The VMPS RM50 and Live vs Recorded SHOW REPORT

jhm731 · « **Reply #20 on:** 14 Jan 2010, 06:08 am »

Quote from: ro7939 on 14 Jan 2010, 05:08 am

Thursday night after closing, James Bongiorno was kind and generous to purchase dinner for myself and two other guests including Richard Bley (electrical engineer, ex-Dynaco principal with James) and VMPS THE Show producer George Karawanny. I can state emphatically his enthusiasm for life is undaunted. He can walk for short distances. He quit smoking last year, a good thing as Martha Stewart says.

Thanks for the positive news about Mr.Bongiorno.

John Casler · « **Reply #21 on:** 14 Jan 2010, 09:50 pm »

Here are a couple of THE Show reports and pre-reports from Steven Rochlin's Enjoy the MUSIC

http://www.enjoythemusic.com/ces_2010/preview/

http://www.enjoythemusic.com/ces_2010/friday/page2.htm

John Casler · « **Reply #22 on:** 14 Jan 2010, 09:58 pm »

If you can read GERMAN.

I hope they said nice things.

http://www.audiofil.net/forum/printer_friendly_posts.asp?TID=11502

James Romeyn · « **Reply #23 on:** 14 Jan 2010, 10:01 pm »

Thanks for posting those, John.

One of the most exciting and encouraging things about Brian's Show (not a bad name, eh?) is seeing the mics, recording gear and musical instruments associated w/ the replay hardware including VMPS speakers. It great to see the accent on the music.

Brian said he's so excited about "live vs. recorded" that he can't see doing a show any other way. After being a part of it in this way, I must agree. We can only wish and hope for many more such events in our future.

doug s. · « **Reply #24 on:** 14 Jan 2010, 10:19 pm »

Quote from: John Casler on 14 Jan 2010, 09:58 pm

If you can read GERMAN.

I hope they said nice things.

http://www.audiofil.net/forum/printer_friendly_posts.asp?TID=11502

try bosnian. i cannot find any free translation site for that... but, the slav language translations indicate a few words, which seem to be positive.

doug s.

BobMajor · « **Reply #25 on:** 14 Jan 2010, 10:48 pm »

Machine translation of some of the Bosnian article:
It is quite productive this Brian. Of all the game I heard only RM2 and ostah permanently delighted. RM50 is obviously the fruit of all his experience and vision of where it all inevitably must go, but it is a little zakomplicirao do not? The one I'm sure, it is a top speaker, ie. system. Sorry, we did not Malko closer, and to hear running and carcass .... or perhaps better not!

VMPS speakers are great. I heard 626R, RM2 and RM30 with an additional passive subwoofer. Great how to play. I believe that this RM50 continues the tradition of superior sound. Bravo Brian
So, those who seek first-class speakers throw a little look at VMPS production, you may find that
So, those who seek first-class speakers throw a little look at VMPS production, you may find that the final selection of their pursuits .... Helicon may exchange their RM30 to RM2, maybe I replace my RM30 to RM40 .... Mo'š think ' . RM2 odsvira almost bottom octave, and should additional RM30 for subwofere thing. As for the replacement of RM30 to RM40 .... Dubravko miserable when you're 40-tke carried into your skyscrapers. It has soul to leave the ground floor of the difficulty of the speaker. Or perhaps better to Brian personally came to Zagreb to deliver .... the only problem is that these neighbors will think you came to visit John Rambo.

John Casler · « **Reply #26 on:** 14 Jan 2010, 11:20 pm »

As it turns out the RM50 Dual Line Source Bipole is the most flexible and talented speaker Brian has ever produced.

Much of that talent comes from one of B's signature design traits and that is flexibility.

This speaker is "chocked full" of adjustability, beyond anything he has produced before.

Firstly the D-OXO for this model obviously has capabilities of the first order and these will be released and discussed later.

But just one little "twist" has made this particular model even more "chameleon like", and that is the option to have the rear array on a separate set of binding posts.

This allows for some really nice variations.

First it allows the rear array to be powered separately via an integrated amp to enable the user to "micro" adjust the bipolar participation. This will give you the power to dial in the rear array participation depending on your rooms reflective surfaces and the distance from those surfaces.

So the speaker can operate in balanced bipole, adjustable bipole or even monopole if and when desired.

However that is not all. For those who might have rooms that would benefit from "DIPOLE" operation (where you might have to place the speaker close to side walls for example) all you need do is "reverse" the leads to the rear array and VOILA!!! you are DIPOLAR!!!

And of course the degree of the DIPOLE effect can also be adjusted via the same separate amp as mentioned above.

This is truly one TALENTED speaker of which we are just beginning to see the extent of its capabilities.

Brian Cheney · « **Reply #27 on:** 15 Jan 2010, 03:46 am »

Concerning the digital controller for the RM50:

The system was designed around Mike Galusha's full mod of the Behringer DCX2496, which left only the display and front panel in the stock unit. This unit worked great in my system for a year, then failed before it could play a note at the Show.

We also now have several levels of mods for the DCX ourselves, starting at $800 for the "Level 1" which direct couples the inputs, changes the output caps, adds a 10dB pad on the output, and makes changes to the analog section IC's and op amps.

At THE Show we had only a backup stock DCX, which did very well considering. Once I get the repaired full mod from Mike Galusha back, I will compare the three and post comments.

John Casler · « **Reply #28 on:** 15 Jan 2010, 07:13 pm »

I ran into my old friend Bob Levi at lunch and told him to stop by the VMPS room and catch the live vs recorded demo at 4:00pm.

Bob is the President of the Los Angeles and Orange County Audio Society, and a KEY reviewer for Positive Feedback Online.

Here is what he posted in his show report:

I passed by the Wavac Audio Lab room filled with fabulous looking and sounding Wavac gear to go to the VMPS suite for the most terrific and amazing setup yet. All day, every day, the fun and delightful Brian Cheney recorded live musical acts in SACD and played them back on a tip top VMPS system. Was it live or Memorex? He used his extraordinary top of the line RM 50 speaker which sells for under $20k - all accessories and options included. What a value! While these speakers are huge, they are sonically invisible. Certainly, these are the best VMPS speakers yet devised. The closeness of the live versus playback was scary. The preamp used was the new MP-3 Mark3.1 Preamp from Atma-Sphere. On display were the S-30, MA-2 and the MA-1. I'm not sure which were in the system. The complete VMPS set up was 100% wired with Audience cables and powerChords and run through Adept Response power conditioners. If you missed this room, you lost out big time!

The rest of his report can be found here:

http://www.positive-feedback.com:80/Issue47/theshow10.htm

Brian Cheney · « **Reply #29 on:** 16 Jan 2010, 02:00 am »

Our show system was all stock, so the price of the speakers and digital controller we demo'd was $12,900pr, not $20k.

John Casler · « **Reply #30 on:** 16 Jan 2010, 05:43 pm »

Here is the SHOW BLOG from Jason Victor Serinus in STEREOPHILE

Somehow, after three stops to chat, we managed to get to the VMPS live vs recorded demo. As we entered, soprano Lesley Olsher, wife of erstwhile Stereophile reviewer Dick Olsher, was standing before a microphone array, singing a lovely song in Hebrew. Somehow we managed to listen without disrupting Lesley's singing. My hats off to her for managing to sing a cappella, beautifully, and in tune as a recording of percussion played at a different tempo penetrated the walls.

Brian Cheney of VMPS recorded the demo using a two-channel DSD recorder and tube condenser mics. Then, the recording was played back in both DSD and 24-bit/88.2kHz formats.

It was great to hear the sound of VMPS' new M50 loudspeaker ($12,000/pair), amplified by Atmasphere electronics. The speaker, a dual line-source bipole, is 6' tall, weighs 350 lbs., and has built-in digital speaker and room correction plus digital crossovers. It also sounds excellent, faithfully reproducing the timbre of the voice and the instruments that accompanied Lesley on "Summertime" before we arrived.

Most striking was the fact that the recorded playback had far more air and life than the live performance in a very deadened room. John explained that's because we were hearing the acoustic of the same room twice, both at the time of the recording and at the time of playback. No wonder so many recordings sound airier than the real thing.

The comparison of playback formats (DSD and 24/88.2 PCM) only went so far. Different mikes were used for the two different format feeds, and were positioned differently. Hence, a direct comparison between formats was impossible. Nonetheless, recording engineer Atkinson was able to note the different sound quality of the different mikes.

A big thanks to Brian for once again arranging the demo. And equal applause for a fine new addition to the VMPS line.

The rest of the report can be found here:

http://blog.stereophile.com/ces2010//index1.html

Eugene2 · « **Reply #31 on:** 19 Jan 2010, 04:42 am »

I also was fortunate enough to catch both the live and recorded performance at T.H.E. Show, I am actually in one of the pix! The sound was fantastic. The highlight for me was watching Brian participate in the live presentation with the concluding wack on the big bass drum, he was almost on beat... maybe next time. The RM 50s are the real deal, I was very lucky to get there at the right time. He may not be the best percussionist, but he is a phenomenal speaker designer!

cliffy · « **Reply #32 on:** 19 Jan 2010, 04:57 am »

Quote from: Eugene2 on 19 Jan 2010, 04:42 am

I also was fortunate enough to catch both the live and recorded performance at T.H.E. Show, I am actually in one of the pix! The sound was fantastic. The highlight for me was watching Brian participate in the live presentation with the concluding wack on the big bass drum, he was almost on beat... maybe next time. The RM 50s are the real deal, I was very lucky to get there at the right time. He may not be the best percussionist, but he is a phenomenal speaker designer!

You are lucky you didn't hear the understudy bass drum 'wacker!' It is hard to wait patiently for over 11 minutes, trust me

Brian Cheney · « **Reply #33 on:** 19 Jan 2010, 04:41 pm »

Spencer (Cliffy) was our first drummer, then John Casler, and finally Jim Harger. I was the guy coming in late on percussion.

Pls watch for the release of my solo CD:

"The Beater and the Beaten: Music for the Cymbal-Minded"

Available everywhere!

audiochef · « **Reply #34 on:** 20 Jan 2010, 06:40 pm »

Will this release also be on vinyl?

John Casler · « **Reply #35 on:** 20 Jan 2010, 07:40 pm »

WOW!!

Just received the first CD's from Dave Housteau, and while the performances are "casual" (as to be expected) the reality and sound are INCREDIBLE!!!

And I have in the past been highly critical of the recorded and reproduced PIANO, finding only a couple that approach reality. This is "without a doubt" some of the best LIVE Piano I have EVER heard recorded.

So far I have only had time to listen to the Saturday Performance of Napua Davoy, where we placed the piano below and in front of the mikes and her playing is "stunningly like" the actual sound, including imaging and soundstage.

At some points in her performance she stood and played and those are easily "heard". As well she moved left and right a bit while singing and this too is clearly reproduced.

And when I say the Soundstage was realistically reproduced, I mean you can clearly hear the sounds from the room beside us. As well you can hear Fred Haller playing his woodwinds in the left room corner, (you can even "hear" the corner and how it loads his performance) and the Bassist Bill Bailey is imaged in the correct position.

And if that is not enough, during the quiet passages, you can even hear people talking outside the door on occasion, and in the right position (rear room left)

Some of the most amazing LIVE recording I have ever heard.

Can't wait to sit through the whole set.

Great Job Dave.

You and B, should market these as examples of how a live recording should sound.

ricmon · « **Reply #36 on:** 20 Jan 2010, 08:58 pm »

John do you know if Brian has plans to make a smaller version of the RM50? I would love to have that technology in a slightly smaller package as the RM50 would over whelm my listing room.

Ric

Brian Cheney · « **Reply #37 on:** 21 Jan 2010, 01:51 am »

audiochef:

YES! A 12", single sided vinyl EP of the loudest cymbal crash ever recorded (captured "on the fly" when I inadvertently upset the percussion table) is available next week, only $50 plus postage. This nearly THREE SECOND cut is one continuous, 1/4" wide, 200% modulated groove tracable only by as yet uninvented high compliance cartridges, preferably one with a four-inch cantilever.

I only have a few thousand copies so get that order in now!

John Casler · « **Reply #38 on:** 21 Jan 2010, 08:01 am »

Quote from: ricmon on 20 Jan 2010, 08:58 pm

John do you know if Brian has plans to make a smaller version of the RM50? I would love to have that technology in a slightly smaller package as the RM50 would over whelm my listing room.

Ric

Hi Ric,

Doubt it would be too difficult to perform the required surgery, but Brian has not mentioned anything like that as of yet.

Maybe we can have it as an option on the rest of the line.

Hipper · « **Reply #39 on:** 21 Jan 2010, 10:55 am »

John, did you replay that CD on your system?

If so, surely the quality is not only a testament to the recording techniques, BUT, also your system?

What system did you play it on? Is it a variation of the two channel one on your systems page, with RM40s?