[mca]

My new RM30's arrived last week and I am still in the positioning and setup phase. I'm having a hard time getting them placed to image properly and get the soundstage to open up.

I thought I'd ask RM30 owners what placement they ended up with that yeilded the best results.

How far apart are your speakers
How far away from the side and back walls
How far away do you sit
Did you end up with the woofers facing in or out
Did you have to remove any mortite
What are your pots set at

I figure this will help me out with placement ideas and may help others out too.

[Brian Cheney]

Place the woofers firing out, towards the room walls. One to two feet from back and side walls is best.

Toe in the speakers so that they crossfire a few feet in front of your listening position. This is most important for imaging.

Experiment with removing very small amounts of putty from the front PR--enough to fit under a fingernail.

If you can damp the back and side walls at the speaker end of the room--Sonex does best.

[John Casler]

My new RM30's arrived last week and I am still in the positioning and setup phase. I'm having a hard time getting them placed to image properly and get the soundstage to open up.

I thought I'd ask RM30 owners what placement they ended up with that yeilded the best results.

How far apart are your speakers
How far away from the side and back walls
How far away do you sit
Did you end up with the woofers facing in or out
Did you have to remove any mortite
What are your pots set at

I figure this will help me out with placement ideas and may help others out too.

Of course what Big B says is true.

Most find the woofers facing out gives the best bass, but if you are set up on the "long" wall, you might try both ways to see.

(I have a tweak coming that can help)

I would seriously suggest a rather nearfeild listening position. I am about 8 feet or less.  My width is about 8 feet.

Pots are usually around 12:00 ish, depending on your electronics.

Sitting nearfeild will reduce room affects, but will also bring the perfromance more "forward".

You might also check out my "RM30 Tall Boy" post for more ideas.

Be prepared for at least a 30 day break in, and maybe even 90days, depending on how loud you play the speakers and for how long.

I wouldn't get too eager with the putty until you have a least 100 hours on them (even though B, does blast the woofers pretty good and pre-tunes the putty, before they get to you)

When properly set up these should give you the absolute best "image and soundstage" you have ever heard in all three planes.

[warnerwh]

A very important issue with regards to imaging is sidewall reflections. Reflections that arrive somewhere around 8ms-15ms behind the original sound will cause blurring. This because they are so close to the original sound that your brain will lump them together.  One of the first places to start with room acoustics is to treat these first reflections and of course this means floor and ceiling too.  

I read the three most important things in real estate are the same for speakers:
Location, Location, Location.

Room treatments though are necessary for highest quality sound though.  I  know Mike's been in two acoustically treated rooms with VMPS speakers and knows how great they can sound.  Now it's his turn to get his room right.  An effort that pays off in spades and is also very rewarding to one's self.  

Also Welcome Mike to the VMPS club!

[ScottMayo]

Treat that room! You don't know how good those puppies sound until you've tamed the reflections down, and hear them, just them, pumping out the music.

[jermmd]

Place the woofers firing out, towards the room walls. One to two feet from back and side walls is best.

Toe in the speakers so that they crossfire a few feet in front of your listening position. This is most important for imaging.

Experiment with removing very small amounts of putty from the front PR--enough to fit under a fingernail.

If you can damp the back and side walls at the speaker end of the room--Sonex does best.

This is how I set mine up and the imaging and soundstage were perfect.

[John Casler]

Treat that room! You don't know how good those puppies sound until you've tamed the reflections down, and hear them, just them, pumping out the music.

Interestingly enough, most don't have the slightest idea how "intrusive" the reflected "room sounds" are   and also strangley enough, the VMPS ribbons and Neopanels are some of the least reflective speakers available.

This is because of their reduced dispersion charachter, that limits the amount of sound that is splashed/sprayed to the floors, walls, and ceiling compared to their "dynamic cone" counterparts.

But, never the less, they sound so much more pure and open, when the sonic haze from what room reflection they do make, is reduced even further.

[KJ]

I have my RM30Ms tucked away right now while I demo some other toys, but previously I had them sitting on the short wall of my listening room.  They rested 18 inches away from the back wall, 8 feet apart and 12 feet from the listening position.  I tried crossing them originally, but found that I preferred having them firing directly at the listener instead.  I used a laser to point each one at the listener's ears for accuracy.  Right speaker aimed at the right ear, left aimed at the left ear.  I opted to give up some sweet spot width for what I felt to be greater detail.  YMMV.

As previously mentioned by others, I'd leave the putty and pots alone until both are fully broken in.  I had my 10" woofers pointing in originally, but I've had them firing to the outside for a while now.  I'll probably swap them a few times to re-compare since I picked up new amps.  However, your room will ultimately decide which way you should face them.

Enjoy your new speakers, and let us know what you settle on for positioning.

-KJ