Usher Tiny Dancer 2 - opinion

Actually, that would be Mini Dancer 2. Forgive the misnomer.

Actually, that would be the Dancer Mini-Two.

I'm glad you corrected me. I feel much better about my place in the audio world. Now, do you actually have an opinion about them?

Didn't realize that you had corrected yourself. Thought it was somebody else being smart. Actually I briefly owned a pair. If you search YouTube for usher and jaxwired you will see the video of them in my listening room. My impression is that for the money they are superb speakers. They offer a level of detail, clarity and resolution rarely seen in a $5k speaker. For me that were just a bit too lean sounding I felt like the bass was not as prominent as it should be. Yes they had deep bass, but it wasn't proportionate in output to the mids and the highs. Balance was off. However, I didn't let them run in fully so they might have improved in that area. I also had electronics that were lean and detailed at the time. Had I tried a NAD M2 with them I probably would have been in heaven. Or a nice CJ preamp with their classic warmth. I will say they look like a million bucks. I've owned a lot of speakers in that price range and fit and finish on the usher mini twos sets the bar for quality. They are great speaker. They will work in mid sized rooms best IMO. Hopefully this response will help.

Based on what you say In your other thread, I highly recommend the dynaudio focus 340s that are for sale right now in your price range. I've owned them also along with the dyn confidence line and IMO the focus 340 is really nipping at the heals of the dyn confidence c1s, but with better bass. Check out my YouTube video of the 340s.

There's also a very good speaker for sale right now by PMC. The EB1is are superb speakers and are truly full range with mids to die for. Just amazingly good speakers. You'd have to stretch your budget just a bit but it would be worth it. The only concern would be are they too big for your room.

Thanks, Jax. I was considering the Contour 3.4s as well. They pop up on audiogon every now and then. And thanks for the youtube ideas, too.

Some time ago I reviewed the mini dancer 2. I was NOT impressed. The lacked a decent base output and the mids and high was nothing special.

I compared them to a pair of Totem mani-2. The Totem speakers were superior in every aspect.

The mani-2 is a great monitor.

Hmmm. I'm not sure if I want to go the monitor route. I mean, I might as well keep my de Capo's if that's the case.

Any other opinions? What about Dalis or Audiokinesis?

The mini dancer 2's blow away the mani 2's. I have owned multiple pairs of the totem mani 2's along with their model 1's, arro, and others. I sold all my totems and converted over to all usher speakers, I currently have the newer mini dancer 2's with the DMD tweeters. These tweeters blow away the tweeter in the mani's. The bass is also better than the mini's when properly setup and much easier to drive. The md2 had quite a bit bass boom until they were setup correctly. With the required break in period and the right setup (I also use tube amp), they sound very nice.

Rb - thanks for the information. I'm about to install beryllium tweeters onto my de Capo monitors so I won't be in the market for new speakers for a while. However, when I do, info like yours still points me to Ushers!

I own the Di Capo I's . I auditioned these against an Usher
standmount and floorstander , VS VR4jr. & VR1 and the Di Capo's . This was done with a SS CJ pre and amp and also with a Cary Sli80 . As I said , I own the Di Capo i's !
The Ushers and VS couldn't be more different in their presentation . The Ushers were "in your face" and , as mentioned above , not blended evenly between the bass , mid and treble .
It was like the Ushers were too much , the VS were not enough and the Di Capo's were just right !
Don't sell the Di Capo's until you can compare the others in your system .

Change in my reply. It should have said: "the bass in the md2 is also better than the mani's when properly setup and much easier to drive"