Any Usher S-520 owners?

albee · « **on:** 29 Apr 2007, 06:20 pm »

I just got a pair two days ago and only have about 15 hours on them. Wondering how long break-in takes? They sure don't sound like award winning speakers at the moment. aa

KJ · « **Reply #1 on:** 29 Apr 2007, 09:25 pm »

Most of the Ushers take at least a couple hundred hours to break in. In fact, you'll notice a decrease in performance around the middle of the break in period. I'd let them play while you're gone during the day if possible (white noise or radio) to speed things up.

kgb540 · « **Reply #2 on:** 29 Apr 2007, 09:55 pm »

As KJ stated, you'll need at least 150hours of break-in before you do any critical listening. The 520's offer a level of transparency and accuracy that you may not be used to in a sub $1000 speaker. What is your reference of comparison at this price level? Please dont sell these speakers short, they are one of the best values in all of audio. Good luck!

Bill Baker · « **Reply #3 on:** 29 Apr 2007, 11:27 pm »

Hello Albee,
These S-520 are "stiff" for some time. As others have mentioned, they do take some time to come into their own. If you give up on them before 150 hours, I think you are making a premature mistake.
They are unbelievable speakers for the money. Give 'em and fair chance. You haven't even heard a portion of their potential.

albee · « **Reply #4 on:** 30 Apr 2007, 01:10 am »

Thanks for the wisdom! I was expecting maybe 50 hours but, sheesh, 150, wow! BTW, in the first 15 hours they have already sounded than worse out of the box. Fortunately, I do movies and music through them so 150 might be a month for me.

I got piano black and they shore are purtty. Matter of fact, it's a temptation to take'em to the jewelers and have bands put on them for wearing on each hand.

Bill Baker · « **Reply #5 on:** 30 Apr 2007, 02:02 am »

Quote

I got piano black and they shore are purtty. Matter of fact, it's a temptation to take'em to the jewelers and have bands put on them for wearing on each hand.

Yes, hard to believe such a beautiful finish on only a $400 package

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #6 on:** 30 Apr 2007, 02:21 am »

Quote from: Response Audio on 30 Apr 2007, 02:02 am

Quote
I got piano black and they shore are purtty. Matter of fact, it's a temptation to take'em to the jewelers and have bands put on them for wearing on each hand.

Yes, hard to believe such a beautiful finish on only a $400 package

Bill....
Don't you have a mod that you do to these speakers ? Thought I read that sometime ago....

I do remember you upgrading the crossovers of Carlman's Usher speakers.

Bill Baker · « **Reply #7 on:** 30 Apr 2007, 02:33 am »

Yes Chris, we have about 40 - 50 pair of modified S-520's out there. I do them now only on a custom basis now that I am no longer an Usher dealer. I was not going to mention that as I am not one to try and promote within someone else's thread but now that you brought it out in the open.........

My recommendation to anyone who wants to have these speakers upgraded is to listen to them for a while to become familiar with their characteristics. This way, should one want to go further with upgrades, you would have a better idea of what direction to take. What I mean by this is that some have found the upper end a bit "hot", especially is no subwoofer is being used to balance things out. We can accomidate for this during the mods to suit one's personal taste.

Midnite Mick · « **Reply #8 on:** 30 Apr 2007, 03:58 am »

Right now I am hoping the top end increases and get more airy in the ones I just recently acquired. I think mine have about 60 -70 hours on them. You guys have me

in the thought that they will get better. I am just thrilled with the bass on mine right now.

Thanks,
Mike

albee · « **Reply #9 on:** 2 May 2007, 01:14 pm »

Sometimes you need the right tool for the right job!

I've been using a 40 watt LM3886 amp with the 520's until last night. I went to my audio closet and pulled out my trusty Acurus DIA Mk2 and hooked it up. Now, that thing is a real cone yanker and is applying some real discipline to the 520's.

It can really make them sing and I will continue to use it until the 520's settle in. With the DIA, I will be able to notice the changes as I can't monkey with tone controls.

The reported upper midrange bump works nicely with the DIA. As a matter of fact, I'm renaming it the "Kraftwerk Bump". It's perfectly balanced for delivering the Kraftwerk "janglies" in their music. More to come.

albee · « **Reply #10 on:** 4 May 2007, 04:11 am »

PRATTY, PRATTY, PRAT, PRAT............

This is one teeny speaker that can make your toe tap and head bob. Another unreal phenomena is it's ability to preserve musical scale and dynamics at lower volume. It's like it has a built-in variable loudness control.

Oh, well, don't mean to bore but it's always fun to bust in new gear.

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #11 on:** 4 May 2007, 04:18 am »

Nice.....

Now I wonder how the Usher 520 would compare to a pair of the AV123 XLS speakers......

albee · « **Reply #12 on:** 26 May 2007, 04:49 am »

Weird science!

Ok, I was concerned about the 520's break in progress until I made an accidental discovery. It seems they were out of phase!

Before I got them, I was listening to Klipsch Reference speakers through a preamp and LM3886 amp. When I got a dac from HK , I had to reverse speaker polarity due to the dac (I presume). This was verified with my Stereophile test cd.

When I got the 520's I hooked them up the same as the Klippers then later connected used my DIA in lieu of the LM3886 amp. About three days ago, I tried out the test cd and, low and behold, they were out of phase! What was correct for the Klippers was not right for the 520's!

Now, I wonder if the phase shift is due to a difference of x-overs or by deleting the preamp and LM3886 and replacing it with single passive amp?

Any ideas?

MaxCast · « **Reply #13 on:** 26 May 2007, 11:14 am »

Quote from: lonewolfny42 on 4 May 2007, 04:18 am

Nice.....
Now I wonder how the Usher 520 would compare to a pair of the AV123 XLS speakers......

Me too.

Audio-den · « **Reply #14 on:** 26 May 2007, 01:43 pm »

YOU ALSO HAVE TO TRY CHANGING THE SPEAKERS LEFT TO RIGHT SOME TIMES THEY SOUND BETTER WITH THE TWEETER ON THE INSIDE ALSO USING JUMPERS CAN MAKE A BIG CHANGE GREAT SPEAKER
FOR $400 GOOD LUCK ALAN

Carlman · « **Reply #15 on:** 26 May 2007, 02:02 pm »

I have enjoyed mine for a long time, about a year. (long time for me) I think the matching center is an even better value than the monitors. Great clarity and good 'heft' to vocals and various sounds.

When I had them playing music in the sound room, I found them a bit warm and at first a bit 'tizzy' in the highs but that calmed down over time to a fairly well-balanced sound. (Still leaning a little to warm, and infinitely listenable.) I enjoyed listening to music on them more than trying to disect how they sounded. They do like a bit of power. My puny receiver is on the low side... I have no idea how many 'watts' it really has. On 40w+ of good power, they sound stellar.

Regrettably, I'm selling mine because we're moving and the wife wants all in-walls at the new house.

Hope you continue to enjoy these little gems, they really are a good bargain. I too, would be interested in how they faired against the X-series. I haven't seen many reviews on those speakers. I know the finish is nice... but so is every other imported speaker these days... it's gotta sound good to please me.

-C

Captain Humble · « **Reply #16 on:** 26 May 2007, 04:32 pm »

I bought a pair of piano black for my mother-in-law.
They've been running over a year and she loves them.

I recommended them to another friend who was on a budget.
She bought two pair of piano black and the matching Usher center.
I put her home theater system together for her and we are both very impressed with the sound.

IMHumbleO the S-520's are a great bang for the buck.

Jeff

Bill Baker · « **Reply #17 on:** 26 May 2007, 06:08 pm »

I have to agree with all the comments regarding the S-520 speakers. If I could pick Usher back up and sell only these speakers, I would do so in a heartbeat. They are the perfect speakers for smaller rooms or even better, dorm rooms!

In my opinion, they are the best speaker in their size/price class.

albee · « **Reply #18 on:** 26 May 2007, 09:54 pm »

One thing about the 520's is they are a high-rise renter's dream. They give you so much "apparent" bass without rattling the windows or thumping the floor. I can't see getting the radiator pipe banged on much with these.

albee · « **Reply #19 on:** 14 Jun 2007, 02:29 am »

Well, I guess I'm finally achieving "break-in". I threw on some Kraftwerk and after a track thought to myself "when did I get a subwoofer"?

Well, it's not THAT good but it is most impressive. These things are little miracles.

For yucks I replaced the stock jumpers with naked 18 ga. Rat Shack solid copper and liked the results. Any recommendations on a flavor of naked wire that would be a good synergy? Silver? Silver-coated copper, perhaps? Lots of room for play . .