Review of our show at Stereo Times (scroll to the bottom of linked page)


Our 2012 CES/THE SHOW exhibit featured as co-exhibitors:
Wyred4Sound/Ampzilla and Wywires

Wyred4Sound showed its full line of preamps, power amps, DAC’s and other surprises to be announced. Wywires had on hand the latest incarnation of its superpremium Speaker Wire plus a full set of its top of the line balanced interconnects.





VMPS debuted the Series II edition of the RM50 speaker system ($16,900pr introductory price) complete with your choice of digital controller or outboard analog crossover.





This year we had more variety and number of performers for our one of a kind live-vs-recorded demo. Scheduled to appear: the Merv Harding Quintet featuring legendary alto sax/flute/clarinet player Fred Haller, a James Bongiorno solo jazz piano recital, and three guest vocalists.





We want to thank everyone associated with our Live vs Recorded demo in the Lake Mead ballroom of the Flamingo this year. It was a tremendous amount of work and expense, and we might have fallen flat on our faces.





We took a huge risk hiring the Merv Harding Quintet (piano, alto sax, trumpet, acoustic bass, drums plus male vocals) to play for us. The sound pressure and dynamics of these great players (whom I encouraged not to hold back in the least), particularly from the drumkit, made our heads spin. We were quite sure at first that our record/reproduction chain would not be equal to the task. After hearing the Merv Harding Quintet do sound checks with levels over 100dB SPL at a listening position about 15 ft away, it seemed we were dead ducks. High end speakers simply aren’t designed to keep up with live sound sources in a room that size (26x60x9ft). That we did so, and with great accuracy, was a relief and a real accomplishment.





We needn’t have worried. After several awful sounding takes with the musicians too far off mic, we ended with bass, trumpet and sax clustered around the stereo mics, piano about four feet away, and the drumkit about eight feet back. The Series II RM 50 played back the full range of sound at live levels with plenty of headroom, no distortion or clipping of the Ampzilla monoblocks, and no coloration we could detect. It was a triumph for all involved.





Kudos to our recordists Jim Harger (hi-rez) and Dave Housteau (double DSD), our musicians, E.J. and Clint from Wyred4Sound/Ampzilla, and Alex from Wywires for a job done to perfection.


THE ACTUAL SYSTEM USED:

Source: Wyred4Sound Media Server
Source: Modwright modded SONY 5400 SACD player
Source: James Harger’s Recording Rig
Source: Dave Housteau’s Recording Rig

DAC: Wyred4Sound DAC-2

PreAMP: Wyred4Sound STP-SE

AMPS: (4) AMPZILLA 2000 Second Edition Monoblocs
with a Wyred4Sound Modded D-OXO controller

Speakers: VMPS VMPS Series II RM50 Dual Line Array Bipole

The complete system was cabled and wired with WyWires; Digital, Analog Interconnect, Power Cords, and Speaker Cables


Recording Chain
Microphones:
( 6 ) M-Audio Sputnik Tube Condenser ( 2 ) in M/S configuration
( 4 ) M-Audio Solaris Class A Solid State Condenser
( 2 ) M-Audio Solaris Class A FET Condenser
( 1 ) Rode NT1-A JFET Condenser ( Vocal Microphone )

Microphone Pre-Amp:
Grace Design Lunatec V2 Stereo in M/S Configuration

Mixing Consoles:
Panasonic Ramsa WR-DA7 MK11
Motu 896 Digital Audio Interface

Digital Recorder:
Alesis Masterlink ML9600

Microphone and Console Cables:
Canare L-4E6S 25ft, 50ft and 100ft
Neutrik XLR Black/Gold Balanced Connectors

A/C Power Conditioning:
Equi=Tech 1.5RQ-F Balanced A/C Power
Zero Surge 1RM15-4RY Sequencing Surge Protection
Surgex SEQ Surge Protection/Power Conditioning

VMPS introduced RM30 Series II at Newport Beach show, exhibiting with Ampzilla, WyWires, W4S, NuForce and Audience.

Here are comments from;
Positive Feedback
Stereophile

We are introducing the new generation of Constant Directivity Wave Guides, as defined by our U.S. Patent.

The new guides are simple add ons that attach directly to the mid and tweeter panels. They are lightweight, lack baffles, are inexpensive, eliminate treble rolloff, exhibit less than 1dB insertion loss, and may be used with planar drivers other than our own, such as DG Neo 8 and Neo 10, Hi-Vi, and EMIM’s. The waveguides can be used on dome tweeters and ribbon supertweeters, but are not designed for cone midranges. No crossover adjustment is required.

Beyond improving directivity, the new CDWG’s positively influence sound quality in other ways, such as midrange smoothness, bass solidity, naturalness, and of course, dispersion.

The principal of the diffraction slot is well known and is the basis for almost all constant directivity devices for 30 years now. With planars, unfortunately, simply making them narrower is no solution, as their sensitivity would be very low if made wide enough (2/3″) for CD dispersion up to 20kHz.

If you mask off part of the diaphragm to make a narrower slot it causes a lot of energy to be reflected back into the driver, and the resulting IM distortion is quite objectionable.

Our solution was a damped slot, with substantial absorbtive as well as reflective components. This is what made our CDWG patentable over the prior art. Many opponents objected to the granting of the patent, but after 5 years, we prevailed.

In the second generation CDWG, the device is reduced to its simplest components and attached directly to the driver frame. The opening here is about 1″, corresponding to a 12 kHz CD characteristic. This is fine for our panel, which rolls off mechanically at that frequency. Only half the diaphragm is forced into constant directivity, and then there is a gradual transitiion to narrow dispersion. In this fashion, there is little or no audible treble rolloff for the on-axis listener, and insertion loss is very low. The panel now mimics the cardioid dispersion pattern of many musical instruments and voice. The difference in disprsion patterns is what makes speakers sound so different from live sound as far as directivity is concerned.

A similar CDWG with a narrower opening, designed for planar tweeters, is also available, as are antiffraction masks for tweeters that are already narrow enough for CD behavior to 20 kHz.

It takes a pair of CDWG masks to treat a single panel or tweeter. You would need two pair to treat the panels in a pair of single panel speakers like the 626, or the single tweeter in any FST speaker.

VMPS Live vs. Recorded at The Home Entertainment Show 2011 – Las Vegas

Venue was the Red Rock 1 ballroom (27x50x9′) of the Flamingo Hotel. We planned to simulcast the event on a Las Vegas FM jazz station. Hi-rez for pay downloads will be immediately available on Napua’s website www.bravecoolworld.com. We also simultaneously cut and sold a limited edition autographed CDR of the event to Show attendees.

Napua wrote original charts for our large combo of alto sax, flute, clarinet, piano, string bass, duo guitars, percussion, and full drumkit.

Playback was a real live-vs-recorded workout for the RM50 speaker system and Ralph Karsten featured latest versions of the Atmasphere MA 2 220W OTL monoblocks and some new gear.

Unlike our 2008 and 2009 demos, this time we were not trying to reproduce the live sound exactly as the audience would hear it. Instead, we were making as good a live album as we could for Napua Davoy, and that involved a stereo pair of mics in MS configuration for the band, a separate mic on guitar, a stereo pair under the piano lid, and a vocal mic, all mixed on the fly. In playback the voice was much more prominent than in the live sound, since the vocalist was facing away at a ninety degree angle to the audience. Fortunately the RM50 reproduced the live sound with virtually complete accuracy, and was also killer on CD playback during the Bybee Music Rails DC filter demos.

The price bar has been dramatically lowered for High Enders looking for State of The Art speakers. There are many fine systems out there at all price points now. With the RM50, you get unsurpassed sound quality at a price many can actually afford. The $100k and up speakers I have heard from other manufactures do no better, and many don’t come close.



All photos: JQP from AC

Our live recording of Napua Davoy and her Braveoolworld Band should be available soon. Contact us for price and availability.

We want to assure those of you who dislike digital processing that an all analog version of the RM50 w/Bybees is available at the $14,900 price point, in single amp or biamp configurations. We prefer the modded DCX for its flexibility, neutrality, and built in room and speaker correction.

Our System;

Digital Source Player: ModWright modded Sony 5400 CD player
Microphones: M Audio tube condenser
Digital Recorders: Alesis Masterlink Hi rez and Korg DSD
Preamp: Atmasphere MP 3 3.1 tube preamp
Mid and Treble amp: Atmasphere MA 2 220W tube monoblocks with Bybee DC noise filter PS mod
Bass amp: TBA
Wires and cable: The System will be wired by Wywires
Additional Playback Source CD/SACD: Modwright modded Sony ES 5400
Speakers: VMPS RM50 & Bybee nanotube quantum resistor filters

Anyone who red 2009 CES reports about our live vs recorded demonstration at the Zeus Ballroom could learn much about the challenges we faced. This was new territory and many of my assumptions coming in proved incorrect. But, that’s why you go exploring in the first place–it’s the Undiscovered Country, an audio frontier.

What struck me immediately about our demo is, although we could EQ in the frequency domain, adjust delays, treat the room, and have good equipment. we were not reproducing the dispersion patterns of live instruments properly with our dipole V60. Instruments radiate either omnidirectionally (strings, keyboards, percussion) or in cardioid pattern (voice, winds, brass). Two types of speaker mimic these patterns: the omni and the bipole. Of the two, the bipole is less problematic in the average listening room because you can control the amount and incident angle of reflected energy with baffles and waveguides.

Bipoles require a very sturdy cabinet and cannot be done well on the cheap. Also, I wanted more treble surface area to help overcome the HF absorption of large listening rooms like the Zeus. An array of tweeters was necessary. Side by side arrays (line sources) need drivers in very close proximity in order to radiate as a coherent source, so the tweeters would have to be short and narrow, placed as close to the mid panels as possible. The integral bass section would have to be large and powerful. The entire design shouts out for execution at the highest quality level, better than what we had done before.

We also needed a system that could take full advantage of modern DSP and be user friendly and accessible. Just dealing with typical room problems is impossible without such processing power. This has little to do with the quality of the speaker – no uncorrectable speaker we know, regardless of price, would have reproduced live music properly in that environment. Simple “linearity”, “accuracy”, “time alignment” or fixed off-axis dispersion patterns would not do the job for every listener, and we had 30 of them to make happy.

Sound reinforcement systems ignore virtually all these considerations and focus on deliving adequate sound pressure levels to a wide audience. We had to do this too, but without the coloration of horns or many other types of waveguides. Indeed, the task at hand was daunting and would require a complete rethinking.

In the RM50, a true Live Music Reproducer, the challenges have been almost entirely overcome, as we demonstrated at THE SHOW. We had have live vs recorded demonstrations all four days with solo piano, voice, winds, string bass, percussion, guitar, bass drum, just about everything. And we played your CD’s on request. They sounded much closer to live too.

Audiophile life has become easier now, its frustrations far fewer, satisfaction levels much higher. Listen to RM50 and see if you agree. – Brian Cheney

VMPS at The Home Entertainment Show 2010 – Las Vegas

It is a great pleasure to announce that VMPS has partnered with Ralph Karsten’s fabulous Atmasphere OTL tube electronics for another live-vs-recorded festival of music and sound at THE SHOW, Flamingo Hotel Las Vegas, Jan 7-10.

Those with good memories will recall debuting the VMPS RMV60 speaker in Jan 2006 at the St Tropez with the Atmasphere MA2 220W OTL monoblocks. This upcoming CES will feature the Mk III version of the MA-2, the MK III version of the 18 tube, two piece MP 1 Atmasphere preamp, and some extra goodies to be announced. Our source will be vinyl, CD, and live music.

Best of all, we have obtained the largest and finest demo room at CES: the 28x62x9ft Lake Mead I and I, strategically located at the top of the escalator just to the right of THE SHOW’s registration desk. You can’t miss it. There will be live and recorded playback nonstop all four days, with at least 30 seats available, so come by any time if you’re in town.

This time we are bringing our own 24/96 and DSD recording equipment with tube condenser mics, and will employ two to five channels depending on number of performers. CD’s of the event will be burned and made available to showgoers on the spot. There will be plenty of audience participation, not just the passive listening common to hifi shows.

At the Alexis Park last year we learned how to do a convincing live-vs-recorded demonstration and this time will be even better.

“…perhaps the most intriguing and illuminating event of the whole four days” – StereoMojo

Brian Cheney has announced that he and VMPS Audio, with James Bongiorno of Ampzilla 2000, John McDonald of Audience Power Products, and Ray Kimber of Kimber Cable, will thrill the attendees of the HIGH END Audio show with a LIVE versus Recorded Playback Event in Las Vegas this January 2009. This will take place in the VMPS Room (Zeus Ballroom) in the Alexis Park Hotel.

There will be live-vs.-recorded demos 3 times daily at 12:00 noon, 3:00 pm, and 5:00 pm Thurs, Fri, Sat, and Sun. Advanced tickets are available at no charge by sending an e-mail to VMPSAudio@aol.com with “CES demo”, in the subject line. Just request your day and time preference, and an e-ticket will be sent to you.

Ray KIMBER will record a 7-piece ensemble, with his specialized, state-of-the-art DSD gear. This system will feature a Sony Sonoma DAW, with Millennia Media preamp and EMM Labs converters. The recording will be stereo only.

Playback will immediately follow on the incredible VMPS RM v60 Open Baffle, Reverse Horn, Ribbon speakers Powered by AMPZILLA 2000 amplification, with cable and Power Products by Audience, in direct A/B comparisons of LIVE to PLAYBACK.

This event will feature several great performers:

Lesley Olsher – Vocals
Jeanine Del Carlo – Vocals
Chris Salocks – Piano
Bill Bailey – unamplified string bass
Fred Haller – alto sax and clarinet
Brian Cheney – Percussion

Additional performers to be announced.

Playback System Details:

Preamplification: Spread Spectrum Technologies
Amplification: Ampzilla 2000
Interconnects/cables: Audience AU24
Power Conditioning: Audience aR12
Speakers: VMPS RMV60
SubWoofers: VMPS Very Large Arrays (VLA)
Sub Amp: VMPS 1000w Sub AMP

Reviews of the event;
StereoMojo (bottom of the page)
Stereophile

Videos

Below are links to videos of four performances from 2009 event. After you listen to “Jerusalem of Gold” live, stick around and hear it again reproduced via the two channel DSD recording over the Ampzilla/VMPS V60-VSS speaker system. You can tell that, even with the different balances imposed by the use of the single stereo mic, we really nailed the playback! Fidelity is outstanding.

There are four other cuts from our 2009 demo available to click on here. Brian Cheney introduces all the tracks and play percussion, with Chris Salocks on piano, Bill Bailey on string bass and Fred Haller on sax and flute.

- click to play, however in lo-fi
- click on YT logo to go to YT web and read descriptions of each clip

Check the Review section on Ambience tweeters.

The openness and air that a rear facing tweeter can bring to the sound is well known. To meet those preferences, we now offer the Ambience Add-on Tweeter.

This is an add-on usable with all our speakers (except the RMV60 and RM50) that is freestanding and complete with crossover and user-adjustable level control.

This can stand on top of a speaker or be attached to the back baffle with double-sided tape. It consists of our spiral ribbon tweeter with a 5kHz xover built-in mounted in a black MDF enclosure 4x4x1.5″ deep.

It simply plugs in to the back of any speaker we make. The user can direct its output to the rear or side wall, or even the ceiling depending on room acoustics and his tastes.

Rear facing will have the sonic virtue of creating more airy depth to the sound. Side firing will offer wider appearing soundstages. Ceiling orientation will create a bit of height to the stage.

The built-in ambiance tweeter is flush with the back baffle and fires rearward. This is also GREAT for the L&R Mains and Surround speakers for HT use. The user adjustable passive volume control allows you to achieve that “perfect” blend.

SDE stands for Special Digital Edition, meaning that the largest part of an analogue passive crossover is replaced with digital active crossover. We now offer all of our speakers also in SDE configuration, which requires bi-amping. Active crossover unit (Behringer DCX 2496) can handle six channels, so it can be also used for any pair of main speakers together with any pair of our subwoofers.

Behringer DCX is available in stock or modified configurations.

VMPS exhibited at CES 2008, Las Vegas, St Tropez Hotel January 7th to 10th, room 1801. Our system was three RM V60s and two VLA sub towers in the Ampzilla Trinaural configuration, with all Ampzilla electronics including the new Ambrosia preamp.

A real wall of sound, but tuned to perfection…