Getting the best from Usher Mini Dancer II's

I have used several amps with my ushers - musical fidelity, nad, jolida, pass labs, rogue audio - all with good results. they are fairly easy to drive. They are also revealing, and you are correct that your Yamaha is the weak link (although a very good home theater rig Im sure).

I am using the rogue Cronus magnum with great results. Using the 4 ohm output. The DMD tweeter with an all tube amp is a very good pairing IMO.

Do your Ushers have the beryllium or DMD tweeters?

I have home brew speakers using Usher drivers and custom crossovers. I use a Doge 8 Clarity tube preamp and Monarchy Audio SE-100 Delux MKII class A mono blocks. Preamp, used ran me $1500 with good NOS tubes, the amps were $980 the pair as factory refurbs direct from Monarchy Audio back when the economy was at its low point.
Very happy with the combo. Detailed, musical, yet neutral, with a big sound stage
The Usher speakers are good enough to take advantage of better gear. In my case I traded up on better gear without the need to trade up speakers. The improvement was easy to detect.

When I first received a pair of review sample Usher Mini Dancer Two DMD speakers, I thought they sounded nice, but too bright.  However, I was assured by the US distributor that they would sound significantly better after 200 hours burn-in.  Suffice it to say, he was absolutely correct.

I achieved excellent results with the PS Audio BHK Signature Preamplifier, the Gudebrod Audio 3T12V Preamp, and now the PrimaLuna Prologue 3 preamplifier -- all linked up with the Odyssey Stereo Khartago Extreme SE amplifier (the PrimaLuna is now an integral part of my system).  

I will be putting out a formal review of the Usher Mini Dancer Two DMD speakers in the next week or so at http://www.prairieaudiomancave.com/ .

Cheers,


Juan