ProAc vs Totem vs Usher, please comment

When you install the Proacs set them up so that you can
see just a little of the inside of the cabinets walls.
The mirror image positioned tweeters should be placed on the inside and they will disappear nicely.
Make sure they are level and If you can Bi wire but if not I would hit the top Speaker posts first and jump down.
Good luck great speakers that will grow with you, your equipment and music.
Johnnyr

Make sure you give the proacs about 200 hrs to burn in before being critical,they need the time to mellow out.

I have a pair of Proac 1.5 and they very good speakers. Great value. You can't go wrong with these.

ryder - totem speakers are anything but bright. you must have been driving them with not very good electronics. i have owned/currently own 5 different pairs of totem speakers (from the arros, model 1's, in-wall taw, and a couple of pairs of mani 2's) all driven by very nice equipment. if you drive any totem with small amps or amps with no power they will sound terrible. they are dull, thin sounding, and maybe that is where you get the bright sound from.
the forest would be my pick out of the 3 you posted. they are easier to drive and would be more suited with your 100 watt mcintosh. the proacs are decent but i didn't like them as much as the totem or usher. if you are looking for a better deal,look into the totem hawks. not as easy to drive, but $500 cheaper used and are very close to the sound of the forest. some like the hawks better, it would be a toss up for me. if you are going to spend up near $1800 and you might want to get a more powerful amp in the near future, i would spring for the mani's. blows away the 3 speakers you listed, but needs at least a good 200+ watt amp with power to it.

Rbstehno, I do know the Totems would need quite a bit of power behind them in order to sound good, and my experience with the Model 1 is it sounded substantially forward and bright compared to the N805 although I did not compare them side by side. I am not using small inferior amps on the Model 1 and base my comments on comparison with speakers that do not exhibit this forward character. Don't get me wrong, I am not implying that the Totems are bad speakers due to the perceived brightness that I get when compared to other speakers. They are excellent speakers and the Model 1's got fantastic reviews in Stereophile. In fact some folks like the sonic character of the Totem a lot, like yourself for instance when compared to other speakers which others may call as dull or flat. These flat and dull speakers may appeal to some other folks who thought of them as smoother and easier on the ears. Most people hear things differently anyway.

I have not heard the Forest or Hawks and my comment on the brightness of the Totem is entirely based on the Model 1's, in comparison to other smoother speakers. The Forest or Hawks may work for the starter of this thread but I won't recommend the Model 1 as a replacement to the N805 based on his criterias.