New speakers today!!!!

Mikey081057

Very productive day so far.... My cleaning crew was here promptly at 07:45 AM I dropped the dog off at 08:00 for some play, to get a bath and get his nails trimmed and o yeah yet another innoculation....the cleaning folks finished by 09:15 AM and at 09:30 the Pilot Freight truck pulled up with a pallet of speakers and their bases.

My new Usher Mini Dancer 2 Mini's have arrived..


I moved the old Polk 705's out of the way and went to work un-boxing and setting up the Ushers (there is nothing "mini" about them). They are a bit larger in every dimension than the Polks ... They are about 4' tall and weigh about 115lbs each... The base on the Mini's is now a heavy composite MDF where the Mini-X stands had cast iron stands.

Appearance wise the Ushers are stunning...the wood and the piano black finishes are sweet.

I am told they take about 180 hours to break in and I am just barely into that process....

For setup:

Lumin Mini
Mytek Brooklyn DAC+
PS Audio Stellar Gain Cell Preamp
Parasound A21 Amp
MIT Shotgun S3 hoses.

Somethings of note:

The Diamond (DMD) tweeters IMHO are about the sweetest you will find in this or even higher priced speakers... Cymbals and violins sound so natural....

The signature of Usher is the incredible sound stage they present the listener. Don't crucify me but the Usher sound stage is far less finicky than the experience I have had with SDA technology when it comes to placement and acoustics.

The front ported cabinet design had me thinking the subs were turned on, bet they are not... I won't need them for 2 channel listening. And it is tight and punchy bass without the bloated flatulent bass that other ported speakers can excrete.

The look may be somewhat dated but they are very elegant and the craftsmanship is amazing. From the bottom when installing the bases you can see that real wood is used in layers and bent to make the curve of the cabinet. Not just a veneer over MDF... Nothing wrong with MDF but these a sight to behold compared to most in this price range and even above... They look like a poor man's Sonus Faber cabinet...

Didn't they used to say in the old LIFE cereal commercial "Mikey Approved"

Faustin

Very nice. Enjoy!

steveinaz

Very nice!

tonyb

Looking good Mikey, dibs on the old set ?? Karma ? In with 69....just in case.

pglbook

Congrats! Although I have not heard a pair in person, I have only heard rave reviews about them (and the Diamond tweeters) and am definitely intrigued with those speakers myself. I look forward to some more impressions on how they sound once you get more hours on them, especially how they sound compared to Polk SDA speakers (I have Polk SDA 2B TLs).

Congrats and enjoy!

Gerres26

I’m definitely looking forward to a review from you. There was a pair of these listed for sale about an hour from me that I almost jumped on. Although the price was very good, there was a bunch of cabinet damage on that pair so I was worried of the structural integrity so I had to pass.

Mikey081057

I saw a pair in DC area a week or so ago that were in fine shape for about $3400 shipped... I considered them but ordered the new ones.

marvda1

they started out with mdf bases then when they did some upgrading of the cabinets they went to the cast iron bases, now back to mdf. I'm thinking the base material has something to do with the sound.

tophatjohnny

Congrats brother. Owning the 6381s and knowing how they sound assures me your dancers (on or off the pole) would destroy what I hear. Enjoy those babies. Wow!!

joecoulson

AWESOME BRO - CONGRATS!!

Mikey081057

Marvin @marvda1 can you explain why they call them "Mini" ? Cuz they ain't.

Mikey081057

tonyb wrote: »

Looking good Mikey, dibs on the old set ?? Karma ? In with 69....just in case.

@TonyB when you come to FL bring a van...I have a nice pair of 2.3's for you... Your wife will love listening to Lady Gaga on those bad boyz...

TEAforONE

Definitely elegant. Congratulations!

marvda1

Mikey081057 wrote: »

Marvin @marvda1 can you explain why they call them "Mini" ? Cuz they ain't.

compared to the other speakers in the dancer line they are mini. like these:
https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lisa1589-usher-audio-cp-8571-ii-dancer-with-diamond-tweeters-full-range

indyhawg

Very nice speakers Mikey. Looking forward to the review.

Mikey081057

They should just call them BMF's

GlennDog

Very nice score! Congrats Mikey 😎

Mikey081057

Shout out to an old friend Derek of Audiothesis.com

gudnoyez

Real nice Mikey they are beauty's enjoy.

Mike Reeter

Mikey081057 wrote: »

Very productive day so far.... My cleaning crew was here promptly at 07:45 AM I dropped the dog off at 08:00 for some play, to get a bath and get his nails trimmed and o yeah yet another innoculation....the cleaning folks finished by 09:15 AM and at 09:30 the Pilot Freight truck pulled up with a pallet of speakers and their bases.

My new Usher Mini Dancer 2 Mini's have arrived..


I moved the old Polk 705's out of the way and went to work un-boxing and setting up the Ushers (there is nothing "mini" about them). They are a bit larger in every dimension than the Polks ... They are about 4' tall and weigh about 115lbs each... The base on the Mini's is now a heavy composite MDF where the Mini-X stands had cast iron stands.

Appearance wise the Ushers are stunning...the wood and the piano black finishes are sweet.

I am told they take about 180 hours to break in and I am just barely into that process....

For setup:

Lumin Mini
Mytek Brooklyn DAC+
PS Audio Stellar Gain Cell Preamp
Parasound A21 Amp
MIT Shotgun S3 hoses.

Somethings of note:

The Diamond (DMD) tweeters IMHO are about the sweetest you will find in this or even higher priced speakers... Cymbals and violins sound so natural....

The signature of Usher is the incredible sound stage they present the listener. Don't crucify me but the Usher sound stage is far less finicky than the experience I have had with SDA technology when it comes to placement and acoustics.

The front ported cabinet design had me thinking the subs were turned on, bet they are not... I won't need them for 2 channel listening. And it is tight and punchy bass without the bloated flatulent bass that other ported speakers can excrete.

The look may be somewhat dated but they are very elegant and the craftsmanship is amazing. From the bottom when installing the bases you can see that real wood is used in layers and bent to make the curve of the cabinet. Not just a veneer over MDF... Nothing wrong with MDF but these a sight to behold compared to most in this price range and even above... They look like a poor man's Sonus Faber cabinet...

Didn't they used to say in the old LIFE cereal commercial "Mikey Approved"

Dang man, I am a little more than just slightly aroused Very, Very nice, and an Usher Center ta boot

txcoastal1

Nice mikey, I do miss my MD2’s

Derf

Way to go, Mike! I’ve enjoyed mine the last few years, Ron @txcoastal1 started the burn in on them before they moved into my home. Interesting that Marvin said the different bases may affect the sound. Mine have the cast iron bases. Would be interesting to do a side by side to see if there is a difference. But man, you’re right, these things are beasts to move around. I did add a Rythmik sub to the mix after about a year and I love it. Blends well and gave me just a little more low end that I felt I was missing.

Upstatemax

I stopped reading when you said you dumped the dog off. No listening session is complete without a jerk dog bothering you the whole time to “play”...

Mikey081057

Upstatemax wrote: »

I stopped reading when you said you dumped the dog off. No listening session is complete without a jerk dog bothering you the whole time to “play”...

he was due for a vacine anyway ... he helps me do everything every day... he loves to go play with the other doggies... I saw him playing with 2 way bigger dogs then later I saw the 2 big dogs were asleep and Tommy was chasin some tail.... He's sleeping now tho... This pup would rip the energizer bunny apart...

Mikey081057

Derf wrote: »

Way to go, Mike! I’ve enjoyed mine the last few years, Ron @txcoastal1 started the burn in on them before they moved into my home. Interesting that Marvin said the different bases may affect the sound. Mine have the cast iron bases. Would be interesting to do a side by side to see if there is a difference. But man, you’re right, these things are beasts to move around. I did add a Rythmik sub to the mix after about a year and I love it. Blends well and gave me just a little more low end that I felt I was missing.

The Usher sound is hard to find fault with... I am sure that is subjective and maybe they're not everybody's cup of tea but they alot of speaker for the money as you can well appreciate.

marvda1

http://prairieaudiomancave.com/reviews--reports/can-the-mini-dancer-2-hold-me-closer-to-the-music

I have a mastersound integrated that would go nice with the ushers.

Mike Reeter

Mikey081057 wrote: »

Derf wrote: »

Way to go, Mike! I’ve enjoyed mine the last few years, Ron @txcoastal1 started the burn in on them before they moved into my home. Interesting that Marvin said the different bases may affect the sound. Mine have the cast iron bases. Would be interesting to do a side by side to see if there is a difference. But man, you’re right, these things are beasts to move around. I did add a Rythmik sub to the mix after about a year and I love it. Blends well and gave me just a little more low end that I felt I was missing.

The Usher sound is hard to find fault with... I am sure that is subjective and maybe they're not everybody's cup of tea but they alot of speaker for the money as you can well appreciate.

When I move into a smaller room, the Mini-X will be on my list. I love the looks of them especially mounted on the Usher Stands.

Mikey081057

They are sweet but take up about the same space and cost about the same with the stands...

Only a couple of hundred difference.... the Mini 1's might even save you some money and are virtually the same as the Mini-X's

Mike Reeter

Mikey081057 wrote: »

They are sweet but take up about the same space and cost about the same with the stands...

Only a couple of hundred difference.... the Mini 1's might even save you some money and are virtually the same as the Mini-X's

But those stands are as cool as I've ever seen

I'm sure the Mini 1's would work out very nice also. They can be had on the used market for a decent price as well.

One day...

Mikey081057

yes the mini x's and stands are beautiful and they sound great as well.... magnificent sound stage where the speakers disappear. the x's are easier to drive than the MD-2's as they are 8ohm and 4ohm respectively. The mini x stand are very heavy and dense ... I never get the feeling with either that they are tippy which I always had with the 705's. Both of them also have a great spike system. You won't be disappointed with any of the 3.

pitdogg2

A very nice set of speakers mikey 👍