Usher 718BE or Dynaudio S1.4

I was in the same boat and considering the fact that I'm from India, there were not many other interesting choices either. I was really in love with the Dynaudio S1.4 until the moment I heard the Ushers. But after listening to the Be-718, there were no second thoughts. Its a massively better speaker than the S1.4 when setup with the right amplification. The Be-718 unlike the dyns are very finicky about placement and need tonnes of time to break in - a minimum of 100 hours. There is severe midbass bloat otherwise and that is probably what one of the posters above noticed at the demo room. They also need a lot of drive from the amp to sound right. These are not speakers for tubes as they are pretty insensitive and a difficult load.

I'm driving my pair with an SMC modified DNA-125, a DIY tube pre consisting of Raytheon 6SN7GT NOS tubes, a highly modified Citypulse DA7.2x DAC connected to a fanless pc outputting digital via an EMU 0404. Cabling is a mix of QED and Audio Quest. I'm also currently testing a pair of Usher Rapport ICs.

There is absolutely no grain or hardness at all. The speakers disappear beautifully and the imaging is pin point accurate. Bass is wonderfully tight and articulate. The midrange to tweeter transition is completely seamless and the tweeter never does attract attention unlike the Focal Beryllium tweeters which always seemed kinda forward sounding to me. The dyns in the same setup were a wee bit too warm in my listening room and detail resolution was no way close to the Be-718. Nor was the midrange as fluid and natural sounding.

To summarize, the Be-718 is a real pain to get right but the results of a properly matched setup are absolutely brilliant. Hope this helps!

Yep, that would be me on the midbass bloat experience :o).
Trust me, I was very dissapointed after reading the reviews and all the great press the Be-718 were getting, and hearing what I did. What you say with respect to positioning/break in and Tube amplification makes sense.

And I agree totally with you on the Focal Beryllium tweeters as well.

The best advise that I can give you and one that may solve your problems is to find a dealer with large selection of speakers (in your case monitors). If you are lucky , he will let you swap them for a different pair if it is not to your tast. (It will cost you shipping and some time)
There are still good people in this business. You just have to knock on the right door.

Cheers

Mariusz

Regarding Classe30's experience with the Usher in the 12x12 room, that's the worst scenario for a listening room what any speaker. The Usher being more sensitive just exacerbate the bass even more.

I have a pair driven by Nuforce and have no problem with bass whatsoever. Tight, fast and thumping bass without bloat or overhang whatsoever. The amp plays a big part in getting this speaker right.

Kenobi

Usher and Dynaudio are two different companies whose design philosophy and customer base are again different.

Usher is also good but for me their best product is their entry level S520 and not the 718BE. Funny, IMO, most Usher speakers don't look as good as their cheap brother S520.

For a second system, you don't need fancy speakers like the 718BE to enjoy the house sound of Usher. The S520 is a lot of music for the money.

Krix Equinox is another good speaker. But Krix had to exit the US market simply because they cannot find a good US distributor who is willing to PR well like the people who distribute Usher in North America. See, the speakers they feed to the press for review may not be the speakers that you buy at your local dealer...

I agree with one of the G that buying speakers based on press review is a costly mistake.

After all, those reviewers at Stereophile, 6 Moon, Absolute Sound, etc...don't have your room acoustic and your cheap NAD (as in my cave) and don't have to live with the speakers you bring home. You do.

Well, buy what sounds good to your ears is my point.

I like Dynaudio a bit more than other brands. I like them a little bit more every day that I bought another pair of entry level Audience 52 for my sister.