If there is a theme of the listening section of this review, it is “clear”. I’ve had a lot of speakers in for review in the last few years and NONE have had the detail and clarity that the Usher S-520’s have. My own reference speakers - the Axiom m60’s sounded like they had a sheet thrown over them in comparison (not a blanket, mind you, a sheet). This level of detail reveals things in recordings that you’ve never noticed before. It also tends to lead people to a “bright” description. Even familiar recordings will suddenly have a depth that you didn’t know existed. Rather than wax poetic, why don’t I get right to the tests?

CD: Yello – the eye

Well, you knew this one was coming. As always I was looking at imaging and I was worried primarily about placement and toe in. The off axis response of the S-520s was remarkably uniform out to about 30 degrees on each side. The only real difference I heard was between directly on axis and off (meaning directly in front of the speaker as compared to a little off to one side). For the purposes of imaging and presenting a coherent soundstage, toe in and port side didn’t seem to make much of a difference. If you are going to change the positioning of these speakers, it will NOT be because of the imaging because the imaging didn’t seem to change that much with different degrees of toe-in. Generally, the imagining was good but it never really had the unity and cohesiveness that I’ve experienced with my reference speakers or others. Instruments were placed in the soundstage but they didn’t have the three dimensional quality I’ve heard in the past.

CD: Bang & Olufsen Vol. XIII – The Sound of Perfection

I acquired this CD on my trip to B&O a while back. At first listen, I only really liked one song but a few of the others have grown on me. In particular, Maggie Reilly’s Close your Eyes (track 4) has grown on me for its crazy audio quality and alluring timbre. This ballad is recorded with such high fidelity that you feel like you are inside the microphone. As I played around with the toe in, I began to realize that I preferred the on axis setup. The sound was more present, more immediate. Regardless of toe in, the bass was extremely tight and the piano lifelike. I hate saying this because I sound like one of those reviewers, but it was like a veil was lifted. Honestly. The holdover on notes was reduced, everything was tighter and clearer, and sounds that were masked by held over notes were now audible. For the first time, I could hear the felt on the piano rub on the strings. When you play a piano, you’ve heard that sound and can identify it readily. But you are not used to hearing it so clearly in reproduced music. Suddenly, I was hearing it again.

DTS CD: Diana Krall – Love Scenes (read the review)

Ok, I know this isn’t a two channel CD and I’m playing it though a two channel preamp but I like it and most of the material is in the right and left channels anyhow. Diana Krall’s venerable CD is a staple in a reviewer’s library. I’ve even been to “hi-end” boutique shops that sport the CD and/or vinyl versions of this album. Listening to Diana Krall’s voice though the Usher S-520’s was like being in the room with her. Every moment of silence, every note, every breath, every word was immediate, was present. You know what? I don’t even believe me. I’m writing this and thinking, “I can’t possibly mean this can I?” But I’m listening to it right now, I’m thinking all these things. I can’t help but challenge you to go out and demo these speakers and see if you agree.

DVD-A: Porcupine Tree – Deadwing (read the review)

I reviewed this album a little while back and for the most part it is a good listen. The style is a little inconsistent so for most people, they are going to love some of the songs and loath the rest. The thing about detailed speakers is that they tend to be unforgiving. You put in well recorded music and you can have a transcendent experience. You put in compressed or poorly mastered music and they’ll let you experience every agonizing moment of it. While I’m not suggesting that Deadwing has poor audio quality (far from it) but there were certain decisions made in order to get the sound they wanted (i.e. distortion, reverb, and feedback). This means that during some of the faster tracks, the guitar can become a little fatiguing. I found that while I preferred the S-520’s pointed directly at me (or near to it) for the ballads (and most of the other listening I did), on these faster tracks, I preferred them pointed out. Even on the ballads and other music they sounded great pointed out but I felt they sounded a little better pointed at me. As a concession, I generally kept them facing straight ahead or with a slight toe in (maybe 10 degrees) during causal listening. Even in this configuration with this type of music I found them a little bright.

Recommendations

Are you kidding? If you’re looking at bookshelf speakers, try to find someplace to listen to the S-520s. You’ll have to locate a dealer which might be a problem for some but do what you can to get a listening session. Bring your favorite music (and a large selection). Plan to spend some time. The Usher Audio S-520’s are worth it. My only suggestion? Don’t listen to these first. Listen to everything else you can get your hands on first. Cause you’re probably going to walk out with these speakers. Better you should be sure of your purchase at the time rather than wonder if that Audioholics guy really knew what he was talking about. My only caveat is that in the wrong room (read – lots of hard surfaces) the “revealing” nature of these speakers will cross over from “a bit bright” to “oh my god my ears.” You’ll want to make sure that this type of sound is for you.

Conclusion

Can you tell I like these speakers? For a while I’ve been getting a reputation among my peers as being too harsh – too hard on products. I don’t know how they are going to react to this review, but I know how you should. Run, don’t walk, to your nearest dealer to get a session with these speakers. The build quality is without equal, the component quality rivals (and bests) speakers much more expensive, and the sound if phenomenal. As far as I’m concerned, these are THE budget bookshelf speakers to beat.

About Usher Audio

Usher Audio Technology speakers and electronics are built for the experienced listener who just won’t compromise on sound quality even at moderate prices. Our loudspeakers are produced with skill and pride in an ultra-modern factory in Taiwan with great attention to manufacturing efficiency and productivity, turning out beautifully-crafted speaker systems incorporating advanced technologies like beryllium midrange drivers to match Usher’s superb beryllium tweeters.

Usher’s designs are optimized from the start of the manufacturing process with full confidence that Mr. Tsai and his dedicated employees are as devoted to perfectionist sound, surprising value, and extraordinary craftsmanship as importer MusikMatters is.

We are very happy to have Dr. Joseph D'Appolito as Usher’s technical consultant since early 2000. He provides guidance on all our speakers’ crossover designs. A world-renowned authority in audio and acoustics, he specializes in loudspeaker system design with credentials galore: BEE, SMEE, EE and Ph.D., degrees from RPI, MIT and the University of Massachusetts. As a member of the Audio Engineering Society, Dr. D'Appolito has published over 30 journal and conference papers. His most popular and influential brainchild has to be the MTM (midrange/tweeter/midrange vertical array) commonly known as the D'Appolito Configuration that’s used by dozens of manufacturers throughout the world