Martin Logan Aerius with subwoofer ?????

hi jim,

vmps are rarely found on the used market, but they're really inexpensive used - partly, in the case of the larger sub, that at 140lbs & >8cu/ft, it's expensive to ship, i'm sure. there was one on ebay recently that got no bids at a starting price of $275, i tink. ya mite be able to find it in the completed auctions page if ya search vmps on ebay. but, check some dealers for pricing - compared to the powered subs on the market, these are a great deal even bought brand-gnu, considering shipping is included in the price! :>)also, i highly recommend getting all the awailable upgrades

i am a firm believer in using a pair, set-up in proper stereo configuration on the outside of the monitors, but, if ya gotta do yust one, then in the middle is the best place, but it would be preferable in the near-field - i.e.: as a coffee-table. (ackshully, i believe that near-field placement would be best for a pair, too - like end-tables, but my current set-up precludes wires running across the middle of my room.) make sure ya cross 'em over wery low, w/a slope of at least 24db/octave especially if yer only gonna run one sub. that adcom, which puts out 325w into 4 ohms, would do fine w/a pair of subs, but i wanted to get the amps closer to the subs, so i run a pair bridged. at ~$400 used, these make great sub amps! ;~)

good luck, doug

ps - check out vmps' www - brian cheney, the owner, has lotsa inneresting stuff to say about his view of speaker design & sub design.

Thank you, Doug. Happy Holidays.

hi jim,

last nite, i listened (again!) to nusrat fateh ali khan & michael brook - "night song" this cd has *amazing* low-frequency info, & believe me, bass frequencies *can* be directional! :>) if ya have the room, definitely try to go for a pair of subs. there are many other recordings i have that have directional bass, as well.

holly hippodaze, doug

Yeah, I think you're right about that Doug. I picked up the same pov from vmps' site. I'm just grappling with placement issues -- got to get the tape measure out. My speakers are on a 10x13 rug on an otherwise tiled floor. Since vmps says you can use their subs as stands for Quads and Soundlabs maybe I can place them in front of my CLS's (which are on Arcici stands), although placement outside the speakers would probably be best. Thanks for the tip on these -- I knew nothing about the company before. Their point regarding the quality of amp/crossover used in most subs makes a lot of sense. Now I'm thinking about how the combination of the ss sub amp will sound with my tube amp???? Even though the REL and Vanderstein subs are powered, they receive imput from the main power amp and respond in kind. I'm not sure about the technical aspects, but something about retaining the characteristics of the main amp throughout the frequecy range. Now what I'd REALLY like to get my hands on is a pair of the Kinergentics subs (SWB 800???). These were tall, narrow enclosures with 8 drivers in each cabinet designed specifically for CLS's... kind of a "mini" Statement set up. This combination has zero WAF though.

jim, the kinergetics subs - sw8000's i tink were the name of their top-model, would be excellent, but even if ya find a pair used, they're still expensive. as i recall, they had five 10" drivers per side. melos recommended them to me as a good mate for the newform research speakers i'm considering, but when i reminded them that i had my pair of vmps', they said i should be all right as-is,... ;~)

i woodn't be worried about using a solid-state amp w/subs when using tubes on top - wood prolly ackshully be a good thing, considering ya want the subs to be as fast as possible to keep up w/the 'stats.

i tink it inneresting yure using the cls - i strongly considered getting a pair, but i was turned-off when even m-l told me 93 db was the max i'd get outta them, even if crossed-over to subs at 100hz, which is ackshully higher than i'd like to go. for most music, i'd be ok w/93 db max, but every now-n-again, i like raucous music! :>) that's why i'm considering newform research electrostats - they're more efficient, go louder, and seem to be less sensitive to room-placement than the cls' - they're mono-poles, no sound from the back of 'em. but waf is *really* a problem w/these - i dunno if even *i* will be able to put up w/the way they look! :>) i suggest ewe czech out their www, as well as the reviews (on the r645) on audioreview. more than most of the reviews there, it's impressive what the users ancillary equipment is, & other speakers considered. one guy is using the $17k c-j art preamp, so i don't tink bargain-price was the attraction! these things retail for ~$2250, which ain't bad if they really live up to their claims.