SteveC Posted February 3, 2013 Posted February 3, 2013 Interesting, I may have to buy another pair to try in a surround sound setup later on...Although I'm more a fan of 4.0/4.1 setups rather than 5.0/5.1. Those bass stands do movies justice? The oomph I mean... In my room which is tiled and lively, they are fine. There is definitely deep rumble. Audyssey is treating them as large and am sending full range to them. But music is where thy sound just right to me. I don't have a sub so am 5.0 for movies.
bebop Posted February 4, 2013 Posted February 4, 2013 I would probably just stick some Bunnings gel pad feet. Auralex foam is quite good though as each pair comes in 8 pieces of foam (4 for each speaker). As a result, they can cater for larger speakers since the base can be widened by allowing a gap, and you have the options to sit the speakers level, angled up or angled down. Thanks for the suggestions. Might head down to Bunnings to see what they have. The Auralex foam is out for as one of the speakers sits directly above the desk's cable management "hole". So I need something that can lift the speakers up about 1 to 2cm. I'm currently using blobs of blutac. After searching, I can came across these two Isoacoustics stand and the Dynaudio SF1 stand, as they can both tilt the speaker up. The Isoacoustics is about $120 in AUS, although I'm not sure how much the Dynaudio SF1 are. Anyone had experience with these on the desktop? The S520 sound pretty good. It's clean and details. Bass isn't as full as I'd prefer, but switching from the Pure I20 to computer with the Drongofly improved everything, including a bit more punchy bass. The speakers are still new though, with less then 5 hours on it.
madamesimplifi Posted February 4, 2013 Posted February 4, 2013 Actually holliswhy has the Iso stands and he really likes them. If you need to lift them for cable hole then that might be a good option.
L J T Posted February 5, 2013 Posted February 5, 2013 Yep, I have had one for a week! It's big!Basically like 2 s520's lying down side by side. Build quality is exactly like the s520. I had a much smaller Wharfedale centre before this and the difference is significant. $300 from RK Cable plus delivery. Not really a big investment when you consider you get 2 woofers and a tweeter from the s520. Have only tested a couple of movies but it sounds right to me having all 3 fronts matching. I run the centre and rears via a Marantz AVR. Fronts are through Emotiva XPA-200. All run through Audyssey. I have the s520 on the SW-520 Bass stands. Rears are a couple of Wharfedale Bi-poles which do the job and hang flat on the wall. Thanks for the info. I am considering getting the centre and two sets for 5 channel while using my sub. My listening space is medium in size and pretty well damped despite having tiled floors and large glass windows. How did you find the levels when I integrating all the speakers? I tend to take manufacturers sensitivity claims lightly and refer to my own SPL measurements for integration. Normally I find the centre needs a db or two to match the fronts. Is this the case?
SteveC Posted February 5, 2013 Posted February 5, 2013 I had to turn the centre right up with the previous speaker which was much smaller and obviously not matched. When I got the s525 I just re ran Audyssey and left it as is for the moment and it sounds about right. I haven't watched something with a lot of dialogue yet which is probably where you hear it. So how do you measure? I assume you run the test tone per speaker at a certain volume and see if they are the same? I can give it a try. I suppose being front ported would make them good for rears as you could put them right up against the wall if you need.
L J T Posted February 5, 2013 Posted February 5, 2013 I just use the recievers test tones and an accurate SPL meter, the auto stuff gets very close, I like to do it manual to finish it off. Yes the ports will allow placement up against walls and corners, hoping to cross them at 80Hz.
betty boop Posted February 5, 2013 Posted February 5, 2013 Thanks for the suggestions. Might head down to Bunnings to see what they have. The Auralex foam is out for as one of the speakers sits directly above the desk's cable management "hole". So I need something that can lift the speakers up about 1 to 2cm. I'm currently using blobs of blutac. After searching, I can came across these two Isoacoustics stand and the Dynaudio SF1 stand, as they can both tilt the speaker up. The Isoacoustics is about $120 in AUS, although I'm not sure how much the Dynaudio SF1 are. Anyone had experience with these on the desktop? The S520 sound pretty good. It's clean and details. Bass isn't as full as I'd prefer, but switching from the Pure I20 to computer with the Drongofly improved everything, including a bit more punchy bass. The speakers are still new though, with less then 5 hours on it. good to hear re bass would want to consider augmenting with a sub perhaps. ps re what to put them on a desk top. my suggestion is humble blu-tak. works a treat for stands and am sure will work just fine for a desk as well.
bebop Posted February 5, 2013 Posted February 5, 2013 Thanks al. Yes, using blobs of humble blutac at the moment. I've just ordered the Isoacoustics stands. The Rega Brio-R/S520 is certainly an improvement over the Geneva S.
THOMO Posted February 5, 2013 Posted February 5, 2013 Has any body tried stacking these? People wanting a bigger sound might find this works well and would be an alternative to buying bigger floor standing speakers. For what they cost it could be worth a try. A friend used stacked AR18s years ago and it worked really well. It is generally best to invert the top speaker although the offset tweeter might cause some imaging issues.Perhaps stacking the speakers on their sides with the tweeters aligned verticallly might work well. You would also need an amp that can handle low impedence although the Ushers are apparently a 9 ohm load and do not dip down too much below about 6 ohm so wiring them in parallel [which halves the impedence] should not be a problem for most amps.
JeffK Posted February 7, 2013 Posted February 7, 2013 Also considering the Ushers (with bass stands I have and the centre which I haven't) to replace my Dynaudio 5.1/7.1 HT setup. That is Usher SW520/S520 fronts with 525 centre and pairs of S520 for sides/rear to replace Dyn Audience 62's and Dyn centre, 42 sides and 42W rears. Currently I'm using the 520 combo as an alternative stereo system. Subwoofer when required would still be my Definitive Technology.
Andy782 Posted February 26, 2013 Posted February 26, 2013 Looking at getting the ushers for my 3.5 x 4m lounge room. Was wondering how they'd fare without a sub or bass stands? Wondering if they will sound a bit thin?
19hZ Posted March 18, 2013 Posted March 18, 2013 I've just moved to a powered speaker combo and cant see the point in selling my 9 month old usher's for $300. Not really sure what I could do with them now... I've been pushing them from a Emotiva amp (the little a-100, or should i say +5kg tank). Sounded great, overkill in my appt.
19hZ Posted March 18, 2013 Posted March 18, 2013 Looking at getting the ushers for my 3.5 x 4m lounge room. Was wondering how they'd fare without a sub or bass stands? Wondering if they will sound a bit thin? They are pretty good down to around 50hz, you're more likely to have too much bass in the room modes than not enough bass over all. They will sound better with a sub covering the last octave and a scratch
kzone Posted March 23, 2013 Posted March 23, 2013 Guys, what do u think is a fair price for a used, good condition S525 centre? Been trying to let go mine but surprised in the lack of interest. wondering if its due to the price. The 520 on the other hand, I sold them twice n both times were snapped off real fast.
Juniorsg Posted March 24, 2013 Posted March 24, 2013 For Usher its entry bookshelf S-520 are more well received. Unfortunately its entry level center channel not so. Price is just another factor.
kzone Posted March 24, 2013 Posted March 24, 2013 cos its not a good centre? what do S520 owners use as a good matching centre to their setup?
PhilTT Posted March 24, 2013 Posted March 24, 2013 I don't think its about the price or performance of the speakers. Its the number of users out there. And how many actually use usher for HT.
kzone Posted March 24, 2013 Posted March 24, 2013 I think there's a lot of Ushers users out there.. but I guess u're right on the HT part. Most usher users r stereo ppl. Apparently I am too.. dats y selling..
C130 Posted March 25, 2013 Posted March 25, 2013 I think there's a lot of Ushers users out there.. but I guess u're right on the HT part. Most usher users r stereo ppl. Apparently I am too.. dats y selling.. i'm using the s525 as centre speaker for my HT and know guys using usher as centre speaker. i reckon the sale of items depends on 'timing' as well.....just maybe no one looking for an used one at the moment. ;)
nkteck Posted March 25, 2013 Posted March 25, 2013 Hi, Anyone modeed their be-718 dmd? Can shared the experience and cost? Sent from my GT-N7000 using Tapatalk 2
Eric Teh Posted March 25, 2013 Posted March 25, 2013 I've not personally opened the BE-718 DMD, but I believe that the BE-718 and the DMD version are actually the same save for the tweeter. The local dealer did offer the DMD upgrade as a drop in replacement for owners of the older version. So, all comments on the mods for the original version should apply to the DMD version as well. The cost of modding this speaker can be as cheap or expensive as you want it to be.
Andy782 Posted March 31, 2013 Posted March 31, 2013 I've just moved to a powered speaker combo and cant see the point in selling my 9 month old usher's for $300. Not really sure what I could do with them now...I've been pushing them from a Emotiva amp (the little a-100, or should i say +5kg tank). Sounded great, overkill in my appt. Cheers for the advice. Went ahead and got them. First impressions are that they are a little light on bass, but will wait until they have a hundred hours on them before I do any critical listening. Maybe also amplification as I'm currently running them off the spare rear channels of my denon receiver. Midrange and dynamics are fantastic. Glad to hear they pair well with the emotiva a-100 as that is on my short list for amplifiers (I need the auto on/off).
Sierra Posted March 31, 2013 Posted March 31, 2013 They are bass shy when new ... but that will fill out with a couple of hundred hours on them. I've got over 400 hours on mine and they are sounding very nice.
sfdoddsy Posted May 7, 2013 Posted May 7, 2013 Anyone know if the yellow ones are available anywhere?
westan Posted May 9, 2013 Posted May 9, 2013 S 520s are only available in Pioneer / Violin, Gloss Black and Gloss White from the factory. Usher has discontinued the other colours.
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