide), and feature round vertical edges, flush mounted drivers, and slotted antidiffraction masking of the tweeter for optimum dispersion in either the horizontal or (with masks rotated 90 degrees) vertical planes. The ported woofer design delivers high power handling and bass extension heretofore unheard in this price range (-3dB at 42Hz/1W drive, no more than 5% THD, with port output clean to 35Hz). The fabulous spiral ribbon in the 626R is the same as the RM ribbon speakers, and it is now available with the FST tweeter as an option
The small footprint of the QSO626R makes it suitable for center dialogue speaker use, in small Home Theaters, where its smooth midrange and low distortion permit great clarity in vocal reproduction. Flanking or main speaker requirements are fulfilled by the system’s high output levels (110dB SPL/1m max) and extended lowbass.
Introduced in April 2001, the QSO 626 Ribbon, a rear-ported three-driver design is of the highest available sonic quality. Indeed the 626R is perhaps the best-sounding small system you can buy, despite its low price (for which we apologize--compare the 626R against those $10,000 minimonitors and hear what we mean). The 626R is standard with our unique, innovative Neodymium 8” mid, and our own specially-made 1” spiral ribbon tweeter with flat response out to 25 kHz.
Most Home Theater processors provide a contoured output for a separate Subwoofer (an 80Hz rolloff is standard on most), and many A/V and multichannel amps add a power amp channel just for a subwoofer. Here the dual 12” Dedicated Subwoofer (so-called because the built-in passive crossover is “dedicated” for use with the QSO 626 series) fills in the first two octaves of bass unlike any competitor near its size or price. Bass cutoff (-3dB at 24 Hz with the woven carbon fiber, 80oz Megawoofer option) and high output (over 112dB SPL/1m for 5% THD) ensure clean, thunderous reproduction of the many lowbass outbursts in modern action/adventure films. The passive xover set at 90Hz complements linear outputs of unfiltered bass amp channels perfectly. A second Dedicated Subwoofer, located say in the rear of the room and wired antiphase to the front woofer, will generate a spectacular low-frequency rolling-through-the-room effect of visceral impact.
Other options include a version with no built-in crossovers (for use with an outboard electronic crossover or rolled-off bass amp), or at additional cost with universal low and highpass crossovers with allow operation with any number of satellite or main speakers of other manufacture. The Dedicated Subwoofer is not shielded (due to its large magnet) and is unpowered (the built-in amps of most “powered”subwoofers are cheap--about $80--poor quality, bad sounding, fail frequently due to heavy vibration inside the woofer enclosure, and are burdened with limiters that prevent the woofer from exceeding about 104dB SPL/1m, a real damper on Audio/Video excitement).
Audiophiles desiring a high quality satellite/subwoofer systems in or outside A/V use will find the QSO 626R and the Dedicated Subwoofer ideally matched, neutrally balanced, and most attractively priced.
Specifications 1x 6.5’ Woven Carbon Fiber unshielded or woven Fiberglass shielded woofer
8” Neodymium (200Hz xover) ribbon midrange
1” spiral dome tweeter, or FST tweeter (6.9 kHz xover with neodymium mid)
Midrange and tweeter level controls
Port located on back baffle
Dimensions (HxWxD): 24x10x13
Weight 50 lbs
DEDICATED SUBWOOFERLow Frequency cutoff: 24 Hz (-3dB with Megawoofer option)
Sensitivity: 90 dBSPL/1W/1m
Woofers: one active 12” polypropylene cone w/butyl surround, 40oz magnet, 200W voicecoil (standard version); OR active 12” Woven Carbon Fiber w/natural rubber surround, 80oz magnet, 300W voicecoil (Megawoofer version); PLUS slot-loaded 12” passive radiator with user-adjustable bass damping
Crossover: 90Hz at 6 dB/oct with passive xover installed
Power Requirements: 20W rms min, 200/300W rms max
Impedance: 8 Ohms
Dimensions (HxWxD): 27x14.5x16.5”
Weight: 85 lbs.
Cabinet and Finishes: lite or dark with black grill; or satin black over oak; 3/4”MDF construction throughout with hardwood corners full length
SUBWOOFERS
215 Subwoofer Frequency Response: +0, -3dB, 18Hz to 200Hz (19Hz with optional Megawoofer)
THD: 2.5% max. 20Hz to 200Hz with 1 W drive
Sensitivity: 90dB/1W/1m
Maximum undistorted output: 112 dB/1m for 2.5% THD
Drive complement: 15" polycone active w/butyl surround (15" WCF active with Megawoofer available as upgrade), 15" slot-loaded passive radiator
Recommended Crossover Range: 60Hz - 200 Hz
Impedance: 8 Ohms
Power Requirements: 20W - 200W rms (300W with Megawoofer)
Dimensions: 20 x 27 x 17" (HxWxD)
Shipping Weight: 105 lbs.
Finishes: genuine oak veneer, light or dark, 1" MDF construction, black grill; cherry and other finishes on special order
Internal wiring: 12 gauge Analysis Plus
The LARGER Subwoofer Frequency Response: +0, -3dB, 17Hz to 250 Hz
THD: 0.5% 20Hz to 250 Hz with 1W drive
Sensitivity: 92 dB/1W/1m
Maximum undistorted output: at least 115dB/1m SPL at 20Hz for 2.5% THD
Drive Complement: 12" polycone active (or 12" WCF active), 15" polycone active. 15" mass-loaded passive
Recommended crossover range: 60Hz to 250Hz
Impedance: 4 Ohms (both woofers strapped together; otherwise two 8 Ohm inputs)
Power Requirements: 20W to 350W rms (500W rms with Megawoofer)
Dimensions: 23 x 32x 19" (HxWxD)
Shipping Weight: 140 lbs.; 1" MDF construction
Finishes: genuine oak veneer, light or dark, black cloth grill; satin black over oak or piano black over oak on special order
Internal wiring: 12 gauge Analysis Plus
Powered SUBS now available:After 21 years, Brian has found a SUB amp that meets his minimum specs and now offers it as an option ($399)
One of the most technologically advanced subwoofer amplifiers on the market!
This new subwoofer amplifier is based on state-of-the-art Class G circuit topology that combines the proven high power, high fidelity characteristics of a Class AB amplifier with a patented tracking down converter power supply to achieve an operating efficiency up to 86%.
You get the efficiency of a Class D amplifier without compromising audio quality and reliability. The class AB output stage provides the clean and low-distortion sound that audiophiles demand, without any instability problems of other high-efficiency amplifier designs.
This American designed and engineered amplifier uses patented circuitry that continuously tracks the input signal to modulate or control the voltage available to the output stage. This "tracking" capability delivers the exact amount of power based on demand instead of constantly keeping it in reserve, so the output stage only draws the amount of power that is required at any given time. This means less energy is wasted as heat, and more power is available for the subwoofer driver.
High power Class AB output stage
Patented tracking downconverter power supply
Full parametric bass EQ
Phase reversal switch
Auto On/Off
Advanced soft clip circuitry
Toroidal power supply transformer
Power output: 512 watts RMS @ 8 ohms, 1024 watts RMS @ 4 ohms
S/N ratio: 98 dB (A-weighted)
Low-pass crossover: 30 - 200 Hz, 24 dB/octave
Auto On/Off
Dimensions: 11-15/16" W x 11-15/16" H x 5-1/4" D
Limited Warranty: VMPS Subwoofers are warranted against manufacturing defects for five years from date of purchase, provided defective driver is returned to factory freight prepaid. Abuse or damage (e.g. burned-out voicecoils) are excluded from warranty protection.
SUB amp warrantee is offered and handled via the amp manufacturer.
