Uncle -
Thanks for looking at the system. It's modest compared to some...mid-fi, even - but gives me a lot of enjoyment. Posting it helps anyone reading my comments get an idea where I'm coming from (for better or worse). I do need to update things a bit. Main components are unchanged but I've changed cabling (ICs mainly) and that's made a nice improvement.
Didn't know your Ushers so looked them up...somewhat similar to the Forests in being 2-way floor standers with similar sensitivity, impedance rating and frequency response. BUT the Ushers have fabric dome tweeters. If there's one thing I think could be improved on the Forests, it's the tweeters. They use metal dome and with some recordings (e.g., a few hot, re-mastered CDs, mainly) things can sound a little harsh. Fortunately, that seems true for only a minority of what I listen to and an IC change from the CDP has "tamed" that a good deal. On the other hand, no idea what changing them would do to imaging, speed of attack or dynamics (all very good right now). It's always a balancing act and compromise, leastways at the price points I live at. Anyway, I wouldn't mind hearing those Ushers. Based on the retail pricing I saw for them, looks like you get a lot for the money.
Thanks for looking at the system. It's modest compared to some...mid-fi, even - but gives me a lot of enjoyment. Posting it helps anyone reading my comments get an idea where I'm coming from (for better or worse). I do need to update things a bit. Main components are unchanged but I've changed cabling (ICs mainly) and that's made a nice improvement.
Didn't know your Ushers so looked them up...somewhat similar to the Forests in being 2-way floor standers with similar sensitivity, impedance rating and frequency response. BUT the Ushers have fabric dome tweeters. If there's one thing I think could be improved on the Forests, it's the tweeters. They use metal dome and with some recordings (e.g., a few hot, re-mastered CDs, mainly) things can sound a little harsh. Fortunately, that seems true for only a minority of what I listen to and an IC change from the CDP has "tamed" that a good deal. On the other hand, no idea what changing them would do to imaging, speed of attack or dynamics (all very good right now). It's always a balancing act and compromise, leastways at the price points I live at. Anyway, I wouldn't mind hearing those Ushers. Based on the retail pricing I saw for them, looks like you get a lot for the money.