[meilankev]

I'm one of the grizzled veterans with RM40s - I ordered mine in Jan 2002.  Cherry Flambe' with TRT caps.  Brian was a dream to work with throughout the entire process.  Here's my long-term observations on these speakers:

> Fit and Finish - Excellent.  Certainly better than the Thiel CS-3.6 speakers I also own.  Of the speakers I auditioned in 2001, only the $22,000 Sonus Fabers had a noticeably nicer finish.  My price range at the time was ~ $15,000, so my auditions included speakers by Vandersteen, Gershman Acoustics, Thiel, Eggleston Works, JM Labs, Wilson, Avalon, plus non-furniture speakers like Magnepan, Martin Logan, and Avantgarde.

> Sound Quality - When combined with the other components in my Listening Room (as well as the Listening Room itself), the RM40s fit my preferences/compromises to a tee.  Ultra-dynamic (both micro-dynamics and macro-dynamics), great punch in the mid and upper bass, very coherent and accurate, and can be played very loudly without listener fatigue.

> Pride in Ownership - Hardly a month goes by without me having an audiophile acquaintance (or group) over to listen to some tunes.  Audio should not be an individual sport.  These guests who have read of poor workmanship on VMPS speakers (on audio forums such as this) are always surprised on how nice my speakers look.  And the sound??  Well, I wouldn't keep having people over if they didn't stroke my ego.  

Are they perfect?  Of course not.  Nor is any other audio component.  My room certainly isn't.  But for what I want out of this hobby (oh, my hobby is musical enjoyment, not audio gear), my current system is just about perfect.  I can't imagine any VMPS owner who is more satisfied.

Kevin

[pjchappy]

Good to hear!  Any plans on getting the CDWG?

p

[zybar]

Nice post Kevin.

George

[ctviggen]

Kevin, you bring up good points.  I hadn't listened to my RM40s for a while now, because of the holidays and house work.  Last night, after I watched 3.25 quarters of the Rose Bowl before realizing the last 13 minutes or so got cut off (dang it!  why didn't I lengthen the record time?), I listened to my RM40s for the first time in ages.  Wow, they sounded great.  I thought Neil Diamond was in the room with me.  There's still a touch of boominess, as I added the midbass upgrade and added putty to PRs but have yet to adjust the PRs.  And yes, I plan on getting around to adjusting them...one of these days, when I'm not fooling around with something else.  Nonetheless, what the RM40s do well, they do really well.

[warnerwh]

Well Kevin I'd have to say you've hit the nail on the proverbial head. I've had many people tell me my speakers look "beautiful", and they are.  The sound I have now is just incredible.  My imaging is holographic and the sonic balance I've tweaked to as close to perfect as one can.  When listening to music I get lost in the performance to a degree I've never been able to before. Many times I feel like applauding at the end of a song, it's like I forgot I'm at home.(I listen with my eyes closed).  I'd say I'm a pretty happy customer too.

[meilankev]

P,

You asked:

Good to hear! Any plans on getting the CDWG?

Yes, this is the type of tweak that I am very interested in, as it is non-invasive.  I am very interested on how it will sound in my room (with my gear).

Kevin

[woodsyi]

P,

You asked:

Good to hear! Any plans on getting the CDWG?

Yes, this is the type of tweak that I am very interested in, as it is non-invasive.  I am very interested on how it will sound in my room (with my gear).

Kevin

Kevin,  

Great post and glad you are enjoying your speakers.  I have to disagree about you not being able to imagine a more satisfied ower.   I, for one, could give you a run for the title.   I will be curious to know what you think of CDWG when you get it.  It took some effort to achieve a tonal balance to my liking and I needed external control (i.e. gain control on separate amps) that you won't have since you run yours full way.

[ctviggen]

Woodsyi,

Could you go into more detail about your set up and what you did with the CDWG?  I've ordered mine, but I'm not sure when they'll get here.  I am going to implement a digital room correction system, but this will take me a while, so I'd like to know what I'll be losing in the interim.

[woodsyi]

Bob,

As you know, I actively biamp the 40s (tri if you factor the subs).  I run the ribbons with my tube amps straight from my preamp and let the passive TRT crossover do the filtering (quasi 1st order high pass on the tweeter and bandpass on the neos).  4 woofers of the 40's are driven by ss amps bandpassed between 80 and 280 via an active x-over.  The subs are driven by another ss amp low passed at 80.  

The first thing I had to do was get the tweeter and midrange in balance.  It will take quite a bit of redution of tweeter output even with the midrange totally open.  I may actually physically bypass the L-pad on the mid range as you will want it all the way open.  One concern is that I am getting close  to the threshhold of noon on the tweeter L-pad beyond which point sound quality is affected.  Then I had to balance the combined output of the ribbons and the woofers.  But before that I had to get the putty adjusted some what since new passives were put in.  I ended up removing some on the 40s and adding some the subs.   There is alot of change in the sound and it took a couple of weeks to figure out that I wasn't quite happy with the overall balance even though I was getting more impact and clarity in certain regions.  

I ended up reducing the output of the woofers to bring out the midrange back a little to get what I like.  Of course, this meant that I had to go through the putty adjustment again.  This is a tricky part and I am sure my predilection for vocals play a role in this set up.  I thought I was getting too much bass and midbass that was overshadowing the vocals.  You may not -- you just have to listen for yourself.  By the way upon Warner's recommendation, I am going to put a DEQ 2496 between my Transport and DAC to playwith DSP on my digital front end.  It also does some room correction stuff.

[ctviggen]

Thanks, Woodsyi.  By the way, here's a long thread about the Behringer DCX2496:

http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?s=7da48bf0e65ff41938cf5bd7d4358119&threadid=15943

I also plan on putting a device to do digital room correction between my transport and my DAC.  I'm just not entirely sure how this is going to work and how long it'll take.

[Radiator]

I felt like this is a good place to praise my experience with VMPS and Brian...I purchased the RM2 kit about 6 years or so ago.  Had a few questions, ended up calling the help number and conversing with Brian.  He was super helpful, and nice as can be.  Helped me keep my patience with what was a pretty complex build for me, especially at the time.  The speakers turned out great, super build quality, and sound that, for me, has been second to none.  

Kevin, something you wrote sort of matched what I often think about the whole audiophile thing: "my hobby is musical enjoyment, not audio gear".  Exactly.  I am not interested in high priced musical furniture...I am interested in obtaining the best sound I can for my budget.  

My experience with VMPS could not have been better.  I have a hard time even entertaining the idea of a 2 channel system void of VMPS speakers in any dwelling where I live.  I thought that I may have a problem with a mid panel or two, but I now believe it is an artifact of a favorite recording.  Regardless, I brought it up with Brian (via private email), and he offered to test the mids, and replace if necessary.  This is perhaps five years after the fact.  With no questions asked.  I never took him up on it, though, because I have a very hard time reproducing the issue, and have become convinced that it is not his drivers causing the issue.  So, count me as one who has found good build quality, good experience dealing with the company representative (Brian), and terrific sounding ribbon speakers.

In this world, it is much easier to trash a reputation than it is to build one.  I believe Brian generally has a built a good reputation with those who have dealt with him, and I believe it has been gained through high quality sound reproduction, and normally high quality products.  Unfortunately negative experiences are more often discussed than positive experiences are, so I wanted to chime in on this one.

[John Casler]

P,

You asked:

Good to hear! Any plans on getting the CDWG?

Yes, this is the type of tweak that I am very interested in, as it is non-invasive.  I am very interested on how it will sound in my room (with my gear).

Kevin

Hi Kevin,

Yes, your sentiments and evaluation are appreciated.

I have to say that I am rather flabbergasted about the CDWG in actual use and will post a separate post about my thoughts and Evaluation.

[meilankev]

woodsyi,

Thanks for the comments.  You posted:

I will be curious to know what you think of CDWG when you get it. It took some effort to achieve a tonal balance to my liking and I needed external control (i.e. gain control on separate amps) that you won't have since you run yours full way.

I understand that incorporating the waveguide will take some effort at re-tuning the speakers.  That's fine with me - I'm pretty comfortable with that endeavor at this point.  And my approach to this tweak will be simple: if I feel this device causes more harm than good (in my system), I will not use it.  This is one of the reasons I am so interested in it (relative to previous VMPS tweaks) - it is simple to "un-do".

And if you want the title of "most-satisfied VMPS customer", I will gladly allow you this honor.  #2 ain't so bad....  

Kevin

[meilankev]

Radiator,

Thanks for the post.  I don't know if you get over to Tampa very often, but there's quite a few of us that meet here for audio get-togethers.  Some really nice guys with a passion for music (audio gear comes in a close second, I'm afraid).  

I'm one of those kinds who will bring out music if I think it is great - even if it is poorly recorded and/or doesn't show my gear off in its best light.  I would much rather turn a guest on to an artist they were unfamiliar with as opposed to have them leaving my home impressed with my setup.  Good conversation and good music - it's tough to beat.

Most of us are members over at Home Theater Talk - it is my main hangout (and chock full of Central Florida residents).  Even though I come to Audio Circle daily, I post here pretty infrequently - and almost always on this VMPS sub-forum only.  But I'm piling up the posts over on HTT.  

Kevin

[meilankev]

John,

Thanks for chiming in.  What are your thoughs on Woodsyi's concern - that it might be more difficult to incorporate the waveguide if you are running your speakers full-range???

Thanks,
Kevin

[Radiator]

Hi Kevin-

Thanks a bunch for the offer.  Actually, I seldom get to Tampa, life for me tends to be a bit overbooked.  I would enjoy the opportunity, however I am very busy for the forseeable future, with work and a cruise coming in February.  I am interested in what you folks listen to.  I myself am chiefly a rock and roll kinda guy, mostly the older standbys, but I also have a great fondness for anything New Orleans related, especially music.  I am a major Radiators fan, as well as some other stuff.  Hopefully when things slow down we can get together and exchange some music.  I also do a lot of music trading of bands that allow taping.  That is often not the high fidelity recordings that show off an audiophile system, but, like you, I am interested in the music primarily, and opportunities to expose folks to stuff they may never have heard.  I do love a great sounding system though, and there is a lot of knowledge out there about this stuff that I would like to learn.    I also love to discover new music, more often than not the exposure comes from other people (radio doesn't offer much in the way of new music)...and thats fine by me.  As for Home theatre, I only have a two channel system, though I sometimes think about moving in that direction.  I doubt I would ever be in a world that doesn't have a 2 channel hi fidelity system though.  And I still have a few glaring holes in my system.  Still investing though.

Thanks for the invite, I hope I am able to take you up on it in the future.  I do have some friends in Tampa that I owe a visit also.

Rob

[John Casler]

John,

Thanks for chiming in.  What are your thoughs on Woodsyi's concern - that it might be more difficult to incorporate the waveguide if you are running your speakers full-range???

Thanks,
Kevin

Hi Kev,

Actually the system as Brian offers it will run full range with no problem.

He offers it with a "new" passive radiator, that adjusts down the bass output to match the slight (1.5db) drop from covering the panels.

B, has said that the tweeter is actually down in response above 10K or so, and the RM30s at the show were "not" modified.  I did not hear this.  In fact, I have several cuts that demonstrate HF, and they all sounded correct and acceptable.  

Brian has a simple and elegant solution for this, should he deem it nessessary.

[woodsyi]

John,

I think the 40s may have the most difficult time getting the tonal balance reestablished with CDWG because it has the most reduction in the midrange output (4 panels) and the biggest midwoofer (10").  I am not discouraging anyone to get it.  In fact, I love the way mine sound after a bit of effort in retuning and I would recommend it for any 40 owners.   I just want them to know that I had some head scratching and hours of adjusting the L-pads, gains on my different amps and putty adjustment to get the sound I wanted.     And you know what?  Truth be told, I didn't even notice the hours go by until my wife told me I was down there for 8 hours.  I was in the zone.  

[John Casler]

John,

I think the 40s may have the most difficult time getting the tonal balance reestablished with CDWG because it has the most reduction in the midrange output (4 panels) and the biggest midwoofer (10").  I am not discouraging anyone to get it.  In fact, I love the way mine sound after a bit of effort in retuning and I would recommend it for any 40 owners.   I just want them to know that I had some head scratching and hours of adjusting the L-pads, gains on my different amps and putty adjustment to get ...

Gotcha.

I wonder how much the sound will change after the new PR "loosens" up.  RM40s typically sound a little bass shy in the beginning.

I can appreciate how the time goes by (enjoyably) when "playing" with the speaker adjustments.

You know with 4 Subs and a pair of RM30s, I have done everything except turn the RM30s upside down (Hmmmmmm... )

As a side note, since you saw my system, I now have the front LARGERS still "in plane" with the RM30s, but I have raised them 18" off the floor on stands, while having the "rear" pair of LARGERs right behind my listening chair facing "away" and wired "in phase" with the fronts, and sitting on the floor.

If you can visualize that, it is quite effective.