My VMPS Speaker Review (long)

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  • jimmyp58
    Super Senior Member
    • Aug 2003
    • 1449

    My VMPS Speaker Review (long)

    A number of guys have asked me to post my review of my new VMPS speakers. Well, here goes:

    A. EQUIPMENT:

    1. SPEAKERS: VMPS RM-40, w/FST tweeter and auricaps (mains), VMPS LRC, w/FST tweeter and auricaps (center), VMPS Ribbon Dipole, w/FST tweeter (these are strapped together with a Definitive Technology BP7006 for a tripole effect), New Larger Subwoofer w/Megawoofers, silver analysis wiring, and soundcoat (front sub), and New Larger Subwoofer w/ Megawoofers (rear sub).

    2. AMPLIFIERS & PROCESSOR: Amplifiers are Bryston 14B SST (mains), Bryston 7B SST (center), Earthquake CineNova Grande 5 (surrounds), QSC PLX-3402 (front subwoofer), and Crown K2 rear subwoofer). Processor is a Bryston SP 1.7 pre-pro.

    3. TRANSPORT: Sony CDP-M555ES (CD player), Sony DVP-CX875P (DVD player), and Denon DVD-5900 (SACD/DVD-Audio player).

    B. SOURCE MATERIAL:

    1. CD (2-CHANNEL): Peter White (Glow), Donald Fagen (Kamakiriad), Ray Brown (Some Of My Best Friends Are …The Piano Players), and Norah Jones (Come Away With Me).

    2. DVD (MOVIES): Lord Of The Rings, Star Wars II, Indiana Jones & the Last Crusade, Underworld, Saving Private Ryan (DTS), Top Gun (DTS), and We Were Soldiers.

    3. MULTI-CHANNEL AUDIO AND DVD MUSIC CONCERTS: Elton John (Greatest Hits Live), Eagles (Hell Freezes Over), Eric Clapton (One More Car, One More Rider), Peter White (Glow), Donald Fagen (Kamakiriad), and Diana Krall (The Girl In The Other Room).

    C. FINDINGS:

    1. CD (2-CHANNEL): In a word, stunning! When I decided to upgrade from my previous speakers, I was searching for a speaker that would keep the big soundstage I enjoyed with my previous speakers but add a lot more clarity. The RM-40s achieve this is a magnificent way. Vocals are so clear it is indescribable. It truly is as if the person is singing in front of you. I just melted listening to Norah Jones’ voice! Strings are clean and crisp and resonate, as they should. Peter White’s ‘Glow’ revealed how precise these speakers are. The bass is deep, tight and precise. The mids reveal so much depth and clarity with each recording I reviewed. Ray Brown’s disc is a tough one and quite honestly, was the primary instigator that made me consider upgrading (I had heard it on a different set of speakers when I was demo’ing pre/pros a few months back and I was shocked at how much cleaner it sounded on speakers other than mine). That disc has a wealth of instruments that tax a speaker (bass, strings, piano, cymbals, and drums in a unique combo) and the RM-40s have exceeded my expectations with this disc. I think that every enthusiast would agree that audio Nirvana is always elusive. The greatest challenge is finding the equipment that best recreates the actual performance, i.e., making the reproduction seemingly lifelike or ‘live’ if you will. These RM-40’s do just that. I mentioned the cymbals employed on the Ray Brown disc. Being a former drummer, I know the nuances of how each percussion instrument should sound. Anyone can recreate the ‘gross’ sound of percussion instruments in a speaker. But the ones that truly separate themselves are the ones that reveal the intimate detail. For example, using brushes on a cymbal or some incredible ‘sticking’ on the portion of the cymbal nearest the hub. These are challenging. As I listened to some brush sequences, you can actually discern the brush not only hitting the cymbal but also sliding across it then simultaneously being picked up. That is tough and nearly impossible to hear it that clearly. The RM-40’s shine in doing so. Also, the ‘sticking’ sequence, with all the fancy syncopation and rolls, was done superbly.

    As I mentioned, the bass is deep and tight on the RM-40s. Donald Fagen’s ‘Kamakiriad’, specifically ‘Trans-Island Skyway’, was phenomenal and revealed not only how tight the bass responds but how quickly it responds as well. When I add the subs, whoa, this is absolutely marvelous. It is a lush bass and blends in beautifully with all the other sonic aspects of the speaker.

    Another one of the awesome aspects of this speaker is that you can control the sound production locally via the potentiometers (a.k.a. ‘POTS’) on the back (for highs and mids) as well as some putty, which is attached to the cone of the passive woofer. You can add a little more ‘high’ performance by adjusting this POTS or add a little more mid by adjusting that POTS (and some bass too). You can add or subtract putty to adjust your bass performance. Totally neat. What this also gives the owner is a speaker that can change over time as a person’s hearing changes through the aging process. It is, in effect, a speaker for life!

    2. DVD MOVIES: Much like I found with the 2-channel results, so too were the results for movies. The RM-40’s performed near flawlessly but now I got to hear all the other speakers I purchased.

    Lets begin with the ‘LRC’ (Large Ribbon Center). Critical in any HT setup is the performance of the center channel speaker as so much info is fed through it. I have listened to a host of center speakers in my time, too many to cite in this review, but let me say that I have yet to hear one that offers the precision as this one does. As I found with 2-channel regarding vocals, so too is it the most revealing center speaker I have yet to hear. The voices are literally lifelike. The bass is deep as well and complements the entire range very well. The bullets in ‘Saving Private Ryan’ were the most revealing to me. They pinged like I never heard before.

    Next up is the Ribbon Dipole. As I mentioned, they are strapped to a pair of Def Tech BP7006’s to create a tripole effect. First of all, I am a convert --- I love the tripoling response/effect. What I also swiftly discovered is that I need to replace the Def Techs with another VMPS tower (I am toying with either the RM-1’s or RM-30’s). Why? Because the Ribbon Dipole is so incredibly clean, crisp, and quick and the Def Techs, which I thought were just like this, are sluggish and muddled in comparison. I used to own some other dipoles for my surrounds (a few different ones actually) and absolutely none of them compare to this speaker. Just like the RM-40’s and LRC, these speakers and their respective performance, is mind-boggling.

    3. MULTI-CHANNEL AUDIO AND DVD MUSIC CONCERTS: Diana Krall’s SACD is awesome. The same can be said for Eric Clapton’s concert. Each and every element is superb and it would be redundant to cite every one of the findings.

    4. SUBWOOFER: It has to be known these subs are TOTALLY different than any other sub you’ve heard. Almost all the subs I have listened to provide the ‘thud’; this sub is actually musical and incredibly deep at the same time. The bass is lush and full. Having two drivers helps a lot too. There is a 15-inch driver as well as a 12-incher; the passive is a massive one that is down-firing. This is also the first passive sub I’ve owned or listened to. I have two, one as primary and one in the rear, and they are powered by two different amplifiers (for no particular reason). They are incredibly powerful and will shake the seat you are sitting in (I guess I can scratch off my wish list some base shakers for my seats!). Yet they are not thumpy --- simply rich.

    5. FINISH: I purchased all my speakers in piano black. Many a speaker is available in this color/finish. Some have most of the speaker in this finish and some only have the top cap in this finish. Regardless, this entire speaker is in piano black; the grill is removable and most enthusiasts opt to having it off. I have mine on --- WAF!!! It is absolutely stunning how beautiful the finish is on these speakers. As most wives go, mine says her car radio is good enough for her (well almost….). But when she saw this speaker even she remarked how gorgeous it was. I have had a number of people visit my home since I got these speakers and to a person, they’ve all commented on its beauty. It truly is indescribable.

    COST: It is almost criminal what an owner can purchase these for. I am not encouraging VMPS to raise their prices but it is insane how inexpensive these are in comparison to other speakers rivaling their performance. The towers alone are ridiculously priced. I have listened to some $20,000+ speakers and it would be difficult to say for certain that the RM-40’s sounded better than them or visa versa. Regardless, for argument sake, I’ll say it is a ‘push’. Well, the RM-40’s (even totally loaded with upgrades) are about 1/3 of this price! Talk about value…..sure, they don’t have a sexy name nor are they a part of a huge marketing blitz but it is performance that counts. And they clearly do not disappoint nor cause pause to wonder if one sure spend the other 2/3 to perhaps eek out some nuance that they are psychoacoustically not hearing. Some of these speakers from these high-end manufacturers that have seemingly unlimited monies to spend on marketing should state upfront that their speakers, now, are employing many of the techniques/engineering VMPS has been using for the last couple of years!

    CONCLUSION: To date, these are the finest speakers I have listened to and owned; please note that I am not dissing any that I used to own. Are there better speakers, sure, but at what price-point and what would be gained. What is difficult is finding a store that carries this speaker --- they are few and far between. VMPS has a few stores that carry them sprinkled throughout the US and one in Europe; they rely on owners to have an open door for enthusiasts to contact and take in a listening session. Some owners are open to this but as you can imagine, many are reluctant (for obvious reasons). But if you can find someone willing to share these awesome speakers with you, you’d be remiss to not take in a listen. Some owners have taken the plunge on faith and not even auditioned them prior to purchasing simply going by reviews such as this or by seeing all the awards these speakers have garnered.

    I am not a graph it out kind of guy that takes out measuring devices to display a speaker’s performance, hence, that is why you didn’t see any such graphs in this review. I use what God has given me --- my ears.

    Are these speakers for everyone? Probably not, as everyone has different needs/likes. And I will say there was an adjustment period for me. My previous front towers employed bi-polar technology where as these are front-firing. I heard a lot of reflected sound before and these are straight on. Earlier versions of the RM-40’s had a very small ‘sweet spot’ but not so with the newer version --- it sounds great wherever you are but for obvious reasons, does sound better when you are sitting in front of them and they are toed-in toward you. But as I mentioned earlier, this is a speaker for a lifetime as they will adjust as my hearing changes and with everyone’s different sonic needs, this is a speaker they can adjust.

    I am truly a content dude!!!

    Jim
    jpiscitello@ameritech.net
  • Aussie Geoff
    Super Senior Member
    • Oct 2003
    • 1914

    #2
    Jim,

    Thanks for the long informative review and congratulations...

    Having you a "truely content dude" is outstanding and may it last! :T

    Christmas wishes arty:

    Geoff
    Last edited by Aussie Geoff; 24 December 2004, 18:17 Friday.

    Comment

    • jimmyp58
      Super Senior Member
      • Aug 2003
      • 1449

      #3
      Thanks and same to you and your family Geoff.
      jpiscitello@ameritech.net

      Comment

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