Audition the smaller ProAc and Merlin TSM. |
I agree with audiofiel. There is no comparison between usher and totem. When I read some people's so called upgrade path I shake my head. Usher in favor over proac and totem??? Really!!??!! |
The Ushers demand a very powerful amp. I drive'em with a Jeff Rowland Concerto; the system is also made of Weiss DAC2, Audioquest Sky, Volcano and NRG-5 cables, Aavik rack with Nordost Pulsar Points and and a Fisch AC passive filter. Awesome standmounts when paying attention to details, especially brute amp power. They just open up... |
The Usher is a good speaker, and retails for well under the Mani-2 Signature. People should keep that into perspective when directly comparing the two.
That said, in line with current advice, the Mani 2 Signatures are just too much speaker for that size of room. You need them at least 2-3 ft out from the wall... and they flat out need more room to breathe. If you're itching for an upgrade and want to stay within the Totem line, check out The One. That should work splendidly in your space. |
It's not an agenda; it's my opinion and if you're going to make insinuations in the thread be prepared to get spanked.
Rookie. |
Audiofeil - Your hidden agenda is very obvious. Simply do a search for "Usher" on this forum, and your name comes up every time with something negative to say.
Please don't email me again with your opinions when they can be posted here for everyone else to see. |
I can understand if someone doesn't like the sound of specific speaker, but to say that Usher is low value is laughable. The drivers measure as well as drivers costing 3 or 4x as much. The build quality is well above similarly priced products. The crossovers are designed/modified by well respected folks in the industry. |
I own the BE-718 and have been happy ever since. Its top end is transparent but if fed with mediocre upstream equipment and asynergistic cabling could proved disastrous. If you're willng to put the time and effort in paring the speakers with complementary electronics and really try to optimize them, you will be rewarded. Also, the build-quality is top-notch. Understand that you will get opinions that are on both the left and the right. Try to find balance among this differing of opinions--some passionately biased.
Kenobi |
I own the Usher BE 718s and theyre amazing. The Ushers replaced Acoustic Zen Adagios, which replaced ProAc Response D15s. Based solely on the favorable reviews, I purchased both the Acoustic Zens and the Ushers without auditioning them. I agree thats not the smartest thing to do, but when I know Im going to buy something on Audiogon, my rule is I dont go to a dealer and do a dog and pony show. My favorite Chicagoland dealer is really high end and consequently doesnt carry everything. I do make it a point to buy from him when he carries a line Im interested in.
Ill second what Larryrx7 says about the Ushers
These speakers have the potential to survive many bouts of upgrade-it is. For example, I upgraded my stands from Target to Sound Anchors
immediate improvement. I upgraded the stock jumpers to JPS jumpers
immediate improvement. I plugged my Pre-Amp into my recently purchased Audience AR1p
immediate improvement. I put Finite Elemente pucs under my amp
immediate improvement.
As for power, mine are on a 5 channel 100 watt per channel Theta Intrepid, and while Id love to hear what a higher power amp would do, Im perfectly happy with the 100 watts. |
Ernied44(one of the greatest college players)- Audiofeil has made no secret of his profession... and you??.. Could your professional interests jade your comments? |
For the record Ernied44 is the national distributor for Usher USA despite the absence of a disclosure which is unprofessional and unethical to begin.
Now, in the summer of 2007 I auditioned a pair of BE-10 in anticipation of taking on the Usher line. I listened for 3 days using a pair of Atma-Sphere MA-1 and a Pass X350.5 and found the speakers intolerable. Soon thereafter I asked to return the speakers telling the distributor I could not in good conscience sell a product I wouldnt myself own.
The product IMO is extremely low value vis a vis other speakers at their price point but most of all lacking in tonal purity and balance.
Needless to say Usher and I parted ways but not in the way our friend suggests. I was never turned down. I can document this with emails and other paperwork.
Later that year I took a pair of BE-718 in on trade and couldnt move them for almost a month. It gave me plenty of time to evaluate them with basically the same results as the larger model. Chalk on a chalkboard IMO.
I would caution every potential buyer of Usher speakers to make sure you listen in your room with your equipment. Even then theres a good chance you will be as disappointed as me. |
Audiofeils comments are accurate in my opinion. Last year at CES Usher was set-up in a room right next Totem. They won't make that mistake again. I felt that the BE 718 was a good speaker but a bit btight, somewhat "digital" sounding, understandable for a mass market product made in China. Totem's are basically handmade speakers with a soul and purpose. Side by side the Totem's blew away the Usher in recreating music. Some may like the Usher house sound- most will prefer the build and musicality of Totem. |
Audiofeil's comments seem a little jaded regarding the Usher's....could it be he's a dealer who couldn't get the Usher line....? |
Ive owned the Manis and still own the Model 1s. I have no experience with the Ushers except some audition time with the 718s and other Usher models. To answer you question, in your size room the Bryston will drive the Manis (and Model 1s and 718s) quite well. IMO the Manis in such a small room may be a bit over powering. Id stick with the Model 1s and maybe add a small sub to give you a little more bottom end. Ive used a Velodyne DD 12 with my Model 1s with great success, and there are a number of subs that would mate up quite nicely with the Model 1s. Upgrading your source could definitely be a significant improvement. You might also want to consider tubes with the Model 1s. IMO it would be a big improvement over the Bryston, but then Im not a big fan of the Bryston sound. |
I stand corrected. For what it is worth, it is 9x12.5. A much larger walk in closet :) |
In an 8'x10' room you should probably use the smallest but best sounding speakers you can afford. That is almost walk in closet territory, even medium sized montitors will be too much.
Shakey |
I have a smallish room with some JM Labs Micro Utopias fed by a Bryston 4BSST and that combo works very nicely in that room. Prior to the micros I owned the JM Labs 907be stand mounts. I LOVED those speakers and all the hoopla I heard about the micros being "in another league" well, it just aint true. The Micros are awesome and I will not be parting with them, my point is the 907's are incredible as well and can be had for a song here on the 'gon now that the 1007s are out and the Ushers are getting a lot of press. The value in these speakers is off the charts and I don't imagine anyone regretting them. Drive them with a bigger amp and you'll have a great set-up, not that Totems aren't nice, I like them too but those 907's are a revelation. |
I guess what i am hearing is that given the potential lack of power in my integrated and the small size of my room, neither of these speakers is the way to go. I am very happy with the model 1 sig's and not sure that there is much more out there that would sound better that doesn't require power i don't have or a large room that i don't have. but, any suggestions would be appreciated.
It sounds like if i am going to upgrade then maybe i should concentrate on my source. Any ideas sould also be appreciated. i will also post a specific question on the digital board.
Thanks |
>>I have not heard the Ushers but have chosen them because of all the positive reviews.<<
Very dangerous to make choices based on reviews where goodies, freebies, money, and other benefits abound.
However, the bottom line is the BE-718 reflects a step down, or two, from your Totems.
The grass is not always greener. |
IMHO, you're a little short on power to make the Usher BE-718's sing. But then, if you had the power to make them really come to life, they would be too much speaker for your size of room. They were bordering on too much for my room which is 11'W X 14'D X 8'H and with the speakers placed further away from the wall than you. I was powering them with Bel Canto REF1000 monoblocks at 500W into 8ohms. You certainly don't need to have that much power, but they really do love a lot of power. |
I like the Mani-2s a lot, but given your room size, I'd say you already own the right Totems. If the upgrade bug really has you jonesed, I would recommend looking to your front end. IMHO, digital has come quite a way since the RCD991. |
For what it is worth. My room measures, 8'w x 10'd x. 9'h. My speakers are about 1 foot from the rear wall and 4-5 feet from each other. My listening position is about 7' from the speakers. |
in a small to medium MAN CAVE, i have two favorites, the ohm mcro walsh tall(it really does it all for way less than a mani)...and the proac D2....both in a small to medium room offer up any type of music in a full range,major league fashion from top to bottom. the ohm is so underpriced for the way it performs, its not even funny. |
I actually moved away from the B&W Nautilus 804 / Rotel combo to the Bryston and Totem Model 1 Sig when I had to move my equipment into a personal listnening room. Too hard to keep everything safe with 3 children. Still have the Rotel RCD991 as my front end although I use the DAC on the Bryston integrated. Seems to be much better. |
if you are still running the nautilus 804's, this is kinda sideways....different, for different's sake. |
I have the Ushers and I will be keeping the Ushers. They are the best balanced stand mount I have every heard. I am driving them with a pair of Monarchy SM 70's running single ended mono and the sound is fantastic. While the Ushers are fairly inefficient, the impedance curve is very steady with very minimal swings. I will tell you that proper amplification will be rewarded greatly by these speakers. I noticed a great improvement when I added the second Monarchy. Running one amp, the sound was very pleasant and smooth, but a little lacking in dynamics and bass extension, but with the second one added, all that changed and I suddenly had a world class sound. I would be very much intrigued to see how the Bryston would handle the bottom end of these speakers. With these speakers, I tend to feel like I own a bmw m5 and have only hit third gear. These speakers have the potential to survive many bouts of upgrade-itis |
I may not be much help but I do have the Bryston B100 sst and it is driving a set of Dynaudio C1's. I have never heard the totems or the ushers but they Dyns sound great with the Bryston (regarding power and the Dyns love power). |
With the MANI-2 you need high quality wattage and high current (Amperage), i doubt you will get it in an integrated one.
If you are on a budget why not search for an old CLASSE 15 or even better CLASSE 25 of course any of the DR serie will do the job, hope this help
just remind HIGH QUALITY WATTS + HIGH CURRENT (amperage) |
