Two things greeted us as we walked into the
Usher Audio room. First, there was the sweetly detailed sound; second, there was the
surprising price of the speakers playing.
The new Usher V-604 floorstander ($1480/pair),
with real-wood veneer, is a two-way vented design with drivers arranged in a
D’Appolito configuration, which should be no real surprise given that the speaker was
designed by Dr. Joseph D’Appolito. At the lower end was the V-601, a two-way,
two-driver minimonitor priced at just $700 per pair. It also sports real-wood veneer.
Usher demonstrated both models with their R-1.5 stereo amp ($2250, D-307A
preamp ($2280), and CD-1 CD player ($800), with Analysis Plus cabling throughout.
Both speakers sounded extremely good, with
excellent midrange clarity and tidy highs that belied the speakers’ asking prices.
The V-604 had far more bass and better dynamic capabilities, but the V-601 did seem a
touch more open-sounding.
The price: performance ratio of the new Usher
V-series speakers seems off the charts, and there’s no doubt in our minds that these
models are going to find their ways in many consumers’ homes.
