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


Hi Folks,

As you can tell from the subject, I am considering upgrading my bookshelf speakers (Dynaudio special 40) to floorstanders.  Which of these would you recommend and why? 

Also, any other speakers I should consider in the same price range that will pair well with the Ruby?  Thanks!

prashanth14485

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

I am sure they sound great.

I used to own some Usher Dancer TD-10, and I always thought they were a bit of a giant killer.

Sonically, they competed with speakers at not unsubstantially higher prices.