[meilankev]

As many of you know, I have had my RM40s for almost 2 years now.  And I very much like how they fit in with the rest of my system.  However, I have never gotten to hear any other VMPS speakers - only mine.

But now, a gentleman who lives about an hour north of Tampa has graciously invited me to his home to hear his VMPS-based system.  A few months ago, Clyde bought a full 5.1 setup from John Casler, to include RM2, LRC, Ribbon Dipoles, and a subwoofer.

To be honest, I am mostly just interested in the RM2.  Clyde came to my house a couple of weeks ago, and enjoyed the sound.  He feels the main reason was the tube amps (and maybe preamp), so I'm going to lug my KORA gear to his home for him to try out.

I think I know what the conclusion will be, as I've tried some different (expensive!!!) Solid State amps in my system, and they weren't up to snuff trying to drive the RM40s full-range.  Seeing as to how others on this board have come to different conclusions, I'll use the caveat "in my room", "in my system".  My tube amps will have no problem driving his RM2s.

Is it possible that the improvements that Clyde heard at my house were simply RM40 vs RM2?  I guess so, but I doubt it, and tomorrow we'll find out.  We're going to play with multiple combinations of amps/preamps to come to a understanding on how they fit within Clyde's 2-channel playback.  Another local audiophile friend is going to join us (he has also been to my home, and really enjoyed the sound), so we should have a lot of fun.

I can't wait.  There is a great opportunity to learn, for both me and Clyde.  And spending time with other audiophiles is one of my favorite pastimes.

Kevin

[zybar]

Kevin enjoy!

I have to say that my new Rowland 201's have made me forget about the Koras.  

To my ears I get pretty much (but not entirely) all the benefits of the tubes with the pluses of ss.

If you ever get the chance, I would at least give them a try and see what you think of them.

George

[meilankev]

George,

Keep in mind my listening room is only around 1900 cu ft (16'W x 15'D x 8'H).  I'm sure this is a big reason why, but "in this room", there were no sonic advantages for any of the 3 Solid State brutes I tried.  Not even with the control and extension of deep bass.  The KORAs never lose their grip on the lower end, in either quality or quantity.  While your Rowlands should outperform amps by Classe' Audio and McIntosh, and maybe even the Audire Audio, I haven't tried them in my system.

As I've stated many times, if my main system was in my Family Room (over 8000 cu ft), the KORAs would possibly (likely??) run out of juice trying to drive the RM40s to loud volume, particularly having anything in reserve for dynamic passages.  I would then have to consider biamping if I desire the same level of performance.  Or, like you, perhaps I would just replace (gulp!!!) my KORAs with som SS brute.

Needless to say, it is my full intention of never allowing this to happen.

Kevin

ps - George, were you driving your Cosmos via RCA unbalanced cables?  There was a major improvement in my system when I was able to use the XLR Balanced connections from my preamp.  In fact, the sound was so anemic, I got rid of the preamp that didn't allow the balanced connection (with increased gain).

[HarleyMYK]

I did an A/B between the RM40s and the RM2 at Brians.  The RM40s had FST and TRT caps, the RM2 did not.  The RM2 sounded fantastic until I heard the RM40s.  The RM40s sounded much better to me -- YMMV (my ears, this room, the CDs used, specific gear, blah, blah, blah).  Brian thought that while the FST and TRT make a difference, most of what I heard was the RM40 vs. RM2.

[meilankev]

Harley,

My RM40s do have the TRT cap upgrade.  But I'm not going to be able to do any valid comparos between the two speakers, as they won't be in the same environment.  This meeting is meant to be for Clyde, not me (as he is considering getting tube amps).

Originally, he volunteered to bring his RM2s to my home, but I told him me bringing my amps will be easier.  Perhaps, he can manhandle his speakers over to my home in the future (bringing them upstairs to my listening room should be fun).

Actually, I currently have my Thiel CS-3.5 speakers up in my listening room now.  Comparing them with the RM40s is always fun, and a couple of guys are coming over next weekend for a comparo listen.  

But, one weekend at a time...

Thanks for the info on your experiences,
Kevin

[ctviggen]

Kevin,

Please report back what happens during this test.  I always like Theils, but they need huge amps to drive most of them.

[meilankev]

Bob,

I've had the Thiels up there a few times.  I think this is the second time since I put the replacement preamp in the system 14 months ago.  The KORAs drive the CS-3.5 speakers very well.  But, to my ears, there are distinct differences in sound between the Thiels and the RM40s.  My wife is affected even more so than I am.

But still, I'm interested in what this one gentleman in particular has to say.  Based upon the numerous times (7 or we have had get-togethers, I honestly think he may prefer the Thiels.  While I'm confident those that do would be in the minority, I get the feeling he is going to be one of the few.

I'm aware of what the Thiels do well (I've had them for 14 years), but I much prefer the RM40s (but not to the extent my wife does).

Oh, and we both agree the cabintry and finish is much better with the Cherry Flambe' RM40s than on the Thiel's teak cabinets.  Much better.

Kevin

edit:  why did the yellow smily face replace my "8 and )"????

[nathanm]

Led Zeppelin "IV" particularly "When the Levee Breaks"!!! - Vinyl

I'm curious...Do you find that if you play this track loud enough to do visceral-impacty justice to one of if not the slammingest kick drum sounds ever put on tape, that when the harmonicas and guitars come in they are downright painfully-ear bleeding in the mids; or is it just me?

The BBcode for the sunglasses smiley is

Code: [Select]

8)  An unfortunate combination it seems.

[meilankev]

Nathan,

"When the Levee Breaks" has been my favorite Led Zep song for about 3 decades.  I consider it the ultimate "Heavy Blues" tune, and if I were not to listen to it at maximum volume, I must be coming down with something.

To answer your question, the harmonica/guitar wall of sound do not offend my ears - certainly not like Dylan's harmonica on "I Shall be Released", for example.  

And if you like the kick drum on this track, have you ever heard the beginning of David Bowie's "Station 2 Station"?  After the pseudo-choo-choo pans from right to left, a few bars into the song, the kick drum "kicks in".  At volume, the impact is stunning.

Thanks for the info on the smiley face.  In the future, I will try to avoid that keystroke combination.

Kevin

[nathanm]

I consider it the ultimate "Heavy Blues" tune, and if I were not to listen to it at maximum volume, I must be coming down with something.

That is very good to hear!  From a brief poking in Google I found a couple pages which talk about Zep's recording technique, one of which says that Bonham was recorded with just 3 mics.   Does not surprise me that it sounds so damn heavy then!  Stereo overheads and one on the kick sounds damn good to me.

One day I hope to be able to do that tune some justice myself without involving the police.  I may have to investigate the Bowie tune you speak of, I am not too familiar with his stuff.  Anyway, good luck with your listening session!  That Kora amp - that's the one that looks like a freaggin' Star Destroyer isn't it?  Pretty badass...  I heard 'Imperial March' in my head when I saw that thing.  Heh!

[JohnR]

The BBcode for the sunglasses smiley is

Code: [Select]

8)  An unfortunate combination it seems.

One of those side-effects from making things a bit too convenient You can just put a space (or 7 or 8 ) before the closing parenthesis.

Similar problem with periods after a URL....

[John Casler]

As many of you know, I have had my RM40s for almost 2 years now.  And I very much like how they fit in with the rest of my system.  However, I have never gotten to hear any other VMPS speakers - only mine.

But now, a gentleman who lives about an hour north of Tampa has graciously invited me to his home to hear his VMPS-based system.  A few months ago, Clyde bought a full 5.1 setup from John Casler, to include RM2, LRC, Ribbon Dipoles, and a subwoofer.

To be honest, I am mostly just interested in the R ...

Hi Kevin,

Glad you and Clyde are getting together to share ears using each others equip and rooms.

Clyde is a great fellow and has been soaking up "audiophilia" very quickly.  

Right now, (unless he has changed something) he has a Denon 2900 feeding an Odysee Tempest Pre that then feeds a CineNova (300wpc SS) Amp, that powers the VMPS RM2s w/FST and I think TRTs.

Not sure about his cabling, but he also has a couple BPT Power Cords for his AMPs.

Hope you two have a great time.

[meilankev]

John,

Thanks for the support.  And you are right, I had a great time when Clyde came over.  As with everyone else you have done business with, he had nothing but glowing things to say about you and the way you conduct business.  It's too bad I bought my stuff before I became aware of your VMPS connection, as my transaction process went sour in a heartbeat.  Fortunately, Brian stepped in and smoothed everything over, but it was touch and go there at the end.

Clyde is very interested in trying out tube amps (and preamps) in his system.  So, we're going to play around different combinations for him to hear.  I'm sure I'll learn something, as well.

Thanks again,
Kevin

[zybar]

Kevin,

If your amps work well in Clyde's environment, woukd you please let him know I am selling my Cosomos References?

Could work out well for both of us.

Thanks,

George

[Redbone]

Led Zeppelin "IV" particularly "When the Levee Breaks"!!! - Vinyl

I'm curious...Do you find that if you play this track loud enough to do visceral-impacty justice to one of if not the slammingest kick drum sounds ever put on tape, that when the harmonicas and guitars come in they are downright painfully-ear bleeding in the mids; or is it just me?

It ain't just you.  I have nothing against Led Zeppelin and like a lot of their music but when it is played loud on a good stereo their recordings just sound terrible, painfully-ear bleeding  as you say.  I find the same is true for some of the old Rolling Stones recordings.  

With the large differences in musical taste and preferences on this board it is hard to get a good idea of just what people are listening to.  I think that one of the ways to get an idea of what a particular system sounds like (including the room factor) is to compare which recordings sound good and which do not, regardless if you like the artist or not.

For instance, you could get a good idea of what my system sounds like now by knowing that Carry On from the CSNY Deja vu CD sounds incredibly good on my current set up, more so than some of my other more preferred music.

[flintstone]

Redbone said: "It ain't just you. I have nothing against Led Zeppelin and like a lot of their music but when it is played loud on a good stereo their recordings just sound terrible, painfully-ear bleeding as you say. I find the same is true for some of the old Rolling Stones recordings"

A great reason to explain to the wife why you need more than one pair of speakers. This stuff sounds great on my old VMPS supertower/r's which I don't use very often...not so good on my planers even though they go well into the upper 20's in the bass department.

Dave