New Usher reference speakers

sbnx

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Mar 28, 2017
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Wow, 95+ SPL is extremely loud except for peaks every now and again. IME most speakers can't play that loud effortlessly and without significantly more distortion. I'm more of a low 80s SPL and at that volume the Ushers shine. Given a big enough treated room they cast a massive soundstage with lots of gravitas.

Vivids can play very loud without distortion. If 90+ dB is hurting your ears try a better DAC (Although the Aqua is a good one) or perhaps reflections are zinging.

~Todd
 
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sbo6

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May 18, 2014
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Yes, agreed Vivids can. While I don't usually listen that loud I have tested it, my Vivids never hurt my ears. :)
 
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rsrzr

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Jun 22, 2017
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It was between the be10’s and the x-towers and I bought the x-towers. The x-towers have the 7” mid compared to the BE10 4”. I have a treated dedicated room and the bass sounds great. I used 2 subs with the usher mini dancer II’s to even out the bass but sold them when I got the x-towers. I wonder if usher will have a diamond treated 7” mid
 

sbo6

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I would think a better comparison would be the BE20 vs the X Towers. The BE20 and BE-10 both have a Beryllium 5" mid range. The TMD series have the Diamond treated 5" mid range. Whether it's better than the X towers paper mid is TBD.
 

rsrzr

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Jun 22, 2017
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You are right, the BE10 and be20’s do have the 5” mid. I Like the mid driver of the x-towers, but I liked the cabinet of the be10’s. The x-towers give you a few options for wiring. The bass module has a crossover that allows you to jumper from the bass module to the upper cabinet which I did using a synergistic research biwire cable. I Now use a Tri wired setup from my amp which had 2 pairs of posts per channel. This sounds the best to me
 

Mrie-td10

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Nov 17, 2019
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Never had a chance to hear the towers. I do have the new td mid range what is an improvement in detail. What was your biggest difference between the x towers en be series. I would love to compare them.
 

steve59

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Jan 7, 2018
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Those paper mids looked like the ones Vienna Acoustics used in the Strauss and Mahler speakers, doesn't mean they are, but if the new DMD mid range driver is so great why isn't it in their best speaker? the x tower?
 

rsrzr

Well-Known Member
Jun 22, 2017
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Are you guys confusing the x-towers with the grand towers? I have the x-towers which have 3 drivers vs the 5 drivers of the grand towers. The x-towers were direct competitors to the be10’s. The x-towers have the larger mid driver than the 5” in the BE10/be20. The x-towers have the same 7” driver as in the grand tower. I liked the overall sound of the x-towers better but I liked the cabinet of the be-10’s better, so I went with the sound. Plus, I could separate the two speaker boxes if my room required a better location for the bass modules and I can place the top enclosure on stands. The x-towers have the same quality wood work enclosures and very heavy
 

Mrie-td10

Well-Known Member
Nov 17, 2019
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X tower is pretty much a be-10 but with 7” mids and detachable bass. Would be nice to hear them next to each other. Hearing what that mid difference does
 

DSkip

Industry Expert
Aug 26, 2013
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The 5” be woofer is superior in the Be series. The 7” woofer is the same as the one used in the dancer and mini dancer series. I believe the reason you don’t see it in the x tower is because the x was originally designed around the CP-777 stand mount. Released prototype and maybe first editions of the speaker actually used the CP-777. A redesign of the cabinet gives it the much smoother and cohesive look it has today.

The X tower is one of only a few Usher speakers I have not heard. I hope to change that one day.
 

rsrzr

Well-Known Member
Jun 22, 2017
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I wouldn’t say that about the mid woofer in the x-towers. Why would the grand tower at $40k use the same 7” mid and not the 5” be-10 mid?
There are 2 crossovers in the x-tower, 1 in the bass module and 1 in the top enclosure. I am tri wiring the x-towers
 

Mrie-td10

Well-Known Member
Nov 17, 2019
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I just replaced my filters in the be10 and those are also physically separate filters. One for bass and one for mid and high. Ofcourse like all filters it are three. How are you tri-wire a two filter setup? Better to tri amp it doubt that three separate wires will make a difference or you have alot of spare wire than it will have purpose. I read that vertical placement of multiple drivers can enhance the sound stage so for the grand towers its possible that two 7” can sound better.

I also own the md2 with two 7” lows and the dmd tweeter but these dont reach the sound of the be-10. But these are not filtered as mids but as low mid basses so hard to have a honest compare.

Still would love to hear them, its the only way....
 

rsrzr

Well-Known Member
Jun 22, 2017
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I also owned the MD II’s for a few years. Nice speaker but the bass was not tight, too loose. Filled the port and added 2 subs and it was much better.
The x-towers are in a different league. The 11” Eaton woofer is great as well as the DMD tweeter.

As for tri wiring the x-towers, that’s what I’m doing and sounds better than using the crossover in the bass module going biwire to the top enclosure. I run a single cable to the bass module and a biwire cable to the top enclosure From the dual ports for each channel on my amp
 

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