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REVIEW: VMPS RM40 Speakers

Model:	RM40
Category:	Speakers
Suggested Retail Price:	$4600/PR
Description:	FLOORSTANDING RIBBON/HYBRID TOWER
Manufacturer URL:	VMPS
Model Picture:	View

Review by denf on March 20, 2004 at 16:07:59 IP Address: 68.76.191.58

Add Your Review for the RM40

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I owned the final iteration of this speaker, the one with the FST tweeter, Auracap X-over and Analysis Plus internal upgrades. I say "owned" because I no longer have them. I spent about 4 months of solid listening & tweaking before finally "letting them go".

At the risk of being "flamed" by loyal VMPS owners (I know there's many!) I am simply commenting on my own, personal experience with these speakers.

I'm 43 years young, have been an "audiophile" for over 34 years. I'm mostly a "panal speaker" kinda guy, having owned Maggies, and several pairs of 'Logans over the years, but I have also owned many excellent dynamic speakers (Hales T5's, B&W 802, Alon IV's).

I have a dedicated listening room, with dedicated AC lines, various sound treatment throughout, in the basement of my home.

I include this information because I feel it is critical, any time a slightly negative review is given on a popular item, so you the reader, are properly informed about the person giving the review.

Simply put -- despite over 4 months of listening, positioning, tweaking, and even different amps, I could NEVER get the RM40's to sound "right".

They were never musical, in an effortless, natural way. I believe that, despite some rave reviews regarding the ribbons used in this design, they (the ribbons) still possess a prominent resonance, which adds an unwanted "peakiness" to the character of sound.

Yes, I did adjust, re-adjust, and adjust again, the tweeter and midrange level controls. Shelved down, the speakers sounded dull & lifeless, at the factory settings, they had the proper tonal balance, but then the "stridency" would rear it's ugly head.

This was especially noticable on the upper register of piano notes, clarinette, and some female vocal, but again, the OVERALL character of this speaker was just too bright & hot.

After much experimenting, and through process of elimination, I deduced that it indeed was the midrange units that were the main contributor here.

The tweeter, on the other hand, is perhaps the best high-frequency transducer these ears have ever heard. Fast, ultra-clean, with NO discernable "ringing" or over-hang. Too bad the mids couldn't match this performance!

Bass: another area that I was a bit disappointed. With the woofer array in this HEAVY loudspeaker, I expected MUCH deeper bass response. The bass was always clean, just a little disappointing in it's lack of reach.

The imaging was first rate, both laterally and depth-wise, with a panoramic stage that was again, right up there with the best I've heard, however, I just could not get these beasts to "gel" in my system again, in a musically pleasing way.

I really wanted to like these speakers. I saw them as a possible "world class" speakers for the common man, and thought (mostly based on the reviews) that these would be the last stop for me on the speaker highway, but alas -- once I learned/heard their Achilles heal, I couldn't get rid of them fast enough.

Sorry loyal VMPS owners! Nothing personal! Like they say "you say tomaato, I say tomahh-toe..." To each his own. Perhaps in the right room, with different ancillaries, they would be magic, but for this audio pilgram, well, I'm sticking with my M.L. Prodigies.

Equipment used during ownership; Spectron Musician II, Audio Aero Capitole 24/192 CD, Antique Sound Labs "Hurricane" amps (by FAR the best match up), Analysis Plus Solo Crystal interconnects and speaker cable, Acoustic Zen Tsunami AC cords, Shakti Stones and On Lines, PS Audio P300, Quantum Symphony line conditioners, Well Tempered Classic V table, BAT P5 phono stage, Reference Line Preeminence 1B pre-amp, Granit Audio Silver interconnects.

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Product Weakness:	Overall chacter -- strident, hard, non-musical. Bass not as deep and powerful as specs would suggest.
Product Strengths:	Best sounding tweeter I've ever heard. Great imaging.

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Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier:	Spectron Musician II, ASL Hurricanes
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	Reference Line Preemince 1B
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	Audio Aero Capitole 24/192
Speakers:	Martin-Logan Request, Prodigy
Cables/Interconnects:	Analysis Plus Solo Crystal, Granite Audio 475? silver
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	Classical, jazz, prog. rock
Room Size (LxWxH):	24 x 15 x 9
Room Comments/Treatments:	Metrofuser diffusion panals, ASC bass traps
Time Period/Length of Audition:	4 months
Other (Power Conditioner etc.):	Quantum Symphony, PS Audio P300
Type of Audition/Review:	Product Owner

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