Usher speakers and Whatmough subbie anyone?

AdderVenom · Jun 07, 2007 11:58 am

Hi guys,

I'm just wondering if anyone of you have heard or auditioned Usher speakers before. I'm in a position to have the Ushers and Whatmough at a bargain so I'm pretty happy to stick to these brands. Oh, and my room size is 4.7m by 3.8m by 2.7m(H) if that'll help. I'm planning to have these as my home theatre setup (70% TV/movies and 30% music):

- CP-6311 floorstanding for my 2 fronts.
- S-525 for my centre
- S-520 for my 2 rears
- Whatmough Tornado subbie

Planning to also use an integrated AV receiver and amp but not sure what will match these speakers.

Any help or advice will be much appreciated guys. Thanks.

Ed

royalblue · Jun 07, 2007 12:54 pm

Receiver.............think MARANTZ

Ash.

mattwalker · Jun 07, 2007 1:51 pm

Nice selection of speakers there! Are they new or second hand?

With AV amp go wth Marantz (had a price drop across the range last week )

Matt

AdderVenom · Jun 07, 2007 4:42 pm

The speakers are spanking brand new! The privilege of having staff discounts helps

I was a little apprehensive when the company brought in these Ushers. Never heard of them before... made in Taiwan... hmmm... can't be THAT good. Must be cheapies for the budget market... Well, that was me being ignorant... until they sampled the top of the range Dancer series! OMG! It's like having the actual singer singing live right in front of me with the orchestra surrounding the room! Did a little research after that found this brand has actually won a few awards with heaps of positive reviews around the world! However at the price this pair of Dancer speakers are going for, wifey said, "Take your pillow to the HT room and go hug those speakers at night if you dare spend that much money on speakers!"

Ok.. she wins... but I doubt she'll create such fuss if I change the word from 'speakers' to 'shoes'. Anyway, the set I'm planning to have is more affordable however I haven't actually heard them in action so that's why I'm trying to find out if anyone in this forum have any comments on them.

BTW, I read the specs stating the centre speaker has 4ohms impedence while the rest have 8ohms. Will this create any problems when connected to an amp? I'm a noobie with this serious stuff. Been using a Jamo HTIB but planning an upgrade when our house is built and ready.

Rodda · Jun 08, 2007 3:01 pm

Hi Adder.

Yes the Usher Audio speakers are pricey, at least that's what Matt and I said to each other as soon as one of our suppliers had just finished trying to get us to take them on and buy some demo pairs.... For very serious audiophiles only I'd have thought (audiophiles who want to spend $23K on a pair of speakers). Fair enough if you are in this category and can justify them - Personally, I can't.

Come down from that level a little and there are many very nice speakers to be heard. Have you heard the Boston Acoustics VR3s - awesome, and way less than $2400 a pair.

The Watmough Tornado is a good sub, although my personal experience with some of his speakers in the <$2500 range left me thinking I could do better, and for less money....

As far as amps (or A/V receivers) go, these days any decent one will have no issue driving speaker loads from 4 to 8ohms - I know Marantz don't. My fronts are 8ohm and my centre channel is 4ohm.

AdderVenom · Jun 13, 2007 11:38 am

Hi Matt and Rodda,

I knew I could count on the pros to give excellent advices. I'm currently researching the Boston speakers that you've recommended. I heard from a mate recently that I'll be putting audiophile speakers to waste, i.e, won't be allowing the speakers to achieve they're full potential if I'll be using them for movies most of the time instead of listening to quality music. Says I'll be better off getting quality bookshelfs and a sub instead of pricey floorstanders. Is that true?

The Marantz AV/amps seems a little pricey, however. Any comments on Yamahas?

mattwalker · Jun 13, 2007 12:00 pm

AdderVenom

Hi Matt and Rodda,

I knew I could count on the pros to give excellent advices. I'm currently researching the Boston speakers that you've recommended. I heard from a mate recently that I'll be putting audiophile speakers to waste, i.e, won't be allowing the speakers to achieve they're full potential if I'll be using them for movies most of the time instead of listening to quality music. Says I'll be better off getting quality bookshelfs and a sub instead of pricey floorstanders. Is that true?

Bookshelves are OK but you cant beat a good set of floorstanders... Are you buying a full 5.1 / 7.1 setup??

AdderVenom

The Marantz AV/amps seems a little pricey, however. Any comments on Yamahas?

You were considering Usher speakers, what were you going to power them with?? Which amp are you looking at in the Marantz range thats pricey??

AdderVenom · Jun 13, 2007 12:33 pm

I'm planning for a 5.1 setup which I feel would be sufficient for my HT room size. The extra moolah saved on 2 extra speakers can be used for other areas on my house. I have big dreams for the house with a practical budget

I'm wondering if the Marantz SR-4001 AV/amp would be enough to drive the speakers. Something future-proof with HDMI connectors would be a plus point with all flat panel heading towards true HD.

I'm also considering the Yamaha RX-V661 which seem to have more features, Ipod-ready, higher Wattage and about $100 cheaper when comparing against their RRPs.

Rodda · Jun 13, 2007 2:43 pm

The Marantz SR-4001 will have more than enough oomph to comfortably drive speakers like the Bostons, especially if you're talking about the new VRs (VR1s, 2s or 3s) with their 93dB sensitivity... and the sound will have you grinning like a cheshire cat.

One thing Marantz is very good at (one of many things, of course), is quoting very realistic power figures, unlike some other producers of similar types of products. Bench tests and multiple awards (for example "Best A/V Receiver under $..." year after year) have proven that actual power delivered vs what's stated in the spec sheet for Marantz receivers is about the closest in the industry (in at least one case the amp actually rated a higher output than stated in the spec sheet!). This is backed up by Marantz's "... Power Guarantee" - check their web site for more into on that...

If you are interested in a Marantz, PM me and we can offer you a much better deal than the RRP.

If you are interested in any of the Boston Acoustics speakers we can also do you a much better price than the RRP (wanna save hundreds on a pair of VR3s?).

AdderVenom · Jun 22, 2007 11:57 am

Hi Rodda,

That's a really good sound advice.

I'll definitely consider your offer when my house is ready. Thanks again.