I am having very little luck in discovering the original cost, much less what these are worth on today's market. Does anyone have information about the value of a pair of 1980's VMPS Super tower II's in very good condition? I contacted VMPS in El Sobrante, Ca. and was given the rough age range, but they had nothing in the way of history or value of these speakers. They are well built, sound excellent, and the surrounds are in perfect condition, considering their age. They weigh about 150lbs. each, 3.5' high, 2' feet wide,
16" deep.
Any assistance is appreciated.

The original VMPS Supertowers, from 1978, were very different from yours. They stood 80" tall, 24" wide and ~ 21" deep, and weighed nearly 300 Lbs each. Each cabinet had a 15" sub with a 15" PR, a 12" woofer with a 12" PR, a 12" lower mid-range, plus another 11 or 12 drivers (I think it was: 4 - 6" upper mids, 5 tweets and 2 supertweets). They were nominally 8 ohm speakers that were 104 dB efficient. They could run on as little as ~ 20 watts, but were rated to handle up to 500 watts RMS. They were also quite expensive. A pair of them with cabinet quality finish (the pair I had were Rosewood) went for $3600 plus shipping.

The Supertower II, if I remember correctly, was introduced a few years later as a lower cost alternative, probably because the original Supertowers were not flying off the shelves (what wife wanted such massive speakers?), and were near-impossible to ship (you custom built a wooden crate around them, including the pallet, and shipped the whole mess upright, one speaker per pallet.

I think the Supertower II speakers were originally priced at a range of $1600 - $2000 per pair, depending upon cabinet finish and a few other options. There might have also been a kit version at a lower cost (VMPS sent you the hardware and the specifications for the cabinet). I don't remember the discount, but it became substantial when shipping was included.

Cost has always been tricky with big old VMPS speakers. The only two sets of original Supertowers that I am aware of sold for $800 - $900. They were in tremendous cosmetic condition. I only heard one set and they were wonderful. Both ended up being local purchases for obvious reasons. I saw one pair of Supertower IIs offered at $500 about 2 years ago, but they didn't sell at that price, and I lost track of the seller.

Dear god, 80" tall? that would be a tough sell in a small home! Thanks for the input. You gave me enough information, that pretty much confirmed my assessment of these super tower II's. Bi-amp ready, attractive and sweet sounding. If I thought I could feasibly keep these in the family, I will. Your explanation regarding the DIY kits makes sense, as the cabinet interiors have that quality, what with the pencil marks showing on the back cover, and each interior side has a stamped location on them: bottom, left side, etc. Plus, the wiring was done well, but I did find bits and pieces of discarded wiring inside the cab, along with traces of solder. Lastly, the insulation was good in one, and in the second one it isn't as clean. Still, pretty impressive for a DIY kit. Many thanks again.

pics?

:worthless

pics can be found at the speaker forum, under VMPS in Bozak disguise. I don't know how to transfer photo's from one forum to the other. I tried, but was informed that the photo's had already been downloaded.

pics can be found at the speaker forum, under VMPS in Bozak disguise. I don't know how to transfer photo's from one forum to the other. I tried, but was informed that the photo's had already been downloaded.
open the photo in the other forum, copy the link to the photo, and paste it here with the correct BB code surrounding the link.
link

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=136319&stc=1&d=1236273096

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=136316&d=1234874809http://

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=136317&d=1234874809

Oy. Thanks for the assist. With more practice, I just may have this computer thing learned!