VMPS Speakers Possibly On The Way...

[jimmyp58]

Time for an upgrade (so what's new --- thanks ADZ --- just kidding!). I have a buyer for my Def Techs and I am hoping to audition some VMPS' early next week then get them the following week.

Will report more as this unfolds. Have loved my Def Techs but it's time for an upgrade.

Jim

[jimmyp58]

I did the audition this past Sunday. In a word, it was stunning. Admittedly there are significant differences between the VMPS RM-40 speakers and the Def Tech BP7000SCs I have. The primary reason for the variance is that the Def Techs are a bipolar speaker whereas the RM-40's are a traditional front-firing speaker. This being the case, there is a 'getting-used-to' phenomenon as the soundfield/soundstage is totally different. I only did a 2-channel audition.

For reference, the VMPS RM-40's are a rather large tower speaker. They stand nearly 6 feet tall (66 inches to be exact) and weigh a bit over 240 pounds each. I auditioned the 'older' version (about 1 & 1/2 years old); this is the version that garnered the CES speaker of the year in 2002. The newer version has a different tweeter setup (spiral ribbon in the old and FST in the new), the cabinet is significantly different (appearance and composition --- old one had MDF whereas the new one HDF), and some other miscellaneous things. We used a B&K Ref 50 pre/pro, B&K 200.7 amp, and a Sony ES cd player as the transport.

The mids and highs were unbelievably crisp and detailed. The bass was lush, quick, and deep. I have never heard a speaker this clear and clean. We auditioned some jazz (Peter White, Jeff Kashiwa, Ray Brown ['Some Of My Best Friends Are...Piano Players'], and Nelson Rangell), Donald Fagen's 'Kamakiriad', Frank Sinatra, Seal, and Christina Aguilera. The only speaker that would come moderately close is a Dynaudio (sorry, forgot the model #). I have listened to some B&W Nautilus speakers and the only one that rivaled it, IMO, is the N800 (and that's a near $20K/pair speaker!).

As a result, I am placing my order this Friday. It will take about 2 weeks for me to get my order as everything is custom-made. I will provide a detailed report once I receive them and break them in.

Jim

[brucek]

We'll expect pictures Jim.............. :T

[Fife]

More new toys for Jimmy.

;x(

[David Meek]

Awesome Jim! :T

[LEVESQUE]

Jimmy!

You are upgrading faster then me! And that is saying alot! :B

The next step for you is a BIG screen with a great projector, like the JVC HD2K or the Sony Qualia... :T

Congrats for your new toys.

And don't forget to bring your boss **cough cough** wife out for supper. Don't forget she's the one "approving" those new "upgrades"... :rofl:

Men. I'm sure you did alot of promises and begging to be able to bring those 6' high towers in HER house... no? :lol:

[jimmyp58]

I know you are a pharmacist and all (as you know, she is too) but what can I use on scabbed knees?!!! :cry: :rofl: Lots of begging my friend.

The primary owner and engineer just spent a few days visiting some of his speaker's owners and helped them tweak their speakers and respective sound. How many companies would do this? That is unbelievable.

With these speakers upfront in my HT, I think my next upgrade is to solidify the floor holding all of it up. Between these speakers (~ 500 pounds) an amp weighing 125+ pounds, another weighing ~ 100 pounds, RPTV, another amp, etc., there must be roughly 1 ton of equipment there. I never stopped to think about this until now. Ouch!

I'm lucky to have a wife that thinks McDonalds is a gourmet restaurant! Just kidding guys....lots of nice dinners to follow!

Jim

P.S. Pictures will be forthcoming along with the detailed report.

[jimmyp58]

Boy...it never ends!

Anyway, besides getting the new mains (RM-40's), I also ordered an VMPS LRC for center, VMPS Larger Subwoofer, and Crown K2 amp (to power the sub --- it's passive [but that is a huge understatement )

Guess more dinners are in line for the wife!!! Mickey D's, here we come.

[ThomasW]

The primary owner and engineer just spent a few days visiting some of his speaker's owners and helped them tweak their speakers and respective sound. How many companies would do this? That is unbelievable.

No it's called marketing.
There's only one owner and he's the only engineer. And he was already in town for the Rocky Mtn Audio Fest, so it was good PR for him to tweak Tyson and Wayne's speakers.

BTW, I STRONGLY encourage discussion about this brand of speakers be posted on the their forum.

[jimmyp58]

Thomas:

So no one can talk about VMPS speakers here anymore? I am confused. Bryston has a forum at the same place as the VMPS site. So we can't talk about Bryston here either then? Or is because of your affiliation with KLONE Audio that has you concerned?

Call it what you will, marketing or other, but I know he has some very happy owners. I loved my Def Techs while I owned them and while I never had a problem with them, I know for certain Sandy Gross has visited my hometown. He never visited a soul. And I'll bet that even if I had an issue, he wouldn't have visited me either.

Please respond.

Thanks...

Jim

P.S. He's also visited other owner's homes to assist them. I was not referring to his visit at the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest.

P.S.S. Are you the same person known as thetruth over at audiocircle?

[Lex]

This is a delicate situation for me here. First Jim is a customer of mine, and a fine forum member, so he's definitely got rights. Thomas on the other hand is a long time moderator here, and I have a allegance to him as well.

Jim, I'm not going to tell you you can't talk about VMPS here at all. However, I've been forwarned of the "owner" coming and soft or hard selling in any thread that concerns VMPS. It's happened before. That I won't allow for obvious reasons His association with another forum also comes to light, unless he wants to become an advertiser here. So, if your reading Mr Cheney, you are not welcome to sign on to participate in this thread except to say congrats or offer a very rare concise answer to a direct question that nobody else can answer here. Beyond that, any and all "selling" will be deleted without notice. That includes continued participation. Anawers will be given only when asked for specifically. No direct links to any other site will be allowed, including AC and VMPS.

I personally have nothing against VMPS audio, except for the fact they frequent Audio Circle. Ok, that's not a reason for me to dislike VMPS. Whoops, now my own feelings about something come to light. Audio Circle canned my cable forum at their place for no real reason at all. Just because I wasn't in the "IN" click, which Tyson, Bolder, and some others. It's the same reason I got heckled at Harmonic Discord by a few. The same ones came over to AC and in essense helped to do me in by lack of interest. So, basically I went my way, and they can go theirs.

One of our moderators has real personal feelings about this VMPS issue, so while I've never told someone they can't talk about a speaker or amp or pre-pro or CD player they like, I will say that Mr. Cheney is not welcome to come here and hock his wares unless he want's to become a paying advertiser. If he becomes ready to do that, then we will discuss his increased rights at that time. In the mean time, he has no direct rights here and he cannot sign that he's affiliated with VMPS in any way. Nor can he have a member name that indicates affiliation with any concern.

Sorry to have to bring that up, but I wanted to lay down the rights clearing up front. Any violation of my terms by the owner of that firm will be delt with accordingly up to and including expulsion from the forum.

A member is always welcome to talk about hardware he buys. But we have to do it with certain stipulations where potential problems exist.

Thanks,
Doug

[jimmyp58]

Thanks Doug, I think I understand there's some deep-seeded stuff here. I didn't provide the link to AC nor will I going forward. And I won't provide a VMPS link either. But I would like to discuss how my system sounds, etc. just like any other if that is acceptable once I get them fired up.

Jim

[ThomasW]

Lex makes the final decisions regarding all posts to the forum, he owns it.

My request has nothing to do with AudioCircle or any issues with HarmonicDiscord.

I'll expand the reason for my first post and this subsequent one.

Mr Cheney tends to appear on every forum where his speakers are discussed. On another forum Mr Cheney recently manifested questional judgement with regard to nature of his posts. As a result I request that no discussions regarding VMPS occur on HT-Guide.

Please note this is not a criticism of VMPS products. However for some reason VMPS products tend to be a very polarizing topic, and therefore a lightning rod that leads to problems. The problems are for the moderators and owners of the forums, not the owners of the speakers

This is a pre-emptive request to avoid the creation of anymore extremely unpleasant situations like those that recently developed on another forum. Those resulted in locked thread and forum owners talking about taking the entire forum off-line permanently, due to certain people's inability to function in an adult manner.

[jimmyp58]

You are correct Thomas in that this is a rather polarizing issue. Truth be told, I posted my VMPS 'potential' purchase 10/1 and I don't recall Mr. Cheney chiming in to try to hock his wares, etc. Nor did anyone turn it into a prostitution event for VMPS products. My comments were no different than if I chose to buy some Dynaudio speakers. It was you that brought all this up.

And I would think that if Mr. Cheney began doing this, Doug would take the appropriate action, swiftly if I may add. While I admit that I have not read every comment he has written on the various forums, I have not witnessed the belligerence you have spoken to.

Unfortunately, too, we have had folks not playing nice in the sandbox here at HT Guide and it had nothing to do with VMPS products nor their owner. Granted, it is not a frequent event (thank heavens) but it has happened just the same.

Any comments I share here about the speakers I will be getting will be done in a professional and adult manner. It will be done to not only express my experiences (bad or good) but to educate other forum members about yet another option they have in speaker gear. Again, no different than if I was getting some Dynaudios or Maggie's. If Mr. Cheney frequents and expresses comments that are in direct conflict with forum rules, again, I have confidence that Doug will address it accordingly.

Jim

[ThomasW]

My request has far less to do with anyone hawking their wares, than it does with what happens should any comments be made in the pejorative, regarding about the products or their design.

As long as everything is a love fest all is well, unfortunately that seldom occurs.

[Lex]

Well, I had a long reply prepared, made a wrong key stroke and lost it. I'll sum it up.

1. Any member can post a link to VMPS or any other speaker company as long as intent is not for advertising sake.
2. Any company owner can't do the same.
3. Any member can post about VMPS if he wants to
4. If the owner of said company does things that are contrary to advertising violation guidelines, then said action will be delt with accordingly.

This really maybe should have all been handled on the QT, and I respect what your saying Thomas. No member or member's ideas will be ridiculed here. All members will respect each other. If it don't go that way, then we have a problem. Just because someone owns a speaker company, doesn't mean they will be able to run rough shot over any member or moderator here. Won't happen on my watch-

Lex

[jimmyp58]

They arrived today, in all their glory. I'll be posting a picture of the semi that pulled up to my house and the pallet (1,100 pounds worth) full of VMPS speakers.

It is literally an all day project. I just sat down a few minutes ago from 10:00 a.m. and fired them up. I'll be posting my impressions after a few days.

Out of the box I can hear the details that I hadn't heard before. Very, very nice.

Jim

[jimmyp58]

Here's some pics....