Usher CP-6371 (1 Viewer)

[Andrew Pratt]

Last week I sold my much beloved M8a's that I custom built a few years ago and replaced them with Usher CP-6371 and the matching X616 center. Here's a review of the 6371's. The new Ushers arrived safe and sound yesterday via freight so I figured I'd snap some pictures of them since Usher is a relatively unknown speaker company on this side of the world. Ushers's been around as a company for over 30 years and employs Dr. Joseph D'Appolito to design and voice their cross overs. I first got to hear the Ushers at CES this past January both in their showroom and in the booth I was working at (NuForce). I also got to meet Dr. D'Appolito himself which was cool. Anyway here's the spec's from the Usher website

X616 Center

Technical Specifications
Drivers 1" 9950C-15 tweeter and 2 no. 7" 8836AC mid bass
Sensitivity: 90dB @ 1watt/1m
Nominal Impedance 4 ohms
Frequency Response 38Hz - 28Khz
Power Handling 100 watts
Crossover Frequencies 3.0 Khz
Weight 22Kgs (inc base)
Dimensions (w*d*h) 63.5cm x 36cm x 28.5cm

CP-6371


Technical Specifications
Drivers 1" 9950-20 Tweeter and 2 no. 7" 8954A Mid bass
Sensitivity: 91dB @ 1watt/1m
Nominal Impedance 4 ohms
Frequency Response 30Hz - 28Khz
Power Handling 120 watts
Crossover Frequencies 2.7Khz
Weight 52.5Kgs (inc base)
Dimensions (w*d*h) 35cm x 65cm x119.5cm

Here's how the came in their packing material.
http://www.nextlevelav.com/forum/att...1&d=1142528812

Base plate with spikes screwed in place. These base
plates are very heavy and feel like cast iron
http://www.nextlevelav.com/forum/att...7&d=1142561079
http://www.nextlevelav.com/forum/att...8&d=1142561087

Installing the base plates. I found it easiest to just lie the speakers on their sides and prop up
the bottom with a couple of pillows.
http://www.nextlevelav.com/forum/att...2&d=1142561135

I highly recomend using a cordless drill for this job as the bolts are long and fine threaded...
http://www.nextlevelav.com/forum/att...3&d=1142561144

http://www.nextlevelav.com/forum/att...1&d=1142561125

I added some doors on the gear rack last week to hide devices I don't need to see daily.
I have IR blaster on the DVR and VCR etc so that's not a problem....plus it helps keep little
fingers off some of the gear. You'll notice though there's the new NuForce P-8 sitting
above the NuForce Ref 9's at the top of the heap. Below that's the Onyko SP1000 and
of course the S-N P965 at the bottom.
http://www.nextlevelav.com/forum/att...4&d=1142561158

Here's the X616 Center speaker. I have it sitting on two small sections of mouse pad up front and a
sorbothane wrist gell strip along the back to angle it down.
http://www.nextlevelav.com/forum/att...9&d=1142561101

http://www.nextlevelav.com/forum/att...0&d=1142561109

My first impression of these is that they sound remarkeably close to the sound I remember from CES where we had the 8571's playing of two pairs of Ref 9's. Granted these don't extend down quite as deep but then my rooms a lot larger then what we had them in but the basic tonality is the same. I will have no problem driving these off a single pair of Ref 9's as they are efficient at 90 dB and rated at 4 ohms so that'll save me from having to worry about bi amping I have a very good subwoofer in the sealed tumult but I won't be using it for music as I find the Ushers play plenty deep enough to satisfy and besides when running off the P-8 pre amp i can't run a sub anyway so its a moot point really.

I'll continue to update this thread as I spend more time with the Ushers and from what we heard at CES these will continue to break in over the next few weeks (they need ~ 100 hours)

 

[Andrew Pratt]

I've now had the Ushers for a couple of weeks and over all I couldn't be more impressed with the Ushers. They produce a huge soundstage that is both deep and wide and they challenge maggies in quickness which is something I never thought possible in a cone speaker. Usher puts out a demo CD for each CES and the 2004 disc contains a drum track where the guy goes nuts for several minutes hammering away and its truely an awe inspiring experience listening to it on the 6371's through the NuForce amps and pre amp.

As example of just how deep the soundstage can be I've now had two people question me if the side surround speakers were turned on as the Ushers can envelope you in sound...its actually pretty freaky on some tracks

 

[Jay Mitchosky]

I gotta back Andrew up on this. He was good enough to host an HT night last week and showed off the Ushers. They create a very impressive wall of sound. Seamless across the front and expanding towards the back of the room. A very, very quick - immediate snap. That drum track is a real winner. Hits on the snare and the cymbals have great snap and presence. Likewise the kick drum. Plus a nice blossom to the bigger rides as they ring out. Really a great track that's now become a staple in my theater. Lots of fun to listen to. That demo CD also has a track with a female solo vocal at the beginning that brings tears to my eyes. Incredible.

 

[AlanZ]

Is Usher an Asian company or UK?

 

[Andrew Pratt]

They're one of the largest speaker companies out of Taiwan I believe.

 

[Jay Mitchosky]

I thought it was Korea. Regardless, nobody should take anything away from the build of these speakers given their overseas origins. Built like proverbial tanks and as far as I could see fit and finish were pristine.

 

[Andrew Pratt]

No they're from Taiwan and you're right Jay these are built as well as any high end speaker I've seen.

http://www.usheraudio.com/profile-history.html

 

[AlanZ]

I knew I had ruled them out for some reason. I'm sure they're great speakers, I just try to support US, Canadian, UK, or German companies as a preference. I've heard a lot of good things about them, though.