Hello Everyone,
I thought it was finally time to provide my review of the RM/Xs. I have had the RM/Xs for a few weeks but have only recently reached the “fully tuned in” point.
So, in a nutshell, what are my thoughts? Once they were set up correctly, they were the best stereo speaker I have personally heard. Period. The only musical sound that I have heard that was better was the RM40 Trinaural setup I did a few months back (still gives me goosebumps thinking what an RM/X in the center and RM40s on the side should sound like
).
So what are the basics?
My RM/Xs were fully burned in at the factory so experienced virtually no break-in once I got them. The never had the ear-splitting highs that I experienced for the first 20 hours with the RM40s. The RM/Xs also had the TRTs versus the Auricaps in the RM40s. The rest of the chain was Ampzilla 2000 monoblocs, Marsh P2000B fully balanced pre-amp, Pioneer Elite DV47A SACD player (probably my weakest link in the chain), and ScorpionWire Interconnects and Speaker Cables. In my typical obsessive nature, the speakers are symmetrically placed within the room to within 1/3 inch and within 1/6 degree of toe-in (a tape measure and laser are mandatory audio equipment in my book) with the SPL balanced within .1 dB.
How hard were they to set up?
VERY HARD
. The RM/Xs seem to be extremely room dependant and my final setup is very different from Brian’s recommendations. In total, I spent well over 40+ hours critically and actively listening/moving/removing (after listening to my demo SACDs around 300-400 times, I am definitely looking for different demo material
) Had I not previously had the RM40s, I could easily see it taking significantly longer. However, this was an incredibly valuable experience for me. Now that I know what they can sound like and have gone through countless iterations myself, I think that I could probably set up one in about 4 hours or so in most homes. As such, I will likely take a page out of Brian’s old "reference system" playbook when selling them: no discount, free shipping, and I will purchase my own plane ticket and fly for free to your home to help you set them up (some restrictions apply). That is how important I believe proper set-up is in getting the best sound. For folks that have specific questions about how the RM/Xs may react in their room, please send me a private e-mail. I would prefer not to discuss room set-up here on the forum.
So what are the benefits over the RM40?
The incredible bass is the most notable difference. All I can say is WOW. For folks that thought the RM40s were a little "weak", there should be no such discussion for any room smaller than a football stadium with the RM/Xs. CBARTOLOMEI desire to augment the bass with the two Vandersteen subs I am guessing is the exception more than the rule. I actually spent most of my time in my 14x19x10 heavily bass damped room trying to get rid of some of the bass.
As for the mids, there are definitely fine details in the music that I can hear more clearly in the RMXs versus my RM40s. Not sure if this is due to the true line source, no cabinet diffraction, TRT caps, etc. There is also definitely more “weight” to male vocals. The six NEO panels are also incredibly dynamic and have no problem with complex classical works at all (i.e., Mahlers 6th by Zander). No congestion what-so-ever as far as I could tell.
Not sure if I can actually describe how the tweeter interacts with everything. The clarity is the same as on the RM40 but the overall effect is different. Might have to leave this just as one of those “have to hear it” things.
So can I stand up?
Yes and No. You can position the tweeter to allow for someone to stand up with virtually no change in sound. However, in my room, that tweeter position slightly reduced the “warmth” at the normal seated position. With the tweeter optimized for the normal seated position, there is a vertical sweet spot that goes from about 18" to exactly 57". At 58” the sound becomes totally anemic as if someone turned off the subwoofer. I have absolutely NO idea why this is
. It is one of the strangest audio things I have ever encountered.
What about power?
For most people, a very high current amp like the Ampzilla will be fine. That being said, I have clipped my amps on several occasions when the “average” SPL was only in the mid 90s. For “top-heavy” works (orchestra, vocals, etc.) you will be driven out of the room far before the amps clip. However, the bass drivers in the RM/Xs seem to really suck the juice. On my Blue Man Group DVD, there are several bass drum notes that suck the amp dry. Eventually, I will try to bi-amp the RM/Xs and see what difference it makes.
How is the veneer?
The veneer looks extremely nice but not quite to the Steinway Piano level (I actually drove to a high-end piano store so that I could do a visual comparison for myself. The guy at the store probably thought I was on crack based on how I was looking at the pianos). I am working with Brian to track down and address some of the minor imperfections that I have in my cabinets (hopefully to be fixed with a good veneer polish). Talking with Rup, his cabinets seem to be slightly better than mine.
Final thoughts?
Another great speaker from Brian
. Once they are set up properly (very, very, very, very important), I can’t imagine anyone not being totally blown away by how they sound. At this stage, I would easily compare them to any speaker at any cost.
Julian
www.sedonaskysound.com
