I've never heard the Ushers. I recently purchased a set of Emerald Physics CS2 and have not looked back. I recently owned Von Schweikert VR-2 and Magnepan 1.6QR which are both outstanding values IMO. But so is the CS2!
What I love about the CS2:
1. Easy to set up - place them 3',4',5',6', or 7' from front wall, set the eq, play with toe in
2. Minimal room interaction, I took down all of my room treatments, for that alone, high WAF
3. Quick, nimble bass that is deep and powerful when the recording calls for it, visitors look around for the sub!
4. Wide, deep, your are there soundstage and imaging
5. Detailed without etch - does require some cable trial and error(what system doesn't!)
6. The variable gain settings on the eq/crossover allow you to use a wide range of equipment, (I currently use a Placette passive line stage with no problems)
Issues that you have to live with
1. EQ is xlr/balanced ins and outs only
2. They do like quality power, if you play bombastic orchestral works or loud rock and you have a large space
3. The eq is a little noisy......hiss/noise is easily heard with ear next to the upper range driver
4. Requires 2 pairs of speaker cables
5. Requires 4 channels of identical amplification. Mixing amps for lows/highs doesn't seem to work well. I had success with a Meridian G55, Rotel RMB1095, a pair of Emotiva XPA-2, and now a Krell KAV500 (match made in heaven!!! I'm done, woo hoo!!! It would be fun to try a Krell KAV1500 though!)
My current system: Placette passive line stage, Lexicon RT20 CD/SACD/DVA-A, Krell KAV500, MAC CuQ speaker cables (2pr), Audio Metallurgy GA-0 interconnects, DCCA Musical Essence II and Reference Master power cords, all for about $6800 used and sounds incredible.
My next purchase is to get the upgraded Behringer crossover from Underwood HiFi.
Hope this helps.
What I love about the CS2:
1. Easy to set up - place them 3',4',5',6', or 7' from front wall, set the eq, play with toe in
2. Minimal room interaction, I took down all of my room treatments, for that alone, high WAF
3. Quick, nimble bass that is deep and powerful when the recording calls for it, visitors look around for the sub!
4. Wide, deep, your are there soundstage and imaging
5. Detailed without etch - does require some cable trial and error(what system doesn't!)
6. The variable gain settings on the eq/crossover allow you to use a wide range of equipment, (I currently use a Placette passive line stage with no problems)
Issues that you have to live with
1. EQ is xlr/balanced ins and outs only
2. They do like quality power, if you play bombastic orchestral works or loud rock and you have a large space
3. The eq is a little noisy......hiss/noise is easily heard with ear next to the upper range driver
4. Requires 2 pairs of speaker cables
5. Requires 4 channels of identical amplification. Mixing amps for lows/highs doesn't seem to work well. I had success with a Meridian G55, Rotel RMB1095, a pair of Emotiva XPA-2, and now a Krell KAV500 (match made in heaven!!! I'm done, woo hoo!!! It would be fun to try a Krell KAV1500 though!)
My current system: Placette passive line stage, Lexicon RT20 CD/SACD/DVA-A, Krell KAV500, MAC CuQ speaker cables (2pr), Audio Metallurgy GA-0 interconnects, DCCA Musical Essence II and Reference Master power cords, all for about $6800 used and sounds incredible.
My next purchase is to get the upgraded Behringer crossover from Underwood HiFi.
Hope this helps.