Emerald Physics C2 or Usher BE-718

After 35 years of having fun looking for the best realism for the money (and spent a small fortune)I've also ended up with the CS2's.
With each change in my system from 18 years with Maggie's M.111's and more recently 1.6QR's and the Spendor FL6 i've finally found a system that to me has the least negatives and the most pleasing sound I've ever had the pleasure of having owned.
Gone are the power hungry tube amps and speakers which can't convey an instruments size and tonality with any sort of realism.I'm having a barrel of fun with these.The highs are clean and clear and can you ever crank 'em up.
Sorry I've not heard the Ushers so no comparison I can make,and do not want to highjack the thread.
Signed 'A Happy Listener'.

Mrjstark,

Funny you should mention Omega Loudspeakers as that was the third speaker (Omega Revolutions using a single 8" Alnico driver in an Aperodic vent enclosure) in my now defunct three speaker rotation.

I wouldn't necessarily say the Omega was better or worse than the CS2's, but rather different. It was crystal clear in the mid-range (even more than the CS2's) and really let the music shine. It was also amp friendly and very flexible in terms of placement. While the Omega definitely didn't have the CS2's extension (in either direction), it was pretty good in the highs or lows. The CS2's had a more effortless sound and didn't sound like a typical box speaker.

I also want to state that both Clayton (Emerald Physics) and Louis (Omega Speakers) are great to deal with and about as honest and trustworthy as you can find.

George

George,
your experience with both speakers are far greater then my own.
I have just picked up a Super 8 Anlico monitors from Louis factory in Connecticut which are breaking in as we speak. (I do have some exp. with previous models tho). Louis also provide me with his previous Ferrite 8" drivers to play around. Those are also great but Alnico are substantially better drivers.
As far as CS2s are concern, my experience is limited to few auditions and show demo rooms.

BE-718 is not a bad speaker IMO.
Beside the price there is also the issue of proper placement and amplification for anyone considering these speakers.
It takes a little effort to make these monitors sing.

In side by side evaluation - I preferred the presentation of AAD 2001s over BE-718s.

Traded my AADs recently - to many speaker and not enough room.

Mariusz

Can anyone compare the CS2 to Salk HT3's? The Salk HT3 is the only other more expensive speaker i have heard.

I am a newbie and about to purchase my amp, speaker cables, etc. I figure that my speaker choice will affect these greatly, so i'd better make my decision on that first.

If i go with the Wyred4Sound multichannel amp, do i still need multiple interconnects and multiple speaker cables? Did someone say that only XLR interconnects can be used? How would that be so if they are speakers? Would they not just need speaker cables?

I am figuring roughly $1 to $1.5K additional layout for loss in buying and selling, multichannel amp and additional speaker cables, minus the need for a lot of room treatments. Is it correct that you don't really need room treatments with the CS2?

I am trying to compare this with spending the cash on say a Modwright Transporter as bigger bang for the buck improvement, but the speaker choice will affect amp choice, cables, etc, so i figure this must be done first.

Again i realize that they are completely different speakers, but wondering if they are worth the cost and effort to upgrade. Thanks!

Also has anyone modified their CS2 and DCX2496 mods? How much of an effect did this have? Perhaps i could look into the CS2's and later mod them in the future if the improvement was siginificant enough. thanks.