[John Casler]

Too many thing to do

Sorry for being so late in posting THE SHOW info, but seems like time has "shrunk".

First off, let me say that the concept of taking 3 RM v60's in a TrinAural Set up, and supplemented via stereo VLS Subs in a room the size of your bedroom is a task of "Mission Impossible".

The sheer volume of sonic wave launch and properly energizing the air in the room, while dealing with the reflective elements, modes and nodes is mind boggling.

So how did it turn out?

Except for a minor technical problem on Monday, it was Sonically Spectacular

On Sunday I arrived and a group of us proceeded to unload, unpack, and transfer all the equipment and acoustic materials from the vans to the rooms.

Thank goodness we had extra muscle and hand trucks.  Those VLA subs are the heaviest speakers I have ever had the pleasure to move around.  They must weigh close to 400#.   I think Brian said they "ship" crated at 1000# a pair.

Then it was spraying the plywood sheets and Acoustic Foam with adhesive and making the "room treatments" B is well known for.  These were then placed strategically along the walls.

RM v60s were assembled placing the "WINGS" on the Woofer Bases, and wiring up the OXO's to the speakers.

All were then moved into approximate positions.

Then we had to "build" from parts a complete Arcici Rack to place all the equipment on. 

The next step was placing all the components including amps, Preamps, Trinaural Processor, Disc Players, Turntable, and Power Conditioners into the rack. and "properly" running the correct cables to each of the components and speakers.

The margin for error here is HIGH since you are dealing with 6 amp channels and speaker cables, in very low light situations.

But when we fired it up, it was in pretty good shape.

In fact, it sounded pretty unbelievable from the first second we turned it on.

Now while this all seems like an easy job, most of you might know that your personal systems are the result of small and regular tweaks and adjustments to "get it right" in your room.

Well in a room of this size, and with this many HUGE speakers to get this right in a short period is quite a task.

B, attacked it with forethought and experience and the results were astounding.

However, it didn't last.

Somehow from the time we felt it sounded "pretty damn good" to the next day (Monday) something went askew

My best guess was that either a visitor kicked the wiring, or moving the speakers around for the best positioning, cause a couple wires to touch, but in in any event, the next day, (MONDAY) the balance was fouled.

Now the problem was in a TriNaural System and with CDWG's on, unless you are playing very familiar reference recordings and you are sitting in the sweet seat, it is hard to hear when things go bad.

Most everyone who listened was still quite impressed, but occasionally some would ask if the center speaker was on, or just which speakers "were" playing.

This actually seemed like a good thing, since one should NOT be able to hear any specific speaker location.

Well my first indication that "something" had happened was when the James Darby editor of Stereo Mojo stopped in and played a "test" CD cut that should have offered more precise "imaging and placement" of sounds.

So I traced the problem to the fact that whatever had occurred cause the left speaker to be "seriously" lower in SPL's than the other two.  Switched to another AMPZILLA, and bada Bing!!!! Problem solved, and Heavenly sound for the rest of the show.

So anyone who might have heard the system on Monday, I hope you got a chance to re-visit when it was "re-tuned" to how it should have sounded.

During the show, we were visited by many, many listeners, which was always so strange since the halls always seemed deserted, yet we seldom had any time without several people in the room.

We were also visited by many well known reviewers.  My memory is a bit cloudy, but if I recall here are some:

James Darby - Stereo Mojo (hope he got a chance to re-visit after the fix)
Marty DeWulf - Bound for Sound
Roger Gordon - Positive Feedback Online
Dick Oshler- Enjoy the Music and Absolute Sound
Harry Pearson - Absolute Sound
Clint DeBoer - Audioholics

Will post more later....
 

[Brian Cheney]

For me at this Show the biggest challenges were positioning the left and right speakers, finding the right tonal balance in the mids and treble, and compensating for the loss of a fully broken in left channel amp and the substitution of a new one factory cold from the box.

There were times on some program material when the sound took on a glare or harshness I found most distressing.  Leaving the equipment on 24hrs a day helped, and by day 4 I was able to retune and rebalance everything to my satisfaction.  Before then we were very dependent on the sound quality of the source material people gave us to play.

I always welcome customer requests and demo material they're familiar with, and   detest the "preprogrammed" demo many high end booths swear by in order to avoid  playing material which exposes their system's weaknesses.  Few who heard their own CD's were disappointed with our setup.  The most frequent comment (spoken hourly it seemed) was "This is the best sound at the Show" or "This is the best sound I've ever heard".  Often this came from reviewers and retailers, the toughest customers.  No one cut us any slack for our cramped (13.5 x 19ft with 8ft ceiling) environment.  Of course we set up eight 4x4' panels of 3" Sonex plus four corner bass traps, plus one V60 extra damper pressed into service as a mobile node killer.

Many commented on the center channel ("Is it on?"  "Are all 5 speakers playing?") since the images were so solid and palpable and yet so detached from the speakers. This is James Bongiorno's doing.  The all analog Trinaural Processor (which won the Best of CES Award for High End Audio  in 2003, with our new RM/X system first runner-up, all playing together in our Alexis Park demo) consistently delivered the most believable soundstage I have ever heard.  Orchestras in particular sounded full-bodied, dynamic, and natural.  The ultra low distortion VLA sub towers provided effortless, full-volume 16Hz organ pedals from HP's XRCD of Holst's "The Planets", much to that audio veteran's satisfaction. BTW we used no bass boost, just 3 to 4 dB of 71Hz cut from the bass amp's parametric EQ to notch out the floor-to-ceiling room mode 

Many reviewers returned to the room several times.Just about everyone commented on the marvelous bottom end from the VLA's, and how they did not overload the room, or ever boom or thud at any listening position.

You will see show reports in many journals on line and in print mentioning our room.  I hope it produces plenty of "buzz" about VMPS that will carry over until our next Show, the 2008 RMAF, which will feature the new RM30 SDE digitally corrected and room adjusted by the DCX2496 (not present at CES, our repro chain being all analog with the exception of the Audience-modded Denon DVD player).

[Housteau]

James Darby - Stereo Mojo (hope he got a chance to re-visit after the fix)

Sadly it doesn't appear that happened.  Here is the short review:  http://www.stereomojo.com/CES2008/CESReport2008pt.5.htm
 

Speaking of ribbons. Here's a ton of 'em in the new VMPS towers. Those big woofer towers are not ribbons, of course. I heard these in Denver at the Rocky Mountain Show and was mightily impressed. Here? Not so much. They were being fed by some kind of processor that turned two channel into three channel - thus the center channel speaker you see. Whatever it was processing, it did not sound good on the Stereomojo Reference Disk.

The RM V60, the company's first new model in three years, is composed of two sections. The V, which includes the 6 Neopanel Midrange Drivers and single Tweeter, and the Base which houses 3 - 6.5" megawoofers in an acoustic suspension system. At almost seven feet tall, they look a bit imposing, but the sound is anything but.

Price is about 9 grand depending on options and such, but not including those big bass towers.

It is a good photo though.  I like how the ebony and rosewood models were used together.



This is the review that was thought to possibly be in doubt due to the equipment problems reported on that Monday.  I look forward to read the others for when the room was working correctly.

[Brian Cheney]

Yes we had a serious channel imbalance that first day that skewed the imaging.  It was not the fault of the Trinaural Processor.

[John Casler]

James Darby - Stereo Mojo (hope he got a chance to re-visit after the fix)

Too bad, but James (and his lovely wife) knew how good they could sound since he said the set up at RMAF was great.

Wish we would have discovered the "hitch" earlier, but seldom does the room sound the best on the first day anyhow.

I know Roger Gordon came back in and mentioned it was "night and day".

[Housteau]

An audiophile friend of mine who has yet to hear my new system, is well aware of my own impressions about it.  So, he made sure that some friends he knows with ears he trusts were able to visit the VMPS room at this years CES.  One works for Acoustic Sounds and has been there from nearly the beginning.  Anyway, the word back from the CES was that they were not impressed.  I am assuming they were there on Monday as well.  I hope that when some of the other reviews come out that 'night and day' difference will be mentioned and explained.  Sadly first impressions are often hard to break.

[JDarby - Stereomojo.com]

Hi Guys,

I'm glad to hear there was a problem and that the problem was not with the speakers OR my ears! I wish I had known so I could come back, if only just to hear them again like I did at RMAF.

I STILL remember the sound and how much Linda and I liked it, even though the room was small for such a large speaker. That's even more impressive.

Like I said at RMAF and THE SHOW, we would love to do a review of them. I know they would sound even better in my room.

Please send me an email (you can contact me via the website or you should still have my card) and let me know your thoughts, please.

I hope we get the opportunity to work together. The world needs to know more about VMPS!


James Darby
Stereomojo

[Brian Cheney]

Things do go wrong at shows, and it seems there were more problems than usual for us at the 2008 T.H.E. Show. 

We will be happy to supply you review samples both with the analog and new digital crossovers.  Let me get caught up from our week away and I'll be in touch.

The digital crossover requires biamping, but I'm sure you have four good channels available for that.