Boston Acoustics VR M60 Floorstanding Speakers

Boston Acoustics VR M60 Floorstanding Speakers 

DESCRIPTION

Reference Monitor in Cherry wood finish. Freq. Response 51-20,000Hz. 6-1/2" (165mm)mid bass driver. Dimensions 11-3/4 x 8-5/16 x 11-7/8" (299 x 212 x 303mm)

USER REVIEWS

Showing 1-10 of 36  
[Jan 05, 2021]
eschmuntz


Strength:

I’ve owned a pair of VR-M50 years ago. It was an amazing bookshelf with beautiful voicing in the crossover. I’ve been searching for the right pair of M60.....finally found them. They present striking detail and low end capabilities for their size. I own many flagship JBL and RBH reference gear. These can tangle with the best of them. Truly one of the best bookshelf designs to come along. The engineers at Boston should be really proud of these. I’m bi-amping my pair with a Rotel preamp and 250 wpc x 5 channel amp. Beautiful.

Weakness:

None. Small footprint, monster sound.

Price Paid:
165
Purchased:
Used  
OVERALL
RATING
5
[Oct 21, 2018]
dixie


Strength:

Perfect for small rooms, no sub needed!! These speakers replaced a set of Infinity kappa 8's. The kappa 8's were great, but have to much energy for a small room. I use a graphic EQ, a USB mic, and REW to tune my system to my small 9 x 12 x 7 ft room and, with the Kappa's I didn't have enough "cut" to get the bass to required levels. The M60 is perfect! I use a sweep to get the system flat, and then use tones to tune the system so that all tones are "flat" as perceived by my ear. In my room, and to my ear, the M60 is FLAT all the way down to 20HZ and as high as my ear can perceive, which is ~13Khz (I'm in my late 50's ). I Power them with a completely refurbished Sunfire 300 X 2 amplifier. A big mistake many make buying speaker is buying speakers that are just to big for their listening area. The Kappa 8's worked great for me in a different home, but not here. I sold them to a person who put them in a 14w x 21L x 9H room and they sound perfect with the room they need to breathe.

Weakness:

None at all.

Price Paid:
300
Purchased:
Used  
Model Year:
2000
OVERALL
RATING
5
[Jul 10, 2010]
Bill Burr
Audio Enthusiast

I bought 2 VRM60s, 2 VRM50s, and 1 VRM Center channel back 8-9 years ago from Tweeter. If you like bright speakers, you will love them. They have wonderful tonal quality especially in the mid -high range, and have a decent base response especially if bi-wired. Overall, they are the best sounding bookshelf speakers that I have heard.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Dec 05, 2009]
Roger Dickinson
AudioPhile


Found these at a pawn shop, they looked out of place immediately. The price tag was $100, I thought they were fake. I examined them, they looked real. Felt real. Dual binding posts. I paid cash. These speakers were amazing! They absolutely destroyed my Klipsch KG 4.2s, my B & O Beovox 75s, my Timeframe TF-600s, my Missions, NHTs, everything I owned! Incredible staging, clarity, sound quality. You find them, buy them.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[May 29, 2007]
BTolmer
Casual Listener

Strength:

Small size, beautiful looking, incredible sound.

Weakness:

As far as I am concerned, there isn't any. I do have a subwoofer, but I think these would still do well without it.

I love these speakers, I fell in love with them the first time I listened to them and spent a few months looking at others, but nothing compared as far as I was concerned. My previous speakers were DCM, and I like these better.

Up until this weekend, I was powering these with a Sony STR-DA-555-ES. I just bought an Onkyo TX- SR604 and I feel like these speakers are new all over again. I am not an audiophile and I don't know the technical differences between the two receivers, but these VRMs are now sounding sweeter than ever. I am in heaven!!!!

Similar Products Used:

DCM TP160S-CH

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Apr 11, 2007]
Jfb2006
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Extremely detailed and exciting to listen to. Impressive power handling (200W). Robust build.

Weakness:

Not for the feint of heart. May strike some as producing a slightly flat sound stage.

These speakers were 45% off at Audioadvisor when I bought them late in '06. Since then, I have not seen them anywhere online, and Boston Acoustics has come out with a new product in this category. I guess I was lucky to purchase them when I did. I'm quite happy with them.

The VR-M60 is a crisp, forward leaning speaker, designed, seemingly, for both music and home theater. I use them for music 85% of the time, and I am pleased with the amount of detail that I now hear, although I understand the complaint by some that they are "bright." I happen to like a bright, aggressive speaker, as this quality makes the music more exciting. I do not find these speakers fatiguing. Those who do may have a problem in the preamp or source sections of their systems. Fatigue usually comes from mild clipped or incoherent wave forms, not from "brightness" alone.

I bi-amplify my VR-M60s with an Adcom 535II (tweeters) and an Adcom 545II (woofers), and I fill out the bottom end with a small, but rather over achieving Boston sub (CR400). I also use an Adcom preamp (GTP-500II). For a time, I used an ancient Pioneer 9100 integrated amp (circa 1974) as my preamp and to power the tweeters. The sound then, strangely, was a bit brighter than with the newer Adcom equipment, though still not fatiguing.

These speakers took some time to break in. Out of the box, the soundstage was extremely flat. I was a bit shocked, actually. But the soundstaged opened up as the speakers ran in and relaxed, and by about 200 hours they had reached their enduring characteristics. The soundstage still seems a bit flat, but I have found that placing them closer to the wall helps, probably because they are rear ported. There may be a better placement for them that I haven't discovered yet.

What recommends these speakers, I think, is the level of detail they deliver. While I am not experienced with high end speakers, I have owned Paradigm Phantoms, Acoustic Research PS428 towers, and a set of custom made bookshelf speakers by Kevin Blair of Kalamazoo, MI. Kevin's were the only speakers that delivered anything like the level of detail of these Bostons, which may still have more to offer given a better preamp. (Note: While these Bostons are better balanced and sweeter to listen to, cudos to Kevin Blair for building a truly impressive set of bookshelf speakers that are still in my family!)

So let me summarize by recommending these speakers at any price up to their MSRP.

Similar Products Used:

Paradigm, Acoustic Research, custom high end speakers, Adcom, vintage Pioneer, Harmon Kardon.

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
5
[Aug 10, 2005]
jwh917
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Midrange,Bass(WOW),Dynamics,Ambience.

Weakness:

NADA...for a bookshelf.

I finally found a bookshelf speaker i can live with and enjoy in the Boston Acoustics VRM-60.Thier lively characteristics really make music come alive.They really do nothing wrong.Thier midrange is incredible but what sets them apart from other similiar priced speakers is thier bass response.I have never had a bookshelf speaker so satisfying in that it sounds so full.It easily overpowers my 18X16 bedroom with accurate window rattling bass response.This strong bass response gives good recordings incredible ambience.They play all types of music with superb accuracey.As opposed to many high speakers that are too anaylitical...these are not and add real emotion to music.I just can't say enough good things about them.I have had many good speakers in the last 15 years including Paradigm,Snell,NHT,Signet,PSB,Mirage,Wharfedale,Infinity.These are the best.I had a pair of Paradigm Studio 20V3's and to my ear these Boston's are much better.The Paradigm's were good but to laid back and always sounded like something was missing.The Boston VRM-60's are an absolute must audition if your looking for new bookshelves.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Aug 11, 2003]
bwal
Casual Listener

Strength:

Good midrange and excellent highs.

Weakness:

As with all bookshelf speakers, these need a sub.

For bookshelf speakers, the VRM-60s are excellent. They are a little bright, but reproduce music very faithfully. For movies, the need for a sub is evident (as was the case with all the other bookshelf speakers I auditioned -- is it just me?) With a proper sub mated to the 60s [aside: I will pick up the BA-PV1000 I purchased in three days...but who's counting], the sound is quite satisfying. If you are looking for a great set of bookshelf speakers and are willing to buy a sub, these are the speakers to get.

Similar Products Used:

I had the BA VRM-50s for 2 weeks and upgraded to the 60s. The 50s sounded a little distant and a bit flat. I use a Harman Kardon AVR525 receiver to drive the speakers.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
4
[Jun 11, 2003]
SI2K
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

amazing crystal clear full sound, great bass response under 80Hz, easy to blend with sub, beautiful finish, well built, solid 5-way binding posts, short (helped with my application), oh yeah, ability to play real loud

Weakness:

expensive $1000 list for bookshelves

I revised this review to keep it short. I have added these as fronts to my BA VR10 center and picked up the VRMX's for rears. The soundstage is enormously wide, lifelike, and deep. I would recommend these speakers to anyone in the price bracket. I would advise people to check out the similiar setup from Paradigm - 20s, CC, ADP. Both are great values but I prefered BA's more in house. 2-channel music was very full even with the absence of a sub. The highs were clear, midrange full, and bass was punchy....all to my liking. Has the ability to play low but not without a sub for movies.

Similar Products Used:

Studio 20s

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
4
[May 06, 2003]
Simon D
AudioPhile

Strength:

Tweeter, mid range, bass.

Weakness:

No.

I had the VRM 50 before buying the VRM 60. Great speakers, those VRM 60, you don't need sub. The soundstage is large and deep. The strongest quality is the ability of the speakers to provide mid range frequencies, without hole like their little sisters. They litteraly project the sound on the totality of the hearing area.

Similar Products Used:

Micro 90, VRM 50

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
Showing 1-10 of 36  

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