A Look at the Usher Mini Dancer Two DMD Speakers Text and photos by Juan C. Ayllon CHICAGO -- The Usher BE-10 speakers first drew my attention to the brand. A beryllium tweeter, a five-inch mid-bass driver and an 11-inch ETON driver studded piano black angular fronts, curved strips of wood wrapped around swept back bodies that look like muscular versions of an F-16’s wing turned on end, protruding from curved black bases with spikes beneath. I had not heard of them before. In fact, I assumed that R&B pop star Usher Raymond IV licensed a speaker maker to build them under his name and like Beats by Dre headphones, they were probably more bling than substance. After listing my vintage Von Schweikert speakers for sale, I dig deeper and discover that they are manufactured by Usher, a producer of speakers, electronics and speaker drivers in Taiwan since 1972, not an off-brand affiliated with the pop star. Ultimately, I reach out to Fred Katli of Katli Audio, the exclusive U.S. importer for Usher. New BE-10s, which now use synthetic diamond tweeters, are beyond my budget at $16,500 -- while their Mini Dancer Two DMD speakers, which use the same tweeter, bent wood wrapping and piano black face, retail for $5,290, so it’s a no-brainer for me. The tweeter and mid-bass drivers are arranged in the D'Appolito Array The Arrival The name, Mini Dancer, is misleading; they weigh roughly 90 lbs. each and are the same height as the Be-10s (four feet). However, they use the D'Appolito Array with a 1.25" Diamond DMD dome tweeter in between a pair of Usher 8948A seven inch woofers that control its dispersion, resulting in a more seamless blending of drivers (Di’Appolito). I load the speaker boxes into our elevator (our home was originally built for a handicapped person), taking them to the basement and slide them to the carpet in my listening room. Opening the top flaps, I lay them on their sides; cradling them one at a time, I ease them out atop several large decorative pillows. Now I am a bigger guy, so you may want the help of a friend. I bolt the MDF bases onto the bottom, along with two thirds of the spike assembly (the final screw-in point may pierce the furniture cup sliders that I place under the spikes to protect the hardwood floors). I connect a pair of bi-wired Straight Wire Pro Special SC cables to the four speaker posts, fire up the system and begin the burning in process. My solid state Odyssey Stereo Khartago Extreme SE amplifier, rated between 115 to 130 watts into eight ohms, drives these four ohms speakers very well (many amps will drive them, but some won't). My wife, Isabel (AKA "Belle"), is pleased with their clean, modern look; they aren’t swept back like the Be-10s but upright, with the black piano finish composite front and gorgeous curved wood (some friends say they resemble Sonus Fabers) that are not veneer covered MDF, as some reviews purported, but “layers of solid wood heat bent to achieve the curve,” Fred Katli informs me. Specifications
Pump Up the Volume Right off, the Mini Dancers sound extremely detailed but a little bright. However, Katli assures me that after 200 hours burn-in, this won't be an issue. He's right. The upper bass and highs smooth out, conveying whatever is served in front of them with great accuracy, nuance and detail, which makes my job easier as I review the following:
Surprisingly, we hear little difference playing the Dancers with or without the circular woofer covers (maybe a couple decibels difference). Good to know! When friends bring their kids, protecting them from little poking fingers won't compromise performance (the tweeters have a metal mesh covering, too). In between active preamplifiers, I am surprised at how vibrant and enjoyable the music plays using my Richard Lee passive preamplifier (a high quality TDK volume knob linked directly to my Lampizator DAC, I employed it for several years with my Von Schweikert VR-5 HSE speakers). This underscores its improved dynamics, detail and lower end over my former speakers. Ultimately, I miss the enhanced gain and dynamics afforded by a good active preamplifier and purchase a used PrimaLuna Prologue 3. Its added warmth and second order harmonic distortion yields a very gratifying, organic and luscious performance. Tubes are good with Ushers! My friend and owner of The Shoestring Audiophile, Michael “Muppet” Laurance, stops in to hear my system after work and is amazed. “I really liked your Von Schweikerts,” he says, “but your Ushers are more vibrant, detailed and dynamic. You can hear a lot more emotion coming through.” I concur. While the VR-5 HSE speakers were very smooth and exceptional in the midrange, the Usher Mini Dancer Two DMDs not only hold their own in the mids, but bring greater detail, bass and a sense of presence to the music. The Experience Patricia Barber. “Summer Samba (Sambe de Verao)”. Night Club. Blue Note, Premonition Records. 2000. DSD64 The qualities that make Barber “a vocalist of ethereal allure and a jazz pianist of sleek elegance” as Howard Reich quipped for the Chicago Tribune (Reich), are captured with startling realism. Her breathy vocals and resonant piano notes, Adam Nussbaum’s brushed cymbals, snare and toms shimmer and sizzle and Marc Johnson’s woody, subdued bass come alive in front of me, in an intimate space, organic, breathing and magnificent. Rupert Boyd, Laura Metcalf. “Pavane, Op. 50”. Boyd Meets Girl. Sonos Luminus. 2017. DSD128 Native DSD Music download. The Dancers underscore the contrast of the deft, lighter arpeggio of Boyd’s classical guitar swirling around Metcalf’s broader and deeper cello in three dimensions. Again, the sense of space, along with the timbre and virtuosity of these two brilliant artists -- hers more darkly emotive and his, consoling and entreating her to an intimate dance -- are at once very palpable, real and magical. A speaker builder warned me that metal tweeters, such as Beryllium, sound too sharp, but that’s not the case here. Using he Diamond DMD tweeter and the Usher Technology 8948A woofers in the D'Appolito Array is magical. No wonder Do-It-Yourselfers loved the 8948A when Parts Express carried them. They channel Rupert Boyd and Laura Metcalf to the front of my room! Mark O’Connor. “In Full Swing.” Mark O’Connor’s Hot Swing Trio. Sony. 2003. DSD64. The Mini Dancers deliver the dizzying pace, emotion and energy of O’Connor’s violin, Frank Vignola’s frenetic, Django Reinhardt-esque acoustic guitar and John Burr’s brisk walking bass in delicious detail. The virtuosity is undeniable and, again, the Dancers voicing is natural, dynamic and dead on. Aerosmith. “Sweet Emotion.” Toys in the Attic. Columbia Records. 1975. DSD64 The MD2s do jazz, vocals and classical instruments well, but can they do rock? That would be a definitive yes! In this 70s classic lust and rebellion rock anthem of my high school years, the grunge, effects and growl of Joe Perry’s electric guitar, Tony Hamilton’s bass grooves, Steve Tyler’s raspy lead vocals, and Joey Kramer slamming drums sound much better than I’ve ever heard them. Drumsticks tapping time on ride cymbals to Perry’s rebellious guitar romps, Tyler’s and Perry’s harmonizing the classic lines, “Sweeeeeeeeeet, little moooooootionnn,” undergirded by Hamilton’s bass line and Perry’s guitar comping are intoxicating. Concluding Remarks Out of the box, the Mini Dancer Twos tend to be on the bright side which may scare new buyers off, but given adequate break-in time, they settle down, perform extremely well and can be played quite loud. However, if they go too much beyond the 90 dB range, they can take on a harder edge to their presentation. For most music, a subwoofer isn’t needed (In fact, I left mine turned off for the official listening session). When I use the Hsu Research subwoofer, I have it crossed over at 55 Hz where it fills in the very lower levels, where the difference is generally very subtle. For bass-heavy TV and movies, the sub comes in handy. The MD2s highlight differences in cabling, as well as components. I was pleased with enhanced details when I replaced a pair of Blue Jeans copper cables with Straight Wire Virtuoso interconnects (high end silver plated copper cables) in between my DAC and preamplifier. Yet, when I inserted another pair of Virtuosos between the preamp and the amplifier, they sounded a little too detailed ("artificial," Belle said). Replacing them with the pair of Blue Jeans cables sounded more natural, but a touch soft (a pair of borrowed CRL copper cables struck a happy medium, but I will be returning them). And the visceral impact of replacing a Shunyata Venom power cable with a WK Audio "The One" power cable to the DAC and "TheTwo" to the preamp was pretty crazy. I look forward to more fine tuning in the future. Also, as detailed as the Dancers are, I find that the Straight Wire Pro Special SC speaker cables (about $10 a foot) are a great fit; more detailed, higher end speaker cables might be too much. Of course, interaction between speakers, components and rooms -- as well as tastes -- may vary. Bottom line, having listened to lots of speakers and auditioned others at home -- including $95,000 world class horns -- the Mini Dancer Twos really captivate me with their very compelling, detailed, dynamic and realistic presentation that mirror whatever is put in front of it with great accuracy and aplomb. They are an incredible value. As Elton John might say, The Usher Mini Dancer Twos "hold me closer" to the music -- so much so that I bought my review sample. U.S. Distributor KATLI AUDIO COMPANY 13908 Ravenwood Chino Hills, CA 91709-1784 USA Tel: (909) 465-0222 Associated Software and Equipment
Work Cited
“D’Appolito.” InSync. Sweetwater.com. 18 February 2004. Sweetwater Sound. Web. 4 October 2018. Reich, Howard. “Patricia Barber and Renee Fleming Mix Jazz with the Classics.” ChicagoTribune.com. Chicago Tribune. 8 December 2015. Web. 6 October 2018.
4 Comments
Andy West
11/26/2018 09:12:28 pm
Great review, Juan. It comports well with my experience with the Mini Twos. I am really happy with them as well. I've been experimenting with two REL subs and gently damping the front port with good results. I've also been experimenting with using the 2 ohm tap on my Primaluna monos with good results as well, not that the Mini Twos present a particularly difficult load impedance-wise. Best to you and your partner.
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I have to wonder if the wall you're hitting above 90 db is in part amplification. I just landed a pair of be-20 dmd's and as long as I have a room big enough i'll find nothing to replace them.Back to my My comment about the amp. I have a pair of VA Beethovens v2 that sounded great driven by a krell kav 300 il, but sounded pushed playing in the 90's until I replaced the krell with a hegel h360 and while power output is pretty close the speakers play loud and fast now! something I never would have suggested they could do b4. Great review. Thanks
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Great review, I have a pair of the Be 718 DMD excellent speakers for the money, I switched from Martin Logan, and BW 805.
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William DiMarco
3/17/2024 01:46:02 am
I had a pair of these I put them side by side to B&W 804 matrix and guess what ? The difference was barely audible
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