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From: portal!demon!chan@Sun.COM
Newsgroups: rec.audio.high-end
Subject: Re: VMPS Super Tower R's
Message-ID: <7879@uwm.edu>
Date: 26 Nov 90 19:49:01 GMT
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In article <7766@uwm.edu> hunter@work.nlm.nih.gov (Larry Hunter) writes:
>Based on my impressions so far, I think I would like the VMPS Super
>Tower R's.  They appear to have the deep bass and the dynamics I've
>decided are most important to me, and in kit form, including the focal
>tweeter upgrade, soundcoat cabinet reinforcement resin treatment, and
>wondercaps in the crossovers, they cost less than $2k including
>shipping.  The various reviews I've seen are all pretty positive
>(especially given my somewhat-unusual-for-an-audiophile needs).  The
>problem is that I'm worried about buying a pair of speakers I've never
>heard.
>
>1.  Has anybody built or listened to the VMPS line, especially the
>Super Tower R?  What do you think?

Several years ago, I heard an earlier version of the Super Tower II R
(the really tall ones with ribbon supertweeters) at the store in San
Jose where I got my Magnavox 560 CD player*.  I only had a brief
listen in an ok-for-a-store room (maybe 20 x 30, carpet on walls),
but they struck me as low-end audiophile.  Imaging was pretty good
for such a large speaker with so many drivers.  The electronics
used were distinctly mid-fi (AR?), but looking at the specs, it
would seem that the STIIRs should be able to punch out very clean
SPLs.  The bass distortion spec is unusually low.  

The Focal tweeter in the current version is one of the best 
tweeters made, and the folks at VMPS are competent, so it should 
be well integrated.  I am leaning towards a minimum baffle area
design for speaker I hope to build eventually, since these seem to
produce the best imaging, so I don't think you'll get the ultimate
in imaging from any of the VMPS speakers.  But then you're not
looking for that and the ones I heard did a decent job.  From your
requirements, I think they may be what you're looking for.

Sorry I can't give a more detailed review.  Hope this helps anyway.

Jeff C.

*My CDB 560 is now heavily modified and sounds very good.  Some
of you may remember my postings about this in rec.audio several
years ago....  Roughly, the mods were AD712 op amps, servo 
instead of coupling caps, unregulated external power supply
and individual voltage regulators for the left & right analog
sections and DAC.  Makes a huge difference, though I haven't
seriously auditioned the latest CD players.  None that use
electolytic output coupling caps (ie most Japanese) sound
good, I've found...  Did anyone else (besides Dave Angelini
and a couple other people I know) try the mods I wrote about?