Test głośników Usher Mini Dancer Two w Hi-Fi+

HiFiPlus 11/2009
Chris Martens

Usher Mini Dancer Two floorstanding loudspeaker

As some HiFi-Plus readers may know, Usher’s Be-718 stand-mount monitors have found considerable favour in the US, receiving particular praise in a review authored by Robert Harley, editor-in-chief of our US-based sister magazine, The Absolute Sound. In fact, the Be-718 has earned a commanding reputation as one of those magical products that successfully caters to listeners with (very) high-end tastes, but whose price fits within sensible, real-world budgets. What’s not to like about that?

Well, good though the Be-718 is, it does have a few acknowledged limitations such as adequate, but not great, low bass response as well as a somewhat limited dynamic envelope (the Be-718 offers serious dynamic punch as traditional standmount monitors go, but — let’s face it — it is not a fullsized floorstander). To understand the mission of Usher’s new Mini Dancer Two, then, picture it as a floorstanding speaker that leverages the design and core sonic strengths of the Be-718, but that addresses customers’ expressed desires for deeper bass and more expansive dynamics.

The Mini Dancer Two uses the same exotic metal dome tweeter as the Be-718 plus two of the 718’s mid-bass drivers, placing them in a D’Appolito array and housing them in a tall, deep, reflex-loaded floorstanding enclosure with curved sidewalls. The resulting speaker is quite large (‘Mini’ in name only) and strikingly handsome, with an overall level of fit and finish that makes the Mini Dancer Two appear more expensive than it is. As you’ll discover in a moment, the theme of value that belies price applies to the sound of this speaker, too.

Like the Be-718, the Mini Dancer Two is a highly detailed and revealing speaker, yet one that never sounds cold, sterile or overly analytical. Instead, it presents layer upon layer of subtle sonic details and musical textures in a natural and unfussy way, almost as if saying, “retrieving tons of musical information takes no great effort on my part; can’t all speakers do that?” It also possesses tonal purity in spades and is blessed with a rich, vibrant, evocative sound that pulls you deep inside the music. On most material there’s an overarching quality of ease about the Mini Dancer Two that represents, I think, a step forward from what the Be-718 can do.

Imaging and soundstaging are very good, although the Mini Dancer Two gives a different and slightly more distant perspective on the music than the Be-718 does. Unlike many of the other Usher models I’ve reviewed, the Mini Dancer Two seems to image best with the speakers facing straight ahead and not ‘toed-in’ toward the listening position. Be aware, though, that the speaker needs some run-in time (50-100 hours) before it fully opens up. As playing time accumulates the sound becomes noticeably smoother, more expansive, and more three-dimensional, while bass impact and pitch definition also improve.