Guys:
I am the lucky person that Shane is allowing to break-in his brand spanking new Usher Mini Dancer 2 Speakers. Shane delivered the Mini Dancers this afternoon and while small as compared to the Usher BE-20's they are not tiny speakers. I hope to be able to post pictures tomorrow but they are roughly 10" wide across the face, approximately 48" tall, have a beautiful walnut cabinet and weigh approximately 95 lbs. Of course my wife loves the way they look in the room with the comment "they look like a fine piece of furniture."
Prior to bringing in the brand new, unopened speaker boxes Shane and I spent a few minutes listening to my system with the Timepieces. Since Shane last heard the system I have moved the speakers to a near field listening position and have added the dedicated 20 amp lines/outlets. Shane commented it was the first time he had heard the Timepieces with a distinct sound stage that was 3 feet behind the speakers. Trust me, when I say my system sounds the very best it has ever sounded.
We bring in the Mini Dancer 2's and move the SP Tech Timepieces to the rear of room. My Timepieces are in the studio black finish and to be honest have a plain monitor speaker appearance. The initial reaction to the Mini Dancer 2's is that they are very distinctive looking. Black Face with two dark cloth covered (approximately 7") speakers in the upper half of the speaker face with a silver accented tweeter between the two cloth covered speakers. The entire rear portion of the speaker is a curved walnut wood. As stated earlier my wife thinks they are beautiful.
I should note I have never had any speakers in this system other than the SP Tech Timepieces. Shane offered me the opportunity to break-in these new speakers for him and he wanted me to have the opportunity to hear different speakers in my room. They are new and tight out of the box and you quickly realize the Mine Dancer 2's do not have the bass of the Timepieces but they seem to have a more refined midrange. Position wise, the Mini Dancers are moved back into the original position that I had the Timepieces until very recently. In this position the Timepieces did not have a distinct sound stage, in this room, while the Tiny Dancers do and they are brand new.
I wanted to post some initial thoughts about the Mini Dancer 2's and will continue to post updates as I spend more time with them. I am hopeful that Shane will allow me to keep them for 2 to 3 weeks and until just before I have to part with them I will not put the Timepieces back into the system. I spoke with another friend today and he told me I should let my brain adjust to the new sound and then put the Timepieces back into the system.
My initial reaction to the Mini Dancer 2's is:
1. They are beautiful with very high WAF.
2. They do not over power the room with boomy bass but they produce a full range of sound.
3. They produce sound in a relaxed, enjoyable style.
4. They have excellent midrange and upper-end detail.
5. I enjoy listening to them.
I really appreciate the opportunity Shane has provided to me and encourage anyone interested to contact him and arrange an audition of these speakers.
Ken