Usher Mini Dancer 2 or Q Acoustics Concept 500 - Marantz PM Ki Ruby

@steve59 thank you so much!

@soix Thanks for checking in.  I've had the Ushers for roughly 2 months now. Haven't clocked as many hours yet..  Probably 40-60 hours of listening in total. 

Also, I took your advise and bought the Pontus 2 12th anniversary and boy, its amazing.  Huge upgrade from the RME. Much wider and deeper sound stage, better imaging and way way more musical.  Added that touch of warmth I badly needed.

Back to the Ushers. Its been a weird experience so far.  You're gonna think that I am crazy but it sounds very different on different days.. Some days, they sound like a dream.. extremely natural, magical and musical..  I'm not good at describing sound.  but another days, it can go from harsh/ bright to dull sounding.  Strangest pair of speakers I've ever heard.  Overall. i think they're extremely detailed (I'm hearing stuff that I never heard with my Dynaudio Special 40s).. very good imaging and huge/massive sound stage.. Anyway, I'm just patiently waiting for those 200 hours to see how it evolves. I'm sorry if none of this makes any sense.. lol

I am also going back and forth between OS w/Slow filter and NOS on my Pontus. I see myself returning to the former (OS with Slow) as Nos sucks the life out of some recordings. Also, i'm not sure if the Phase setting on Pontus affects the sound?  Should I leave it on or off?

Back to the Ushers. It’s been a weird experience so far.  You're gonna think that I am crazy but it sounds very different on different days.. Some days, they sound like a dream.. extremely natural, magical and musical…Also, i'm not sure if the Phase setting on Pontus affects the sound?  Should I leave it on or off?

Yeah, listening through the break-in process can be a real rollercoaster affair albeit interesting if at times frustrating.  If possible I’d leave music playing on them even while not listening to speed up the process and maybe experiment with placement — specifically less toe in to see if treble sounds better more off axis.  Glad the Pontus worked out and is exactly what I hoped you’d find, so now let’s just hope the Ushers cooperate and settle in even more to your liking.  🤞🤞🤞 Thanks for the update!  Unfortunately I’m not familiar with how Denafrips implements their phase function but I’d suspect it should sound better one way than the other.  Maybe someone like @vthokie83, who also owns a Pontus 2, could chime in with their thoughts on it. 

@soix Thanks, and I hope the Ushers cooperate too.  The fact is that most days they sound beautiful.  As for leaving them on for break in, do they have to be at a certain volume? I can't have it playing at usual listening volume.. we work from home.  So does volume matter?

@vthokie83 thanks in advance for your help.  

My BE 20 DMD's used the same tweeter and were highly detailed without sounding bright so I would agree you're just not finished with placement yet. Regarding break in...I did have 1 pair of speakers, the KEF R105/3 that seemed to take forever for the high fq's to settle in, otherwise more often than not I find placement and component matching make the biggest difference and regarding a bright or glaring sound that's most often an effect of reflected sound and pulling speakers a few feet away from sidewalls and tv monitor, if after the 200 hrs still sound harsh, helps.

@steve59 i think you might have addressed my problem. I recently increased the gap between the speakers (taking them closer to the side walls) with the hope that it would improve the soundstage and imaging.  Maybe that's what has caused them to be sound a bit brighter recently.   I'm gonna pull them closer to each other (away from the side walls) and see if it helps. I'll let you know how it goes. Cheers