Usher loudspeakers

marvda1 · « **on:** 22 Oct 2004, 09:09 pm »

i purchased a pair of usher 6381's and have since been in hog heaven.

what are some of your experiences with usher speakers?

AintJoM0mma · « **Reply #1 on:** 22 Oct 2004, 09:57 pm »

How are they for rock?

marvda1 · « **Reply #2 on:** 22 Oct 2004, 10:14 pm »

they are great on all types of music but i mostly listen to jazz, they are very musical and not harsh or grainy,very balanced. great all around performer but a pain to muve around (129 lbs. ea.).

gitarretyp · « **Reply #3 on:** 22 Oct 2004, 10:51 pm »

I recently got a pair of 6311s, and i'm going to have to agree with everything marvda has said. I've been extremely impressed by them. They might look small, but i'm actually having trouble taming the bass in my room, 15' x 11.5'. I have a hefty 12db hump centered around 45 hz. However, the cabin gain leaves me with -4db response (compared to 1khz) at 20hz

I listen to a fair amount of rock, and i can confirm that they rock quite well.

mca · « **Reply #4 on:** 22 Oct 2004, 11:01 pm »

I can also attest that my old Usher CP-730's were good with way hectic hell-bent jammage. It was acoustic material and the female voice that they were not so good with.

Music Maven · « **Reply #5 on:** 23 Oct 2004, 12:16 am »

I like this thread, because I've given a little thought to the Ushers, though never have heard them.

But female voice IS really important to me- I listen to folk, bluegrass, religious music, everything from Mary Black to Sophie Zelmani to Alison Krauss to Point of Grace to Sierra to... on and on.

I've wondered, I guess, if ultimately the speakers like Usher using drivers from the Far East (several brands do this) will have ultimate mechanical reliability of those drivers, compared to the premium Scandinavian drivers like Seas, Dynaudio, Vifa...

Jerry

Mad DOg · « **Reply #6 on:** 23 Oct 2004, 12:33 am »

Quote from: mca

I can also attest that my old Usher CP-730's were good with way hectic hell-bent jammage. It was acoustic material and the female voice that they were not so good with.

i haven't heard any ushers yet so can you be a bit more specific regarding the female voices?

mca · « **Reply #7 on:** 23 Oct 2004, 01:57 am »

To me, the CP-730's had a very flat 2-dimensional midrange that never seemed to expand out into the room. The singer always sounded like she was standing against the back wall. Maybe it was placement. I had the speakers about 30" from the back wall and that's about as far out as I could put them.

I was used to the Ushers and probably would have never realized what they were doing. Then I auditioned a pair of Silverline Sonatina II's at home. These speakers had much more dimension to them, the singers now sounded like they were right in the middle of my room.

marvda1 · « **Reply #8 on:** 23 Oct 2004, 01:59 am »

don't know what mca is talking about the cp-730 uses the same midrange driver as the $3400 6381 and it has no proplem with female voices. just read some of the reviews. email me and i can send you some.

marvin

gitarretyp · « **Reply #9 on:** 23 Oct 2004, 02:58 am »

I prefer the performance of the 6311s on female voices and acoustic instruments over my previous speakers, eminent tech lft-viiias, which were planar hybrids. To me, female vocals are one of the most important tests of a speaker's performance.

All of ushers speakers are voiced rather differently. For example, in the 6 series, the 6311 is supposed to sound more similar to the 6381 than the 6371 does to either of the former.

mca · « **Reply #10 on:** 23 Oct 2004, 04:11 am »

As always, with different ears, rooms and equipment, YMMV.

Inscrutable · « **Reply #11 on:** 23 Oct 2004, 09:37 am »

Jerry et al,
Carl has a pair of X series bookshelves, and we compared to some other models. You can read a bit about it here. http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=13052&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=10

Music Maven · « **Reply #12 on:** 23 Oct 2004, 05:18 pm »

Tim/Inscrutable,

Many thanks for the link. Sounds like you had great fun at a sort of mini audio club meet!

It just tells me there's so many speakers and so much music I haven't listened to!

Definitely Kasey Chambers will be on my check-out list soon...

Thanks again, I enjoyed it!

Jerry

hometheaterdoc · « **Reply #13 on:** 23 Oct 2004, 05:47 pm »

Quote from: Music Maven

I've wondered, I guess, if ultimately the speakers like Usher using drivers from the Far East (several brands do this) will have ultimate mechanical reliability of those drivers, compared to the premium Scandinavian drivers like Seas, Dynaudio, Vifa...

Jerry

Jerry,

I don't want to break any rules regarding sounding commercial in my posts. But I felt I had to address this issue.

Mechanical issues with drivers can happen to any of the manufacturers. The Usher drivers are NOT low quality junk that's hit or miss quality wise. In fact, it's quite the opposite. I have to date had ZERO driver issues in any of the Usher products. Before I became a dealer for the finished speaker line, I used usher drivers extensively in DIY speaker designs. None of those drivers have had any faults whatsoever. In fact, I have actually replaced faulty Scanspeak 8545 midbass drivers with Usher drivers and they are still going strong 4 years later....

Build quality on the Usher products is second to none. The photos you see posted, or the god awful pictures they have on their website do not do them justice. When you see the speakers in person, it's readily apparent that this is not low quality stuff.

Back to our regularly scheduled programming.....

mcgsxr · « **Reply #14 on:** 23 Oct 2004, 06:02 pm »

I can second that the build quality of Usher drivers is VERY good - I had a set of the tweeters in my place for 2 years, intending to build a set of Dennis Murphy 2 ways, but got sidetracked, and never did.

They were beautiful to behold, if you appreciate how a good thing is constructed, and from what most say, sound great too. I used to build motorcycles, and it was a rare occasion that parts would slide right together - just looking at how well this piece was constructed really appealed to my mech sense.

I heard a set in Taipei, and was very impressed, and have often wished I spent some money that day...

Mark in Canada

gitarretyp · « **Reply #15 on:** 23 Oct 2004, 06:46 pm »

I will make one or two comments about the review to which inscrutable posted a link. I haven't heard the x series, so i'm not sure if this comment applies. But, with my 6311s, they really need to be pointed right at me to sound correct in the mids. If they are pointed so they meet ~6 inches behind or in front of me, i get a very noticable midrange suck-out. It's very prominent in female vocals, and it places them in the far back of the mix. It could be my room, but i think the phase and time aligned nature of the speaker probably has something to do with it.

Also, i agree that they are not the most detailed speakers. This is one area that my previous speakers, planars, have the ushers clearly beaten. But i happily sacrifice some detail for the musicallity they offer.

I'll also add that the build quality of the speakers is fantastic. Of course, i am upgrading from something that resembles diy work

http://www.eminent-tech.com/lft8prod.html

Carlman · « **Reply #16 on:** 26 Oct 2004, 05:07 pm »

Quote from: gitarretyp

I will make one or two comments about the review to which inscrutable posted a link. I haven't heard the x series, so i'm not sure if this comment applies. But, with my 6311s, they really need to be pointed right at me to sound correct in the mids. If they are pointed so they meet ~6 inches behind or in front of me, i get a very noticable midrange suck-out. It's very prominent in female vocals, and it places them in the far back of the mix. It could be my room, but i think the phase and time aligned nature ...

I have found a similar midrange issue to what you describe with the X-718. They have to be aimed almost directly at my ears to get the midrange balanced. I found the best mix of imaging and midrange quality by pointing them at my shoulders, though. Every minor tow adjustment makes a big difference.

Bill Baker · « **Reply #17 on:** 2 Nov 2004, 12:42 am »

Hello all,
Like Jerry from HTD, I don't want this to come across as a commercial post but being a dealer and having heard many of the models, I would like to add my 2 cents in here.

In regard to the midrange qualities of the X-718, I do agree with most statements in that they are particular to placement. What most people do not know, including most dealers, is that the crossovers have recently changed in these units. Being a modifier for the Usher line of speakers, I have seen this first hand. The new designs are much better in the areas of midrange neutrality and proper imaging. Like any speaker though, placement, room accoustics and personal preferences are key factors.

In ragrads to the CP-6311. I canot understand the comments about not being very detailed. Most of the comments I receive from customers has been the exceptional amount of inner detail and upper end sense of air associated with these pieces. This is coming from consumers that have replaced much more expensive, highly regarded speakers with stock 6311's. I personally find them to have a better sense of upper end air than my highly modified, personal CP-7388's. Again, not here to debate, just my 2 cents.

Build quality of the Usher line: Looks like we are all agree here.

My apologies if this post is out of place here.

gitarretyp · « **Reply #18 on:** 2 Nov 2004, 05:06 am »

Quote

Also, i agree that they are not the most detailed speakers. This is one area that my previous speakers, planars, have the ushers clearly beaten. But i happily sacrifice some detail for the musicallity they offer.

Perhaps i should clarify a bit. I don't find them lacking in detail, they just do not have as much detail in the mids as the ETs. I think the ETs are exceptionally detailed, so i don't think it should detract from one's thoughts that the 6311s are detailed speakers. I will also add that the ushers have a considerably more detailed top end. The ETs have a steep roll-off above 10k, so the ushers reveal much more air and ambiance to the ETs.

All in all, i consider the 6311s a fantastc value and a great sounding speaker. So don't take this the wrong way, but has response audio done any mods to the 6 series? If so, what were the improvements. Also, does a simple parts swap in the crossover/internal wiring provide a worthwhile improvement?

Bill Baker · « **Reply #19 on:** 2 Nov 2004, 05:39 am »

Modification to the 6311? Yes I have but this is obviously not the place to post this information so I put a post up on my Circle. The link below will take you there.

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=14250.msg122897#122897