I own 5 of these now. 3 are the RLCs in a Hm.theater set up. I Love 2ch music as much as the latter. So I just recently purchased the last 2 pair a few weeks ago for $1200 on eBay. I paired those with a teac ai-3000 amp that purchased for $970 off audiogon.. then paired with an eastern electric mini max tube preamp u can pick up used for less than $500..with an audio engine b1 dac for $150 ..and let me say. OMG!..I've never heard any system sound to good.. I've heard a few!..do your research on each product I've provided. Yes..had you purchased everything brand new you would have spent over $7500. And this system would probably best many systems costing twice as much..but that's the point..you can search the used market and for less than $3k, with these be-718s being part of the expense. Have a system that will blow you and your audiophile friends away!..don't bother trying to hook these up to a small integrated..these speakers need POWER to come alive ..I KNOW I had these paired with bel canto 1000 monos. Then when I downsized i used a string of integrated. Including anthem. This teac ai-3000 is a beast. Seriously, weighs 75lbs..300w p/ch..has tons of control over these speakers. Especially the bass..and though it is an integrated and sounds really good using source components direct. If u use the bypass feature(amp only) and put a good preamp in the chain WOW!..dynamics, clarity, soundstage..bad recordings sound ok..great recordings sound like you are there! I do my serious listening in total darkness and these speakers disappear into a high wall of beutiful sound. u can't ask for more unless your ready to spend 10s of 1000s. I know this is supposed to be a review of the ushers and it is..they sound fantastic!.but u need to pair with good source components to get the best from them.. their best driven with a couple hundred watts. No, you won't use them unless your deaf and want to feal the music. But the control and headroom make these speakers do magic. So give them lots of power and a good source and these speakers may be the last you will ever need !.. and it would be nice to know what others are pairing their ushers with?

For the price and the performance, there are no weaknesses. They go low for a bookshelf and the highs sparkle!..

Great speakers - not for those people who like "loudness effect" sound. They are natural, liquid, homogenic, musical... speakers.
There are stories that the driver units in disproportion. That the tweeter better than midbass. I disagree - sounding bold, coherent and detailed. What else?
All recommendations.

These are incredible speakers. They can be compared with speakers in the $5000 plus range. I know, I hear that a lot but I've listened to a lot of speakers and only until I got to that price range is when it started becoming debatable as to which was preferred. The separation of different elements of the music is excellent, the highs are gorgeous, the mids are sweet, big soundstage. It has an amazing ability to give you everything you want out of a speaker. They are a very natural and balanced sound. The bass is incredible for a bookshelf.

I've also recently had some listening sessions with other speakers just to see how the Ushers would compare after having lived with them for a few months. It made my opinions of these speakers more concrete. I listened to some dynaudio focus 160's and the ushers are in another league. The dynaudio's competed in the midrange but not anything else.

O and did I mention how these are the best looking speakers? I have the black piano finish with the birch wood and o man are they lookers. My girlfriend is now converted! Safe to say these will convert your wife to an audiophile LOL. Ushers - The Wife Converter.

I have went through lots of speakers before settling on these. All the speakers I have ever owned there has been something that bothered me about them in the first couple of weeks. I cannot fault these boys. They are easy to listen to, dynamic, excellent tweeter, tight bass. Best of all they have a quality about them where everything just sounds right. Moved from Paradigm studio 100 (too boring), to Klipsch RF-7 (too bright), To Paradigm S4 (sounded excellent but soundstage was small and somehow sounded plastic. Can't describe it), To Dynaudio Focus 140 ( great little speaker just bass was too boomy and not very exciting), to Swan Diva 2.2 (yuck). I have listened to many others as well. Dynaudio C1 beats the Ushers IMO but by a very short distance. I listen to Rock, Metal, Country, Blues, and everything I throw at em just sounds right. I am running with Odyssey Audio Stratos Plus, Nad C541i cd player, and DA&T U2 DA and preamp. Also I have seen lots of discussion regarding how to tell if they are US version. Take out the woofer and look to see if the speaker wire is blue and white. If it is not they are not the US version.

Incredible base output given their size, no need for a sub.

Sound just as good whether played soft or very loud.

Become Invisible when your eyes are closed.

Show up a poor quality souce.

I think they are slightly ugly due to their unusual proportions, although I do seem to be in the minority on this point.

Need an amp of at least 50wpc

I have owned many very fine speakers over the years including Quad ESL63s, Dynaudio 1.3s, Castle Howards, Ruark crusaders etc. but for me the mix of abilities that the Ushers posess make them standout, they are the the most accomplished speakers I have every owned. No siingle aspect stands out, if you close your eyes they simply vanish due to their ability to seamlessly intergrate all aspects of the speaker into a music experience. Worth every penny, outstanding.
(Price paid above is in pounds).

extended bass - no need / want for anymore
nice mids
clear extended treble
brilliant looks - high WAF
build quality and hardware is excellent
matching stands
excellent detail

limited availability in Australia
price a bit expensive perhaps but you get what you pay for.
have to dust the things regularly as the gloss finish show it up.
shows up weaknesses in your other equipment or source material.
have heard larger sound stages but not in my current room.
can sound a little harsh when playing poorly produced cd's.

Beautiful looks and sound to match.
This review of of the 2007 model in piano black which matching stands.
Overall I am very happy with these. They are the best speakers I have owned and I think I would need to spend considerable more to improve much. I have heard better but I think I would need to deal with my room acoustics and other equipment before upgrading these speakers.
I have not experimented too much as yet as these speakers were easy to position for good sound quality and I have since just sat down and listened to the music which is a great thing. I now just think about what I want to listen to next...which is a good thing for me.

Customer Service

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Similar Products Used:

b & w 602 series 3
a bunch of small stand mount speakers prior to that.
AR floorstanders