Pint-Sized Mind Blower

Back in the cartoon-watching days of my youth, I was a big fan of Mighty Mouse. Something in my personality really responded to the idea of the little fellow performing heroic deeds far out of proportion to his size, and that same something is probably what makes me love good mini-monitor loudspeakers today. I get a real thrill when I hear a small, affordable speaker produce an almost impossibly big sound, and one such is the $300/pair Usher S-520 that is the subject of this review.

Since Usher is not yet a household word among audio and home-theater enthusiasts in the US, perhaps some background is in order. Usher Audio Technology is a relatively large high-end audio company based in Taiwan; its primary products are loudspeakers and a growing line of electronics. The firm's hallmarks are a passionate commitment to sound and build quality (both of which apply from the most to the least expensive models in the product line), serious expertise as a manufacturer of world-class speaker drive units, and—last but not least—a rock-solid dedication to building products that offer great value for money. I was favorably impressed when I reviewed Usher's $2100/pair CP-6311 floorstanding speaker in AVguide Monthly Issue 6, and I came away from that experience curious to find out how far Usher's entry-level S-520 speakers might push the performance/dollar envelope. Before we delve into the particulars of the S-520s, though, let's take a moment to consider some of the pros and cons of mini-monitor designs in general. On the plus side of ledger, the best mini-monitors are known for superb "disappearing act" imaging and soundstaging, for midrange and treble performance that rivals that of larger and more expensive speakers, and for their ability to produce at least a modicum of enjoyable bass. For obvious reasons, mini-monitors make a great fit for smaller rooms and apartments, and in some cases sound better in those environments than would larger speakers that could "overload" the room. Finally, mini-monitors not only make a great way to get started in the high-end audio game without spending a fortune, but they also offer the possibility of a clear upgrade path through the addition of supplemental subwoofers (see Tom Martin's review of the ProAc Tablette mini-monitor used with a REL subwoofer and Jim Hannon's review the Snell K7 mini-monitor and companion B300 subwoofer to get an idea of how well this approach can I work in practice).

For any mini-monitor, however, the key to success is producing sound that is dynamic enough, and near full-range enough, that listeners will find the speaker satisfying in its own right (that is, without really requiring a subwoofer to get decent results). Mini-monitors are in a sense fighting an uphill battle against the laws of physics in both areas, partly because their small drive units and enclosures are not conducive to producing deep bass, and partly because those small mid-woofers must cover an awfully broad range of musical frequencies (where the inevitable tradeoff is that small monitors can be tuned either to go low or to play loudly, but not both at once). Thus, the art and science of good mini-monitor design lies in juggling parameters so that listeners will hear bass that sounds reasonably full and accurate (even if not deeply extended), and will hear dynamics that express much of the life of the music (even if the speakers cannot reproduce a full orchestral crescendo at realistic levels). As we'll see in a moment, Usher's designers have done a great job balancing these kinds of design tradeoffs in the S-520.In truth, though, the very first thing a new S-520 owner will notice is not the speakers' sound, but rather their exquisite, gem-like build quality. At this price point, most manufacturers would give you speakers with vinyl-clad cabinets equipped with modest drive units and with a single, inexpensive pair of binding posts, but Usher gives you lovely cabinets veneered with real wood on all sides (even on the back), high-quality drive units (including a clear, molded thermoplastic mid-woofer reminiscent of the drivers used in some of ProAc's exotic small monitors), and two sets of beefy, gold-plated brass binding posts (to facilitate bi-wiring). Wherever you look, small construction details suggest the S-520s could probably fetch three or four times their $300/pair asking price (as, indeed, many small high-end monitors do). In short, this is a lot of speaker for the money.