how about moving up the usher dancer line?
upgrade from Mini Dancer 2 DMD $5-10k
Hello all,
Looking to upgrade from a pair of Usher mini dancer 2 DMD.
Like many audio/musicophiles, I have owned multiple speakers in the past, through a series of upgrade/downgrade… all to various degrees of satisfaction…
In the speaker department, I had tremendous fun with various studio monitor speakers from french Brand Divatech (quite fantastic at the time), then on to notable speakers such as Kef 203/2, Wilson Audio Watt-Puppy 8s and most recently a pair of Usher Mini Dancer 2 (dmd).
The resolution on the Mini Dancers is incredible. Imaging is great. High-volume is possible (and manageable). But the low end has never been satisfactory to me. The absence of it I mean. I tried multiple amps and currently power them with a Usher 1.5.
Bass is just not there. I have experimented with the mini dancer in multiple rooms and set up. I also fiddled with a beringher DEQ24/96 to help out… and it did… but the laws of physics are here, and while at very high volumes you can get decent bass, at lower volumes I have heard multiple bookshelf speakers that provide more bass than the MD2.
I ended up adding a velodyne DD10+ to help in the bass department. But adding a sub introduces an additional level of complication and isn’t very satisfactory to me (musically).
So here I go: I am looking for a true full range $5-10K speaker (new or used). Fairly detailed and neutral to warm… Musical I guess… (With the absence of bass, the mini dancer tend to sound dry and forward)…. The KEF 203/2 was very good, but hard to come by. And I wouldn’t mind a bit more bass.
My living room is fairly large. About 30x15 and 8 feet high… that’s part of the problem. The speakers will need to fill that space. Here in Seattle, I went and audition Naim, PSB and Totem speakers (S600, Forest and I can’t remember the PSB). I didn’t enjoy the Naim at all… the Totem were pretty good (a bit of warmth)… the PSB were nice and clean but not very inspiring… Ideally I would buy a pair of Wilson Audio Sashas, but I cannot afford them (and the Sophias II I heard in the past also lacked bass, probably due to wrong amp pairing) …
I am not a big fan of the B&W sound… larger usher speakers are too big… therefore now reading about Aerial 7t (or model 9), verity audio or wild cards such as ATC SCM50 (also hard to find/afford)… most of them are hard to find in Seattle for a listen….
Music? Well, I will listen to Miles, Coltrane, Bach, Roy Hargrove, Common, Metallica, Ray Lamontagne, Daft punk, chamber music, Piano, occasional intimate French movies or Hollywood blockbusters… you get the picture… everything!
Please let me know your thoughts!
Thanks.
Looking to upgrade from a pair of Usher mini dancer 2 DMD.
Like many audio/musicophiles, I have owned multiple speakers in the past, through a series of upgrade/downgrade… all to various degrees of satisfaction…
In the speaker department, I had tremendous fun with various studio monitor speakers from french Brand Divatech (quite fantastic at the time), then on to notable speakers such as Kef 203/2, Wilson Audio Watt-Puppy 8s and most recently a pair of Usher Mini Dancer 2 (dmd).
The resolution on the Mini Dancers is incredible. Imaging is great. High-volume is possible (and manageable). But the low end has never been satisfactory to me. The absence of it I mean. I tried multiple amps and currently power them with a Usher 1.5.
Bass is just not there. I have experimented with the mini dancer in multiple rooms and set up. I also fiddled with a beringher DEQ24/96 to help out… and it did… but the laws of physics are here, and while at very high volumes you can get decent bass, at lower volumes I have heard multiple bookshelf speakers that provide more bass than the MD2.
I ended up adding a velodyne DD10+ to help in the bass department. But adding a sub introduces an additional level of complication and isn’t very satisfactory to me (musically).
So here I go: I am looking for a true full range $5-10K speaker (new or used). Fairly detailed and neutral to warm… Musical I guess… (With the absence of bass, the mini dancer tend to sound dry and forward)…. The KEF 203/2 was very good, but hard to come by. And I wouldn’t mind a bit more bass.
My living room is fairly large. About 30x15 and 8 feet high… that’s part of the problem. The speakers will need to fill that space. Here in Seattle, I went and audition Naim, PSB and Totem speakers (S600, Forest and I can’t remember the PSB). I didn’t enjoy the Naim at all… the Totem were pretty good (a bit of warmth)… the PSB were nice and clean but not very inspiring… Ideally I would buy a pair of Wilson Audio Sashas, but I cannot afford them (and the Sophias II I heard in the past also lacked bass, probably due to wrong amp pairing) …
I am not a big fan of the B&W sound… larger usher speakers are too big… therefore now reading about Aerial 7t (or model 9), verity audio or wild cards such as ATC SCM50 (also hard to find/afford)… most of them are hard to find in Seattle for a listen….
Music? Well, I will listen to Miles, Coltrane, Bach, Roy Hargrove, Common, Metallica, Ray Lamontagne, Daft punk, chamber music, Piano, occasional intimate French movies or Hollywood blockbusters… you get the picture… everything!
Please let me know your thoughts!
Thanks.