[Scottdazzle]

My VMPS RM30M speakers have arrived!  They are the MLS rosewood version with wave guides that look exactly like the picture in the VMPS forum.  Absolutely gorgeous; the WAF is A+.  I chose the internal XO with Auricaps.  There is no good place in my smallish room (approx. 10 x 15 x 7) to put outboard XO’s.

Even though they are far from broken in, I have some initial reactions to share that may be of interest to AC potential buyers.  Before that, a little about my experience with VMPS, John Casler, and UPS. 

There was a short delay caused by a substandard woofer that Brian Cheney rejected during his test of the speaker.  He generously provided me with a pair of his new ambience tweeters as compensation for the delay.  That was evidence, if any was needed, that Brian is a class act.  The speakers arrived in 5 boxes over 3 days, with the speakers arriving first followed by the tweeters, the bases, and then by the standard black grills I requested.  Weird.  The speaker boxes were dirty from (I imagine) being skidded along the bed of some trucks.  The other boxes were unbruised. 

One of the speakers arrived with a small indentation on the top from shipping.  As I am not perfect and do not expect perfection, I decided I could live with this small imperfection.  Besides, who’s to say a replacement might not arrive with a bigger flaw?  Otherwise the fit and finish and wood beauty are impeccable.  I especially appreciate the mirror-image wood pattern on the speakers. They are truly a matched pair.

One of the bases had come apart in the box.  I assume it was because of rough handling in shipment because it would not have been packed that way.  I glued it back together and installed them on the bottom of the speaker.  Again, no big deal.

John Casler had warned me that they might sound bright and edgy until they got broken in.  On the contrary, I found them to be well-balanced, fast, and clear in the mids and highs right from the start.  If there was any edginess, it was no more noticeable than on my previous speakers, the Thiel CS 2.4’s.  The combination of ribbons and planar mids are preferable to any other configuration I’ve ever tried (in 39 years of trying). 

The bass is another matter so far.  It is stronger, deeper, and more dynamic than the Thiel bass, but not as well-defined or articulate.  The initial attack of fingers on bass strings is murky compared to the Thiels. This may be a matter of breaking in or an amp-speaker mismatch, so I can’t draw any firm conclusions for awhile.  I will let them break in and try another amp or two.  Plus I haven’t changed the amount of putty on the passive radiators.  Hopefully the bass will tighten up.

The imaging was outstanding out of the box, too.  I had carefully plotted where I thought they would work well in the room and that they did.  With the wave guides on, the soundstage is well-focused with only a little toe-in.  I’m so pleased with the imaging that I may not even have to try the black cloth grills.  Besides, the wave guides are much better looking.  All in all, they were much easier to position than I expected and have the added benefit of sounding good near-field (about 7’ from speaker to ear).

I will probably follow up with more comments after they’re fully broken in.

[Brian Cheney]

The adjustment with the PR putty will take care of any bass problems.  Let the speaker break in for 100 hrs (it has 50 hrs at the factory) and then remove a fingernail full of putty from the front PR only, one speaker at a time.  You should be able to get optimum bass for a given amp with this method.

You should also be able to hear the differences in bass response between amps.  Moving the speaker a few inches towards or away from side and back walls will also influence bass response.

[Mack]

My VMPS RM30M speakers have arrived!  They are the MLS rosewood version with wave guides that look exactly like the picture in the VMPS forum.  Absolutely gorgeous; the WAF is A+. 



I will probably follow up with more comments after they’re fully broken in.

A post like this without pictures is useless  Would love to see this.  aa

[Scottdazzle]

I haven't taken any pics yet, but this is VMPS's photo which is the same model as mine.  Mine have a black cloth cover over the side woofer and a slightly different wood grain pattern. Otherwise identical.

[woodsyi]

Very nice Scott.     I will get over there to see what you got.  Let it burn in and we can play with the putty and amps later. 

[John Casler]

John Casler had warned me that they might sound bright and edgy until they got broken in.  On the contrary, I found them to be well-balanced, fast, and clear in the mids and highs right from the start.  If there was any edginess, it was no more noticeable than on my previous speakers, the Thiel CS 2.4’s.  The combination of ribbons and planar mids are preferable to any other configuration I’ve ever tried (in 39 years of trying). 

The bass is another matter so far.  It is stronger, deeper, and more dynamic than the Thiel bass, but not as well-defined or articulate.  The initial attack of fingers on bass strings is murky compared to the Thiels. This may be a matter of breaking in or an amp-speaker mismatch, so I can’t draw any firm conclusions for awhile.  I will let them break in and try another amp or two.  Plus I haven’t changed the amount of putty on the passive radiators.  Hopefully the bass will tighten up.

The imaging was outstanding out of the box, too.  I had carefully plotted where I thought they would work well in the room and that they did.  With the wave guides on, the soundstage is well-focused with only a little toe-in.  I’m so pleased with the imaging that I may not even have to try the black cloth grills.  Besides, the wave guides are much better looking.  All in all, they were much easier to position than I expected and have the added benefit of sounding good near-field (about 7’ from speaker to ear).

I will probably follow up with more comments after they’re fully broken in.

Hi Scott,

Glad all the "boxes" finally showed up.  From the tracking it looks like they took quite a trip.

The RM30's are EXCELLENT for nearfield listening  


As far as "bass detail, texture, tone, etc", give them a bit of time, and as Brian said begin to pinch a bit o' putty.  Rim should be an expert at this and will be a good local resource to your efforts.

There are also other considerations.

You can also consider that they might be loading the room differently.  That might require that you try a bit of moving them around, and also you may try "reversing" the side firing woofer orientation.  Also something as simple as moving your listening position 6" forward or backward can also prove benficial.

That is, if you have them pointing out, try pointing them "IN" or vice versa, to see what that might offer. 

I don't recall what amp you said you are using, but that too could be the source of a bit of it.  Brian's bass systems are unlike any other, I am aware of and he "blends" drivers and even levels of magnet strength to create some of the best bass, texture and tone.

So if you are now getting good strength, and depth, it is simply a matter of fine tuning.

Let me know if you have any questions or need any help.

[dorokusai]

I've heard some RM40 in my travels and they were amazing. Congrats on a fine looking and sounding loudspeaker 

Mark

[jonbee]

Congratulations. I would particularly like to hear in detail how they compare to the Thiels once they break in. I found that mine took over 100 hours before they got close to the final sound, and probably 300 hours to fully loosen up.

[Scottdazzle]

Thanks everyone.  John & Brian, I will try everything you recommend after they are fully broken in and report back to you. Woodsyi, see you in a week or two.

[Scottdazzle]

A short progress report.  The bass is improving.  It is more articulate, focused, and tighter.  I also reversed the speakers to have the woofers firing inward and that helped as well.