Usher DMD tweeter upgrade: worth it?


Is the Usher DMD tweeter a BIG upgrade over the BE? I have BE-718s (US ver) and like them a lot, but we always want to take it to the next level if possible, right? The cost of tweeters alone is $700, which is pretty steep, so is it worth the price?
eugene81

Showing 3 responses by betterbelizeit

Absolutely not...Far too bright and harsh. But Usher didn't have much of a choice in replacing the Be Driver...The truth that came to light about Usher's Beryllium...or more appropriately, the "lack of" Beryllium in their tweeters forced the company to bring out the DMD Tweeter...not only did Usher need to introduce a new tweeter but they wanted to eliminate every, in essence, fake Beryllium driver out there, and to do so, Usher came up with its "Upgrade Program" in which, Usher will replace your BE tweeter with the DMD...but you pay $800.00US to $1000.00US, depending where in the world you are being screwed and who specifically is screwing you. In Taiwan, you get the same DMD tweeters for $199.00US...a pair.
Continue...But I'm sure that the US distributor will come up with some fairy A$$ story to try to convince you that his DMD tweeters are the "US Version" which has been baptized by his bodily fluids to provide better sound performance. Or he may just get JPS Labs to replace the original speaker terminal contacts on the DMD tweeters and magically call it a "US Version" and charge you 5 times more than it's worth. After all...that's exactly what he did with the Usher BE-718's...he bought them from Usher in Taiwan...oops, no longer in Taiwan, Usher in China, without Usher's own in house crossover, he got GPS Labs to furnish the crossover and by doing so, the US Distributor for Usher Audio can now call it the "US Version" and a "superior product"...really? And people fall for that crap. If you're sensing that I have a personal issue with this company, I certainly do so we can get that question out of the way. It's not worth the upgrade to the DMD and there are other companies that conduct themselves with more integrity and produce better quality products.
Morning Nandric! There's no actual "Holland" version or US Version"...These magical versions that pop up is a result of distributors having to counteract the effects that the internet has on providing fast information to consumers. A set of DMD tweeters are $199.00US (pair) to the consumer. Prices of $700-$1000.00US with references to magical "versions" was simply a marketing tool to get existing users of any BE tweeter to go for the upgrade. Think of the profits...any line of speaker sold to consumers since the introduction of the BE tweeter become a potential customer. No need to search out new customers, no need to deal with the cost of building new cabinets in China and the cost of putting together a speaker...just out goes your old tweeter and in goes a new tweeter....and by doing so, you killed two birds with one stone. 1. A way of getting quick cash, 2. Most important, from Usher's view point is to remove every evidence of the Be Tweeters that caused so much embarrassment for the company. And look closely if you return your Be tweeter...do you think that's going into the garbage. No chance...out goes the BE dome and in goes the DMD cone, add a new baffle engraved DMD and it's done. And the unfortunate thing...the BE does sound better than the DMD.