Usher BE 718

Hello....I am Aaron. Any mini dancer owner on this blog?

Hi Aaron,

I'm the proud owner of Usher Be-718 Be for the past 1 year.

Jimel.

I am a proud 4 months old owner too. Improving everyday.have to be patient. what amp are you using? i am using exposure classic 23/28 combo (70w) but i find i am not getting the best out of the speakers. understand it needs at least a 200w before it can shine. What amp are u using? Are they fussy with wires? any diffrence between single and biwire? Are u using dedicated stands.I bought the single pillar dedicated stands and there is a vast inprovement.

Hi Aaron,

I'm using a pair of Primare A32 stereo power amp for bi-amping using 2 pairs PAD Musseaus speaker cables. I'm not sure about the wires though as I got good result with the present wires. The stands are Usher RWS-708. Usher needs LOTS of power (kecil2 cili padi).

Jimel

Jimel,
My present amp is not good enough to bring the dynamics out of the speakers. I was warned it needs at least a 200w but was stubborn not to take that advise.Now what to do, one kaki already in the tub already...now have to hunt for a power amp lah..... Thinking of bryston 4bst or some other brand with same rating....spend money...spend money. Cheers...Jimel..keep in touch.

Hi Aaron,

Bryston is good choice..what about modwright power amp? By the way, why are u selling the Vimak CD player?

Jimel

Aaron Ong, you want power ? There's an old Krell KSA-200 for sale. It's one of the original original model. The ones where when you switch it on, the entire house's lights will flicker. Sheer brute force !!

Do hunt carefully for the power amp of your choice. Good 200w power amps are not going to come cheap, unfortunately....

WongKN wrote:Aaron Ong, you want power ? There's an old Krell KSA-200 for sale. It's one of the original original model. The ones where when you switch it on, the entire house's lights will flicker. Sheer brute force !!

Do hunt carefully for the power amp of your choice. Good 200w power amps are not going to come cheap, unfortunately....

Ohhh... this one super brutal lor ..... the sound is ... how can i describe it:
Either u will LOVE it like CRAZY, or you will HATE it like F**K. !!!!

Selling the Vimak because plan to purchase Cyrus transport / dac. Krell s power is ok but is it like 15 years old? Thinking more of their newer model like 400xi. If i plan pre/power setup are british or american power amp more suitable for these speakers. Thanks for the abovementioned advice.

Jimel,
Did you use another amp to drive the ushers before your present monster Primare? I just check the list price of your amp and considering to take a second morgage on my house should i plan to buy it.

I actually do not have a lot of listening experience with the Ushers, mainly hearing it at the KLAVS. So I won't want to comment on them (my way lar). That Krell KSA-200 IS more than 15 years old actually. But it has been completely refurbished by a knowledgeable technician.

At one time, people used to stereotype american made vs british made amps by saying american amps are more dynamic, powerful, but ultimately a bit rough, like americans themselves can often be accused of being. Then british amps are cultured, relaxed, with great midrange and musicality but the sound can lack energy, power, even excitement especially for rock music. A bit like that quintessent 'british gentlemen' lar.

Those were long time ago. I think nowadays, the best of either type of amps can be extremely good indeed. So it all really depends on your wallet and when it starts crying 'uncle !'

BTW, it will help if you explain your musical preference.

Vocals, jazz and instrumental

Sorry to be fussy but jazz can be many kinds. I personally like New Orleans Jazz for e.g. and that kind of jazz can require quite a bit of power. So, what would be kind of jazz artist you listen to most ?

As for instrumental, is it big band or mainly syntheizer or other kind ? Some artist names might be helpful.

I might even not have heard of the artist you like of coures but I am sure other forumers would and they can always contribute their experience.

Hi Aaron,

I've used Rotel RB-1080 and NAD power amp before but it seems Primare ( of course the price are much higher ) are better in every sense..especially the female vocals ( but the Primare are neutral..maybe a little bit warmish..or maybe cause my tube cd & pre-amp ) and that things are very heavy..make sure your rack can stand the weight..I suggest you have a listen 1st at CMY to be certain..no many reviews available for Primare 32..I don't know why..maybe it's not that popular among audiophiles..but I love every minute with them powering the Usher..

Jimel

hi aaron...why asking bout mini dancers...want to uprade ur 718??

Fizi,
BE718 is also known as mini dancer because it is the smallest model under the Dancer series. I cant upgrade to a larger model as i am using a small room. Room size only 13 ft X 11 ft. This model fits very nicely. All i wanted was to inprove the dynamics only. So upgrading to a monster power amp is my next step. At the moment pocket a bit shallow lah...budget RM5000 second hand...what power amp can i consider?

ok...slowly for power amplifier..maybe i can help u survey in ipoh..

I think many of the british brands can deliver good result. There was a pair of Audiolab 8000M monoblocks for sale recently. You didn't explain which genre of jazz you listen to so I assume it is something which can be dynamic perhaps with lots of bass, etc. If so, yes you do need a rather more powerful amp to deliver the best out of the Usher. Actually I just met a guy who is using an Usher earlier today and my friends who heard his system told me the sound was very good. Let me check what amp he uses. But he plays a lot of classical, especially those symphonic pieces.

hi wong...keep us update..

Ermmm.... after finding out I think wrong person to benchmark to. Apparently his Usher is the top of the range floorstander and he drives it with the top of the range (powerful) Musical Fidelity amp. He also uses an 8kVA PowerTrans and superb cables all round. My friends keep telling me his system has incredible low-end bass. I think his speaker alone can buy most of us' entire hifi system. Sorry to bring this up.

Fizi,
BE718 is also known as tiny dancer and not miny dancer. My mistake and a thousand apologies.