Need info and/or advice on VMPS Super Tower R speakers

[hiwattnick]

Hi there fellow AK’ers!

So, a few years back, a friend of mine gave me a pair of VMPS super tower R speakers.
They are clearly a very high quality US made beautiful pair of spkrs.
Right now they are buried in my garage, but very well protected. They’ve got a tiny bit of wood rot on the bottoms, because they got stuck in a flooded basement. They were luckily brought to a cool dry place very quickly to stop any further damage. I just hope the woofers which point straight down are alright.
I actually don’t know which spkrs are good on them, or what should be changed or upgraded.
They’re beautiful speakers, but they’re also HUGE! Each of em is approximately the size of an Ampeg 8” x 10” bass cabinet, but without the wheels, weighing in at I believe to be 160+ lbs. each!

Does anyone have any experience with them, and thoughts or ideas of what to do with them?
I’ve been looking at buying a pair of Tekton EnzoXL’s, which I think I’d rather buy new rather than refurbish these VMPS speakers.
Do I fix the VMPS, or do I sell them to someone who may be looking for a pair?
Depending on what I hear back from all of you awesome AK’ers, I just might refurbish them

Here’s all the info I can find on them so far:
- A picture of one
- A wiring diagram
- Info about them

 

[Audi0]

I would be worried about mold growth on the speakers if they got super soaked.

 

[hiwattnick]

I would be worried about mold growth on the speakers if they got super soaked.

After the basement got flooded they were brought into a cool dry place, but that’s still a good point. I’ll have to check em out when I get around to opening them up.
Thanks for the heads up.

 

[SleeperSupra]

Wonderful speakers.

You will probably have to replace the down firing passive radiator.

Replacing the passive radiator may be a problem as the owner of VMPS passed away and the company is no longer in business.

If all else is in good working order and the passives are shot I would buy passive radiators from Parts Express or another online supplier and go from there.

In my opinion, they are worth the effort of restoration.

 

[hiwattnick]

Ok, good. Thanks so much for the input! I’ve looked at Parts Express too. I actually need to buy some new spkrs for a pair of AR94sx’s from them, but looked at possible replacement spkrs for the VMPS’s too.
So you’re familiar with the set up of them with the down firing woofer, the tweeter pointing straight up on top, the ribbon tweeter, and the rest of it? Do you own a pair, or have you?
I just don’t know if I should sell them to someone who’s going to really care for and fix em up and enjoy them, or refurbish them myself. That’s a lot of work.
I’ve been dying to get a pair of Tekton EnzoXL’s, but don’t know which spkrs would be better. Not to mention, the VMPS are GIGANTIC speakers! I think they may be too big for my listening space.
Another fellow AK’er turned me on to this site, which has ended up being very helpful. It’s no AK though! Haha
https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?board=39.0

Again, thanks so much for your help and suggestions!

All the Best,
- Nick

 

[crispycircuit]

What a piece of history! You gotta restore those and tell us what you think?

 

[hiwattnick]

What a piece of history! You gotta restore those and tell us what you think?

You should restore them and tell us what you think! Haha
I’m kinda joking, but also kinda serious! You don’t live that far away either. Ha
If I do end up restoring them, I’ll definitely keep people who are interested up to date with the process with plenty of pics.
If I do end up selling them, D’you want me to contact you?
Just curious. Certainly not trying to make an aggressive attempt at a sale. Haha

 

[StimpyWan]

Great speakers, that definitely deserve a restoration. They pop up every once in a while for sale, and there's always a lot of interest. You can see quite a few pictures of your ST/R's at the AC VMPS forum, as you've found. AC member James Romeyn is a former VMPS employee, and assembled many of the various VMPS speakers. Jim could probably provide more info on your speakers. You could PM him for details.

Not much info on VMPS speakers either, so thanks so much for posting your brochures. Especially the crossover schematic. That's great to have. Not much info on the drivers that Brian used either. Your speakers used an upward firing piezo tweeter, usually a JVC ribbon tweeter, then usually dual Morel tweeters (sometimes Focal), Audax 5.25" mids, and CTS woofers (12" and 15"), with finally, the 15" down firing passive radiator.

One other thing. Brian was recommending new passive radiators, in order to improve bass performance. CSS passive radiators were suggested, but the company no longer produces the 15" version. So, Parts Express might be the best source. Also, Brian started using Goldwood GW-15PC Heavy Duty woofers as upgrades. Brian even used this woofer in his 215 subwoofer. A good upgrade too, if you feel the need? Sold by Parts Express as well.

Good luck with the refurb.

 

[hiwattnick]

Great speakers, that definitely deserve a restoration. They pop up every once in a while for sale, and there's always a lot of interest. You can see quite a few pictures of your ST/R's at the AC VMPS forum, as you've found. AC member James Romeyn is a former VMPS employee, and assembled many of the various VMPS speakers. Jim could probably provide more info on your speakers. You could PM him for details.

Not much info on VMPS speakers either, so thanks so much for posting your brochures. Especially the crossover schematic. That's great to have. Not much info on the drivers that Brian used either. Your speakers used an upward firing piezo tweeter, usually a JVC ribbon tweeter, then usually dual Morel tweeters (sometimes Focal), Audax 5.25" mids, and CTS woofers (12" and 15"), with finally, the 15" down firing passive radiator.

One other thing. Brian was recommending new passive radiators, in order to improve bass performance. CSS passive radiators were suggested, but the company no longer produces the 15" version. So, Parts Express might be the best source. Also, Brian started using Goldwood GW-15PC Heavy Duty woofers as upgrades. Brian even used this woofer in his 215 subwoofer. A good upgrade too, if you feel the need? Sold by Parts Express as well.

Good luck with the refurb.

Wow! Thank you, StimpyWan! What a wonderfully amazing and detailed response! Thank you so much for all that great information, and especially for your time. It is greatly appreciated! I’ve looked at a lot of info over there on AC.

Thank you immensely for the info on James Romeyn. I guess if there’s anyone who’d be able to help with info on returbishing these spkrs, it’d be him.

When I first got them, I plugged em in just to give a quick listen, and they sounded great...and huge! I could immediately tell they were a pair of speakers for a larger room. Now, I am more than very aware that large speakers do not mean they’ve gotta be played loud, but that it is more about sound quality and detail, but these guys are just too big for my needs. What I really want is a pair of Tekton EnzoXL speakers.

I assume on my pair of Super Tower R’s, the tweeters, ribbons spkrs, and a good amount of the other spkrs are in fine working order, or not that far from being so. The real issue is the small amount of damage to the wood on the very bottoms of them, which makes me think that the downward firing woofers probably need replacement. They were very well taken care of, but got a bit of water damage from a flooded basement. They were luckily removed very quickly before any major damage could occur.

Even though I know that they’re great speakers, and a great piece of Hi-Fi history, I unfortunately don’t think I’m the guy to restore them. I’d really rather get them in the hands of someone who has the passion and the drive to do so, and give them the proper refurb they deserve. Not to mention, they’re just way too big for my needs. I don’t have a room large enough to accommodate them to let them be heard in all of their glory. The guy I got them from had a giant loft space he had them in, where they could really be opened up.

I’d really rather sell them to someone like that, as well as also of my other gear for a set of Tekton EnzoXL’s. I know you vintage guys will think I’m crazy for doing so, but as I said, but I just don’t have the time or a real desire to to refurbish these speakers.

Thanks for all your help and information! It just made me realize all the more that this project is not for me, but for someone with the means to do so. Once again, that guy is not me. This guy wants a set of Tektons.

I’m going to get them out of the garage in the next few weeks, take plenty of pics, and list them on BT.
So those that might be interested, or know someone who may be, please pass on the word:
“A soon to be FS pair of VMPS Super Tower R’s” Haha

Thanks once again, StimpyWan!

 

[StimpyWan]

You are most welcome.

If you do decide to part with your speakers, let me know. I'll post the details in my VMPS For Sale thread on AC. Or you can join for free, and post the ad.

As to the base damage, some models allowed the base to be removed, in order to access the downward firing passive radiator. If so, it wouldn't be hard to make a new base. Work on the passives too, while the base is off.

 

[hiwattnick]

You are most welcome.

If you do decide to part with your speakers, let me know. I'll post the details in my VMPS For Sale thread on AC. Or you can join for free, and post the ad.

As to the base damage, some models allowed the base to be removed, in order to access the downward firing passive radiator. If so, it wouldn't be hard to make a new bass. Work on the passives too, while the base is off.

Thanks so much! I am definitely going to part with the speakers, probably in the next few months when I am able to get them out of storage, and take some detailed pics of them. I will absolutely let you know beforehand, when I decide to sell them. I kind of assume AC rather than AK would be a more advantageous place to put them up for sale? Maybe even both? I am a member of AC also, by the way.

I wasn’t aware of the fact that some models were designed so the bases could be removed, but it makes total sense. Actually, now that I think about it, I believe I saw how the base could be removed when I moved them, but the entire speaker obviously has to be put on it’s side. The bottom woofer surely wouldn’t fit out of the bass port on the bottom, I don’t think at least...

I am going to get rid of them though and put the money towards the Tekton EnzoXL’s. Tekton speakers sound absolutely phenomenal to me, and are much more sensible when it comes to my system and available space I have.

Thanks so much for your help and information. I will surely be in touch! If you’ve got any more info, please do send it my way.

Thanks again!

 

[SleeperSupra]

I may be interested in buying them when the time comes...

 

[hiwattnick]

I may be interested in buying them when the time comes...

I’ll let you know even before I list it for sale!
I just added you as someone I follow.

Thanks for your interest!

- Nick

 

[avguytx]

I'm always too far away when a pair of VMPS speakers do actually come up for sale. Seems they are all around the outer perimeter of the U.S. but never in the central part close to where I am. Oh well...I just keep an eye out for there to one day be a pair reasonably close by and reasonably priced.

 

[hiwattnick]

I'm always too far away when a pair of VMPS speakers do actually come up for sale. Seems they are all around the outer perimeter of the U.S. but never in the central part close to where I am. Oh well...I just keep an eye out for there to one day be a pair reasonably close by and reasonably priced.

I'm always too far away when a pair of VMPS speakers do actually come up for sale. Seems they are all around the outer perimeter of the U.S. but never in the central part close to where I am. Oh well...I just keep an eye out for there to one day be a pair reasonably close by and reasonably priced.

Oh, man. That sucks! I’m sorry, dude! I guess the trip from AZ to MA isn’t worth a pair of a set of one your dream speakers. Or, is it?! Haha! Just kidding, of course. I wish you were closer, and I also wish the cost of shipping wasn’t so high. These would NOT be a USPS thing, but straight up freight. I’m talking pallets and everything. As Rodney Dangerfield said, “the whole shmear!” Haha!
Once again, I’m sorry, man! Wish we could work something out.
Best of luck eventually getting a pair!

- Nick

 

[StimpyWan]

I'm always too far away when a pair of VMPS speakers do actually come up for sale. Seems they are all around the outer perimeter of the U.S. but never in the central part close to where I am. Oh well...I just keep an eye out for there to one day be a pair reasonably close by and reasonably priced.

Hang in there AVGuy. One of these days, and it'll happen.

 

[hiwattnick]

Hang in there AVGuy. One of these days, and it'll happen.

So true! You’ll eventually find a pair!
(I wanted a dancing banana too! Haha!)