Usher BE-10/20, what do you use to drive them?

I have driven my BE-10 with Parasound Halo A21, Pass Labs XA160, and now Ayre MXR. For my tastes, the Ayre really takes advantage of the Usher transparency, dynamics, and detail. I felt that both the HAlo and Pass was a bit too slow and veiled. Of course all of this is based on my personal tastes. I love listening to strings (piano, guitar) and female vocals. With the combo I have now, I not heard strings sound more realistic and vocals more clear.

Regarding the BE-20, I say you only need that if you a very large room or want to use these speakers in an HT setup. I find the BE-10 to be more than adequate in terms of bass and its ability to move air.

Good luck!

The system I heard in San Jose with the VTL monoblocks (SS) sounded amazingly good. On your next trip back here, make sure you stop by and give them a listen. I believe he has both BE-10 and -20 in store.

They also used the NuForce amps. I only listened to them for like 10 minutes, but they sounded like they were pushed to the limit and not been able to deliver.

FrankC

We are Ushers dealer and have found the larger BE speakers really perform best with at least 100 watts of power. We have had equally good results with tubes (like the Cary 120s) and solid state (like the Gamut DI-150 and Plinius 301). While you can run the BE-10/20 with smaller amps, we have found that the speakers dynamics can be limited. We have not tried the Ushers with NuForce amps. I think my favorite combo to date is the Cary SLP-05 preamp and Plinius SB-301. In terms of cables, the speakers seem to be less finicky than other speakers, as long as they are quality cables.

-- Jeff

So I gathered some muscles are needed to move those big Eton woofers, not a surprise. My little BE-718 is very power hungry too, but they do so wonderful with Plinius 9200.

Reason I am seeking for amp advice, Usher BE-10/20 are more analytical than 8571/8871 and many other speakers due in part to the BE midrange which is super sharp and detail. Almost like a Leica lens if you will. So getting a super detail amp like Halcro or Spectral might not be ideal given the nature of the speaker. McIntosh sounds like a good idea, but will it mask out too much of BE's strength? Plinius is usually associated warmth, I think that also explains why Jeff likes it with the big Usher.

Without spending a fortune, say in the $5k range for used amp, what else is capable of getting the most out of the big Usher?

Has anyone heard them with OTL amps, such as the Atma-Spheres or Joule Electras? Cheers,

Spencer