[Bill Baker]

As anybody who has heard this speaker would admit, the Usher S-520 is an amazing little speaker for the money.
 I have been receiving many inquiries for an affordable upgrade for this little speaker to send it over the top. I have been listening to the 520 for some time now and have come up with what I beleive to be the most reasonable upgrade.

 What I have decided upon is replacing the capacitor for the tweeter with a VH Audio OIMP (oil impregnated metalized poly) capacitor and the resistors with Mills units. Depending on your personal opinion on the upper end of this speaker, we can cut or boost the attenuation for the tweeter. My personal findings are that cutting the tweeter by about 1/2dB worked nicely for my system. Your taste may vary but we can accomidate your needs here.

 I think those that hear this underrated, upgraded little gem will agree that it will be VERY hard to top sonically for under $1k or posibbly more.

 I will be selling the upgraded S-520s for $550. (about $30 more than what it would cost you to do it yourself). I have not yet decided upon pricing for the mod to customer supplied units (for those who do not wish to go inside themselves). For speakers purchased from Response Audio, full warranty will apply.

[lonewolfny42]

Bill,

I now see a Level 2 mod is also available......

http://www.responseaudio.com/ultimate%20usher.htm .[/list:u]

Gotta say...those little S-520's look good !![/list:u]

[Bill Baker]

Yes, after listening to this and many other speakers using the VH OIMP capacitors in the crossover, I decided it would be icing on the cake.
 My reasoning for feeling so strongly about the OIMP caps is due to their unique design and characteristics.

 In a nutshell, you get the speed, articulation and detail of a Metalized Polyproplyene with the seduction, smoothness and warmth of a PIO.

 The OIMPs do not have the rolling off characteristics in the upper end as other PIO designs.

  Many have asked how to justify installing such components into a <$500 speaker. My only replay is that you truly need to hear this speaker before passing judgement. Even in stock form out of the box, this little speaker has the capabilities to impress even the most critical listeners. I did not decide to go forward with this little venture on my own. My decision was based on the large number of inquiries from customers to bring out even more potential from the S-520. My personal opinion is very objective and obviosly would come across as biased being a dealer for the Usher line. This is why I always recommend others listen for themselves to come to their own conclusions.

[Bill Baker]

Something I forgot to mention in my previous post is a few changes/options that will be incorperated into the Level 2 upgrade.

 Rather than the Mills resistors, I will be using a high quality, non-inductive resistors with gold leads.
 Also used in the Level 2 will be a 3 way attenuation switch on the back of the speaker. This switch will allow the user to maintain the current tweeter level or tone it down 1/2dB and 1dB.
 This saves me time and allows me to put together speakers prior to ordering.
 The price of new Level 2 speakers will remain the same.

[doug s.]

if i wanted to mod my s-520's myself, how much would it cost to buy a kit from you, for level 1 or level 2?  and, would it include detailed instructions?  

thanks,

doug s.

[Bill Baker]

Hi Doug,
  I can provide parts but not detailed instructions (at least not yet). The cost for the parts would be as follows:

Level 1 - $115
Level 2 - $275 (not including internal wiring)

 This is the exact same price as buying everything on your own other than the wiring which is not available on the open market to my knowledge.

 Below is the pricing I would charge if you sent the crossovers to me. This would not include the attenuation switching capability but rather a set value.

 Level 1 - $145
 Level 2 - $300

 If you (anybody) sent the speakers themselves in for modification:

 Level 1 - $165
 Level 2 - $325
 Add $25 for attenuation switching.