Emerald Physics C2 or Usher BE-718

Dunno the differences, but the Emeralds are getting great praise (check 6moons) and word of mouth very strong. Check here on audiogon, I think there's a way you can get hooked up with individuals in certain cities where you can go and hear them- you might be close enough. I intend to soon.
Check back if you hear em.

Ushers are nice but fairly conventional in design and sound in comparison to many other makes.

I'd love to hear Emerald Physics. New, innovative approaches to design can have huge upside when done well.

Before considering the CS2's, bear in mind that yoou need 4 channels of amplification so if you only have an integrated amp you would have to add in the cost of a pre amp and power amps. Also the add in the cost of XLR cables and possibly additional Speaker cables.

The CS2's take a very long time to break in, but once they have they disappear unlike any speaker I have heard. But they do need a minimum of 5ft from the backwall to start singing.

One thing I have noticed, they go deep, organ music makes the floor vibrate but they don't do Reggae music very well. Strange that.

Just for the record, my system is vinyl and I am hearing more from the recordings with this setup even with the analogue-digital-analogue conversion.