[John Casler]

Man, I hardly know where to start, and I don't have much time to type right now but, the LIVE versus RECORDED VMPS DEMO was absolutley great.

After getting up at 3:30am Friday morning (leaving around 4) and drving 4 1/2 hours from LA to Vegas, I walked into the Flamingo around 9:00. 

The room was great and all set up to go.

The first thing that struck me was the new ByBee equipped RM50 in Gloss Black jutting up in the room like the Monoliths from 2001 a Space Odyssey.



Please excuse the quality of my photo as I have an ancient Nikon.  I'm sure we'll see several well photographed shots to make up for it.


What was even better was when Brian arrived and we cranked these babies up.

Generally it is a well known fact of life at these shows that the best SOUND is always on SUNDAY.  Well that law was no longer in effect.  We has SUNDAY SOUND on FRIDAY

Stevie Ray Vaughn, Brubeck, Bela Fleck, Diana Krall, Copeland, Lyle Lovett, and on and on, came the Ref Cuts.  These are truly the best pair of speakers, I have ever heard at any price.  While they sounded good last year, I was not prepared for the over all capabilities in each category.  The RM50 is truly deserving of VMPS Flagship Status.

At $14,900 (Bybee equiped) it is beyond the best deal in Audio.

Each year after leaving the SHOW I drive home and take a listen to my system and see if I heard anything that equalled or surpassed it.  Never happens. . . .Except this year.  I may have to save my pennies for this one.

If anyone is thinking about a pair of these, there is NOTHING I heard at the show, or have heard in the past that begins to approach these. (at ANY price)

Brian has simply out done himself.

More to come. . . . . . .

[DFaulds]

Thanks John.  I was wondering when we would get some type of report.

Will VMPS get any notice in the mainstream press from this show?

[wywires]

+1 for me. I was astonished by the level of fidelity the RM-50's can produce. The sheer slam and realism is beyond my ability to describe. There is a level of refinement in the RM-50's that only MAYBE can be achieved in other designs but at a much, much higher cost. The sound stage was huge in all dimensions. Transients had a snap and presence rarely heard from recorded music. Brass had a sheen just as in real life without any glare. Voices, both male and female had incredible focus and presence without even a hint of artificiality or sibilance. Piano, a difficult instrument to get right was spot on, IMO.

I think Brian needs to get his head examined for offering such a speaker for such a stupidly low price! Maybe he needs a lesson in cost accounting.

Having heard the Wilson Alexandria's on many occasions with various electronics, I can say that the RM-50's are in the same league performance wise and may even best the Wilson's here and there. Sure the Alexandria's build quality is top notch but for 10X the price of the RM-50's that's no bargain.

[John Casler]

Thanks John.  I was wondering when we would get some type of report.

Will VMPS get any notice in the mainstream press from this show?

I beleive there will be.

Several reviewers were in and each and every one said the same thing... Best of Show.

Clement Perry of Stereo Times came back at least 3 times and his buddy handed the Bybee crew a "best of show" certificate (but obviously the sound was produced by the Atma-Spere Preamp, the Bybee equipped Magnum Power Amp, the VMPS RM-50s and WyWires cables and wiring.)

The definition and resolution of this system was so good that the difference between the Bybee equipped amp and the Bybee by-passed amp was absolutley startling.  Even in a room so huge, and with little in the way of acoustic treatments, the resolution was such that the differences were "clear and distinct", which was remarkable.

This is a testament to how much of an improvement the Bybee chip makes in an amp (or any device with a power supply) and how a great system allows you to hear it.  It was a very convincing demonstration.

[Brian Cheney]

A full Show report will come later, when I catch up on orders and emails.

The new Jeff Casagrande cabinets, made in Paso Robles CA and solid as rocks, were designed with 40 manhours of CAD work and 25 hrs each of CNC routing and hand assembly.  The front baffle is 3" thick, top and sides 2", and there is extensive internal bracing.  Three different materials (MDF, Particle Board, and birch ply) are used. 

We intended to show the new version of the RM50 with TC Sounds 12" actives.  Unfortunately these were not ready by Show time.  I therefore had Eminence make up clones with metal cones (and plastic dustcaps), 160oz magnets, 2 layer, 400W voicecoils, and 16mm of Xmax.  This was the closest I could come.  I used a 48dB lowpass (executed in the digital domain to avoid the ringing of high order slopes) from our "Level 1" modded DCX.  I had a full Level 2 mod version on hand as well, which in the end we did not use since the Level 1 was doing so well.

Of course, the big difference over last year was the full set of Bybee loudspeaker filters.  The $14,900pr price is introductory for 90 days, since the Bybees alone add $2k to the cost of the pair.  The TC Sounds drivers will add about $1500 to the pair price.

One pair of speakers, in a 50x26x10' ballroom, provided more than enough sound for 50 listeners. 

[John Casler]

Just a word about some of the "talent" Brian pulled together.

Napua, (vocalist/piano) Austen, (guitarist) Fred, (woodwinds) Bill, (Sting Bass), and Gil (percussion) were all extrordinary in their ability to come together with little to no rehearsing.

There were at times a few start and stops, and a few repeats of numbers, but their collective sound was really well presented for the comparisons.

This year we added another HUGE impediment which included "more mikes" and anytime more mikes are involved it gets sonically complicated.

James Harger (recording engineer extrordinaire)  was able pull it off, so that the cuts were all of quite good quality.  The only "hitch" which will always be evident in such a large room is that the singer cannot "project" to the audience live and be recorded into the mix at the same time.  It is all a balancing act.

Napua - What a treasure she is.  Enthusiastic, creative, playfull, exciting, and incredibly talented.  She was perfroming under trying circumstances (no monitor or headphones in a live set up) making this sound like a walk in the park.

Her talent flowed and we were able to record a large body of material.  Some covers of old standards and some of her original material.

I was especially take aback at the quality of some "late night/after hours" piano only cuts she did with James which were played back for us on Sunday morning.  The reality and purity of what the piano really sounded like was absolutley 1st class and the performance itself was great stuff.  Napua and James hit a home run on the solo piano work (without the noise of the show in the backround)

Fred - Fred has been at all the Live versus VMPS events and is one of those sage musicians who can play flute, clarinet, sax and any number of wind instruments as good as anyone.  He is a great guy, fun to be around and when it comes time to light the licorice stick, he is the man you want.

Bill - The stand up bass is the foundation of most all great jazz numbers and Bill (full name Bill Bailey) "brings it".  He can read the page and play the notes, or he can freestyle with the best of them.  Of course we teased him a lot because he was always late, I guess he has an excuse, being the only one who had to lug an instrument the size of a big Christmas Tree around with him each day.

Austin - While not a big talker between takes, Austin let his guitar speak for him.  He is the consumate pro and has the sound and music to prove it.  All you had to do was watch and hear, and you knew the talent flowing through to that guitar.

Gill - Gill is a "newbie" to the group since we didn't have any "real" percussion last year.  Talking to Gill is like taking a trip back into musical history.  He has played with or opened for Santana, Cold Blood, and the Doors.  He absolutely smokes those bongos and congas.

His addition to the "group" made for some really special musical cohesivness, and simply upped the quality of the sound.

[pjchappy]

Looking forward to reading more.


Paul

[John Casler]

While I have no organized "show log" or report, I might just add things as they pop into my conciousness.

Late Friday morning, I was at the controls for a while during some of the Bybee Demos and was looking for cut to use (during a lull in the action) and came across Fanfare for the Common Man by Copeland.

Popped it into the Modwright Sony SACD player and set the volume HIGH.

WOW!!! what dynamic music these RM50s and this system make.

Anyone familiar with this work knows that it is challenging with the orchestra, and especially the BRASS and Tympani work.

Never heard such realistic BRASS and Dynamically Thunderous Tymps as right there.

Jack Bybee came walking in with an old  and had his guys use "that" cut for the next demo.

It was really breathtaking.  Might also describe it as Regal and Majestic.

[wywires]

While I have no organized "show log" or report, I might just add things as they pop into my conciousness.

Late Friday morning, I was at the controls for a while during some of the Bybee Demos and was looking for cut to use (during a lull in the action) and came across Fanfare for the Common Man by Copeland.

Popped it into the Modwright Sony SACD player and set the volume HIGH.

WOW!!! what dynamic music these RM50s and this system make.

Anyone familiar with this work knows that it is challenging with the orchestra, and especially the BRASS and Tympani work.

Never heard such realistic BRASS and Dynamically Thunderous Tymps as right there.

Jack Bybee came walking in with an old  and had his guys use "that" cut for the next demo.

It was really breathtaking.  Might also describe it as Regal and Majestic.

It's been a while since I've played that CD in my system. While we were setting up on Wednesday, we used "Fanfare"  and a few other cuts to adjust the bass management system. Regal and Majestic for sure!

I remember thinking that I have never heard such dynamics before. It was simply startling!

[John Casler]

It was also nice this year to have the Bybee demos since it allowed one to hear how the speakers, cables, and electronics performed with "studio engineered" recordings.

In the LIVE versus VMPS recording you surely were able to hear how well the VMPS SYSTEM was able to reproduce the ABSOLUTE SOUND,. . . .BUT....in a studio engineered recording you often have more and deeper BASS.

The ability of this SYSTEM in that dept. was really displayed more clearly when we did the Bybee demos.

The tonal balance overall was as perfect as I have heard.

And I might also mention, that the Bybee demos were very convincing.  Now I don't know if having the speakers "Bybee equipped" made them any more susceptable to allowing the "Bybee Power Supply" technology to be more clearly heard, but these guys are really onto something.

[Housteau]

I am glad to read that things went so well this year.  It is all richly deserved.  I really hated not being able to help out this year.  What made it so much worse is that I didn't know I would have to cancel until just days before the show, and after planning for it for nearly a year.

[John Casler]

I am glad to read that things went so well this year.  It is all richly deserved.  I really hated not being able to help out this year.  What made it so much worse is that I didn't know I would have to cancel until just days before the show, and after planning for it for nearly a year.

Yes, wish you could have been there.  We missed you and your good ears

[John Casler]

Another AC Member has put up a THE Show Report and some pics of the VMPS room CLICK HERE
Thanks JQP

[John Casler]

Finally some of the Audio Press is publishing their reports.

Here is a QUOTE from my old friend Clement Perry of Stereo Times who seemed to agree about my assessment of the RM50s at THE Show, and I quote:

"This has to be perhaps the BEST $60,000 loudspeaker money can buy."

Five minutes after hearing them for the first time, I told Brian we "HAVE" to raise the price on these.  Brian just smiled and said "yes, they do sound quite pleasant don't they".

Clement is one of the best and most serious reviewers currently out there and he doesn't just waltz in take a picture and then walk out.  He spent some real time listening and, in fact came back 2 or 3 times!!!

And when he came back, he was bringing more people with him.

He also loved the Bybee demonstration and the sonic qualities he was able to hear via the whole system with the RM50s, the Wywires, and the Bybee equipped Magnus Class A amp.

I think Bybee was even given a certificate by one of Clement's friends for Best Of THE Show.

Look HERE for more of the write up, review, and photos, including pics of Big B.

http://www.stereotimes.com/CES2011c.shtml

[BobRex]

From Perry's article:

I must have asked about two dozen show attendees "guess the price of this loudspeaker?" And, of course, since I asked, most knew it was a loaded question. Still, they estimated the price somewhere in the $50k - $75k category: and this is after walking around and giving the RM50 a really good inspection. Appearance-wise, the look and build of this mighty 375 lbs puppy is also quite impressive. Nobody believed me when I said $15 grand! The immediate natural knee-jerk response was "oh, it must be cheap sounding."

Now, while I congratulate the big guy for what he accomplished (I wish I could have been there), the idea that a $15K product (speaker, amp, whatever) "must be cheap sounding" is such a load of arrogant bovine excrement.  It makes me wonder what type of morons Clement hangs around with. 

[John Casler]

From Perry's article:

I must have asked about two dozen show attendees "guess the price of this loudspeaker?" And, of course, since I asked, most knew it was a loaded question. Still, they estimated the price somewhere in the $50k - $75k category: and this is after walking around and giving the RM50 a really good inspection. Appearance-wise, the look and build of this mighty 375 lbs puppy is also quite impressive. Nobody believed me when I said $15 grand! The immediate natural knee-jerk response was "oh, it must be cheap sounding."

Now, while I congratulate the big guy for what he accomplished (I wish I could have been there), the idea that a $15K product (speaker, amp, whatever) "must be cheap sounding" is such a load of arrogant bovine excrement.  It makes me wonder what type of morons Clement hangs around with.

I think the comment was more "in jest" but I did get a chance to visit a few rooms on the last day, and you would be suprised what tiny speakers were shown in the $10k to $15k range and how badly most of them performed.

However, I might go even further and say that I walked into some rooms with $60k+ speakers and was also seriously underwhelmed (after being in the VMPS room)

The best I heard (besides us) were the Big Zu's, and the Big PTE's.  Both VERY expensive.

[JP78]

John, forgive my ignorance but who / what is "PTE"?

Thanks!

[John Casler]

John, forgive my ignorance but who / what is "PTE"?

Thanks!

They are a small company in Orange, CA and their main speaker is Active and $44,000 pr.

[wywires]

Precision Transducer Engineering

[John Casler]

Here is a VMPS ROOM REPORT AND PICS from Audiogon