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Usher Audio's S-520

Picked up a pair of these little jewels a few weeks ago.
I've found them to be a sort of "Diamond in the rough".
Amazing how musical they are. How deep and tight their bass presentation is. How well built they are for their meager asking price ($400 pair). How little they sound like the little box they are, compared to my other bookself speakers, which in comparsion to the S-520 sound boxy and closed in.
Wonderful little speaker that has me wondering "maybe these little guys are all I need to bring sonic nirvana to my listening room!
Anybody else out there who heard these?

geoh
geoh
geoh OP
48 posts
 
Hi Ken, Thanks for the response.
I agree Usher is on to something extrodinary!

Their cosmetics/build quality are incredible at their price point and they sound better than they look, IMHO!

Back to the S-520, I guess there's not many owners here as of yet. I have a feeling that's going to change with time. I can't wait to read a few reviews when/if they happen.
I just can't believe how musical they are! I've been doing some A/B listening and the S-520 continue to impress and amaze.
mf2
24 posts
 
I bought a pair last year with the intention of using them in my office at work. After bringing them home and setting them up in my second system to break in, I was so impressed that I decided to keep them at home.

I can't say I did much comparison with other speakers in the price range, but I think their build and sound are excellent.
geoh OP
48 posts
 
Mf2, Same thing happened with me and the S-520s. I really wasn't expecting much, maybe a good bedroom speaker. Imagine my surprise when they sounded better than all the other bookself monitor type speakers in my possession, including some much more expensive units? geoh
rjones
23 posts
 
I bought a pair of the 520's for my sons first system about 1 1/2 years ago. It is paired with a Sharp EX-SD111 AM/FM/CE all in one unit.

If you want to take them to the next level, Bill Baker of Response Audio provides a relatively inexpensive upgrade and transforms the speaker into simply the best monitor under $1K. Link: http://www.responseaudio.com/ultimate%20usher.htm.

Enjoy!
geoh OP
48 posts
 
Well I'm still a happy S-520 owner but there's a new gun in town. I recently picked up a pair of NHT's SB3 for comparsions sake. A/B against each other..... the NHT's have come out of top! While the S-520's have a nice revealing mid-range and treble presentation, the SB3's have those frequencies covered and add a deeper, fuller, richer bass presentation. The S-520's acutally sound small by comparsion, which of course their woofer is considerably smaller than that of the SB3's. The S-520s are more efficent than the SB3s, and are a ported design with little to no port noise, but the NHTs sound is bigger, smoother and more dynamic.
So the new king of affordable small bookselves, for me at least, is the NHT SB3!
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