Product Review
 

Usher CP-6381 Floor-Standing Speakers

Part II

August, 2007

John E. Johnson, Jr.

 

The Sound

I tested the Usher CP-6381s with a McIntosh MCD201 SACD player, Lamm L2 Reference preamplifier, and McIntosh MC1201 power amplifiers. Cables were Legenburg.

I placed the speakers about 8 feet apart, toed in slightly towards the listening position, several feet out from the side and rear walls.

 

It's a bit early to be using Christmas music for a review, but we just received this new Telarc release of Nutcracker (SACD-60674), and I love the music, so I thought, "What the heck."

"Overture": violins and flute with triangle which was easily heard in the background. Clear, detailed, no strange harmonics. Very natural timbre. No tizziness or extra sibilance.

"Scene 2": Full orchestra; string bass very tight, not boomy at all. "Scene 9": Piccolo and violins together. Easily separated.

 

Ballad for Edvard Grieg (EMI Classics 0-94639-43992-8): "Piano Concerto in A minor": The opening bars of this piece are recognized by everyone, whether big music fans or not. The piano notes span from top to bottom, and each was near perfectly rendered.

 

Ballet Favorites (Telarc SACD-60625): "Fanfare to La Peri": French horns and trumpets playing together, and easily distinguished.

"Cortege de Bacchus from Act III, Sylvia": Full orchestra blasting away, Tympani were still tight.

"Sabre Dance from Gayane": Xylophone and woodwinds playing together. Separate from one another.

 

Evgeny Kissin: "Schumann Piano Concerto" (EMI Classics 0-946-3-82879-2-6): Again, thunderous piano at the opening. Tweeters didn’t compress. When orchestra and piano were playing together, the piano was not buried in the other instruments.

 

In sum, the CP-6381's strong points are neutral timbre, clarity, and tight bass. If there is a weak point, it would be the lack of deep bass (20 Hz - 30 Hz). With an enclosure of this size, I would have preferred it to have a larger bass driver, say 12" to 15", mounted on the side to maintain the narrow profile on the front. But, since they are the way they are, just use a good subwoofer to add the depths of the lowest octave.

Go to Part III.

© Copyright 2007 Secrets of Home Theater & High Fidelity

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