VMPS speakers?

[gus6464]

I was wondering if anyone has heard any of their speakers. I am on a search for different speakers with ribbon tweeters on them and someone on AVS recommended them. Dealer in my city closed down though but they look very nice.

 

[fmw]

I have no experience with that particular model so I can't tell you anything definitve about it. But I can tell you a little about VMPS. The company made its name be producing affordable true full range speakers. I mean full range 20hz to 20khz +/- 6 db and by affordable I mean something in the $1500 range per pair back in the 1990s.

I was a customer. I owned a pair of VMPS Tower II. They featured 2 12" woofers per side along with a 12" passive radiator. There were two midrange drivers and a total of 5 tweeters. They were almost 6' tall and weighed way over 100 lbs apiece and were nothing short of powerful and visceral. They were $1500 for a pair - not bad even in the 1990's.

The designer had a lot of problems with the high end audio community. The high end community doesn't care for affordable full range speakers. They feel full range speakers should be expensive and the VMPS were priced more like high end book shelf speakers. So they got bad reviews. They were blamed for being too dark sounding and too resonant.

My experience was quite different. The speakers included instructions on tuning the bass by using modeling clay around the passive radiator which was located on the bottom of the enclosure facing to the floor. The clay is included with the speakers. You just keep adding clay until the bass is tamed and in line with the other frequencies. You can do it with an SPL meter or by ear. The resultant sound was spectacular for me. I had only one pair of speakers ever that sounded better and they were way, way more expensive (and therefore approved by the high end community.)

Since then, VMPS has made some more expensive models (5 figures per pair) and has gained a little more respect from the high end audiophiles as a result.

The Tower II's I owned back in the 1990's were easily the best value overall in a full range speaker I have ever encountered in my life. Yes there are better ones and even a few cheaper ones but these were the most amazing sound for the dollar I've ever heard.

The bookshelf speakers you are considering aren't what VMPS is famous for but I'm willing to bet they are an excellent value for what they are. If I were buying bookshelf speakers sight unseen and unheard, I would have these on my list for sure. If they are going into a home theater with a powered sub, they should do a dandy job for you.

 

[gus6464]

I have no experience with that particular model so I can't tell you anything definitve about it. But I can tell you a little about VMPS. The company made its name be producing affordable true full range speakers. I mean full range 20hz to 20khz +/- 6 db and by affordable I mean something in the $1500 range per pair back in the 1990s.

I was a customer. I owned a pair of VMPS Tower II. They featured 2 12" woofers per side along with a 12" passive radiator. There were two midrange drivers and a total of 5 tweeters. They were almost 6' tall and weighed way over 100 lbs apiece and were nothing short of powerful and visceral. They were $1500 for a pair - not bad even in the 1990's.

The designer had a lot of problems with the high end audio community. The high end community doesn't care for affordable full range speakers. They feel full range speakers should be expensive and the VMPS were priced more like high end book shelf speakers. So they got bad reviews. They were blamed for being too dark sounding and too resonant.

My experience was quite different. The speakers included instructions on tuning the bass by using modeling clay around the passive radiator which was located on the bottom of the enclosure facing to the floor. The clay is included with the speakers. You just keep adding clay until the bass is tamed and in line with the other frequencies. You can do it with an SPL meter or by ear. The resultant sound was spectacular for me. I had only one pair of speakers ever that sounded better and they were way, way more expensive (and therefore approved by the high end community.)

Since then, VMPS has made some more expensive models (5 figures per pair) and has gained a little more respect from the high end audiophiles as a result.

The Tower II's I owned back in the 1990's were easily the best value overall in a full range speaker I have ever encountered in my life. Yes there are better ones and even a few cheaper ones but these were the most amazing sound for the dollar I've ever heard.

The bookshelf speakers you are considering aren't what VMPS is famous for but I'm willing to bet they are an excellent value for what they are. If I were buying bookshelf speakers sight unseen and unheard, I would have these on my list for sure. If they are going into a home theater with a powered sub, they should do a dandy job for you.

I was just looking at them to see if I can get a nice 2ch system with or without a sub. It's kind of crappy that just because they weren't super expensive they got bad reviews. I am just a huge fanboy of ribbons.

 

[fmw]

I wouldn't recommend them for use without a sub. They will quite bass shy. Just look at the little woofer. Use this kind of speaker with a sub for sure.

 

[gus6464]

I wouldn't recommend them for use without a sub. They will quite bass shy. Just look at the little woofer. Use this kind of speaker with a sub for sure.

So would you say they compare to speakers worth 2x the price? Not this speaker in particular just the entire VMPS line.

 

[fmw]

I never say things like that. Only magazine reviewers do that. I've never seen or heard these speakers and I don't know how much they cost. I was simply providing some experience I've had with VMPS in the past and I was trying to explain the negative magazine reviewers were out in the same left field they often occupy.

Don't buy audio equipment because someone else likes it. Buy audio equipment because you like it. Cater to your preferences and not to someone else's. That's the best advice I can give you.

 

[Rob Babcock]

I wouldn't recommend them for use without a sub. They will quite bass shy. Just look at the little woofer. Use this kind of speaker with a sub for sure.

That ain't no little woofer- it's a carbon fiber 6.5" woofer. Those 626r's pump out pretty respectable bass. The woofer only looks small because the 626 is really big for a "bookshelf" speaker.

 

[fmw]

No, 6 1/2" is a small woofer incapable of reproducing deep bass with much volume. That's just a matter of the laws of physics. Woofers need to be big enough to move a lot of air in order to handle deep bass. My own main speakers have 6 1/2" woofers and larger enclosures than these to help support the bass. You can see them perhaps in my avatar. While they sound very good with string quartets or solo piano, they are definitely bass shy as these would be.

They may do very well with bass when compared to other speakers with small woofers but they simply can't produce the bass that a larger woofer can produce. If anyone knows this clearly it would be VMPS whose fame came from large, full range speakers. This is nothing new or esoteric It has always been this way since the beginnings of audio.

Again, I recommend using them with a subwoofer.

 

[davidtwotrees]

Not a fan of bookshelfs, myself, but I think FMW would reccomend a sub with any bookshelf........or am I incorrect in saying that, Mr. FMW?

 

[fmw]

Yes, I would recommend a sub with any bookshelf speaker system.

 

[hemiram]

My friend had a pair of the VMPS Tower IIr's. I really liked them, and was wanting to get a pair, but it never happened. When he moved, he sold them to the old couple who bought his house, along with the rest of his audio/HT stuff.

He has B&W 803s now. I REALLY want a pair of those!