Sonus Faber ripoffs...

[michaelab]

See here

Have seen these speakers mentioned a few times recently, the design of their X series look to me like ripoffs of SF EA and/or Concerto speakers.

And their User CP-777 http://www.usheraudio.com/speaker-usher777.html looks like a JM Labs Utopia "me too" attempt...


Michael.

 

[kermit]

yep , they definatly look like sonus fabers .
as for looking like jm labs , mmm not so sure , i think they,re better looking (and have the boat-tail shape as extra )
i , m wondering how they compare price-wise and sound wise , to both sonus faber and jm labs .
it would be nice to find cheaper alternatives.
it really bugs me that i,m going to have to email the company or one of their suppliers .
i really do wish companies would add prices to their product pictures/ descriptions .

 

[michaelab]

Well they've got to be cheaper than those Utopia Be's in your avatar

Michael.

 

[kermit]

right , found some prices if anyone else is interested

the ones above are £5299 , theres some pre-owned at the dealers for £3500 .
so , no cheap alternative here

they,re also advertising 718,s and 719,s from £500 (no picture)

the above are £6799 new , theres also a pre-owned pair going for £4500 .
as value for money (if they sound good ) the floorstanders look like a better buy than the standmounters by some margin (theres a lot of boat-tailed woodwork going on , without the driver count)

but still a fair chunk of dosh .

 

[kermit]

Well they've got to be cheaper than those Utopia Be's in your avatar

by those standards , then they,re probably all bargains .
not too sure but arn,t the Be,s £35,000

 

[adam]

Blimey rip off or what,that first picture looks just like the concertino home

How do you get away with that,i've seen their speakers here and when i first saw them i thought they were sonus faber,and when i saw the name usher.....who? yeah rip off!

 

[HenryT]

Originally posted by kermit
it really bugs me that i,m going to have to email the company or one of their suppliers .
i really do wish companies would add prices to their product pictures/ descriptions .

I think this may have something to do with the now common practice of manufacturers no longer (being able to?) publish RRP's (Recommended Retail Prices).

We now have SRP (Suggested Retail Price), but yes, by implication the retailer is not obliged to sell the item at a fixed price. Something to do with engendearing fair competition between retailers within members states of the EU?

I've even been told at stands at hi-fi shows by a manufacturer that a retail price list is not available when I've asked for when, because they are not permitted to publish them - what?

I'm sure this has something to do with the infinite wisdom of the beaurocrats in Brussels. :gary:

I maybe barking up the wrong tree here, but somethng in the back of my mind seems to recollect something along these lines.

 

[kermit]

I think this may have something to do with the now common practice of manufacturers no longer (being able to?) publish RRP's (Recommended Retail Prices).

yep , your probably right Henry , though it,s still a pain in the ass

seeing that your thinking of a pair of butch floorstanders , Henry , maybe those big Ushers are just what you need .

 

[domfjbrown]

Well, Usher Audio don't have any content on their site as far as either of my works browsers are concerned. If a site's developer can't be arsed to author to standard HTML as well as Flash or ActiveX, the company aren't worth my time - sorry...

I thought websites were supposed to be designed so that anyone can access them?

 

[michaelab]

I couldn't agree more Dom. There's entirely too much Flash bollox on the web these days

Michael.

 

[HenryT]

Originally posted by kermit
seeing that your thinking of a pair of butch floorstanders , Henry , maybe those big Ushers are just what you need .

Richard , I've promised myself, no box swapping for the rest of this year. Although there'd be no harm in adding the Ushers to the shortlist of currently just one brand at the moment. I feel the next set of speakers will more than likely be a mid/upper-mid ranking pair of Meadowlarks having heard 2 that I like, especially GrahamN's Heron i's. Will wait and see what the Blue Herons turn out like if/when WM gets his later on this year.

What with the favourable dollar/pound exchange rate though, it'd be so tempting just to import a pair anyway... Must resist...

 

[wadia-miester]

Henry, I already know how good they sound, hence why The wait (while they build em') is entirely worth while

 

[Robbo]

Maybe its just me, but I think those usher audio speakers are a bit naff looking.

 

[bottleneck]

gonna go out on a limb here..

I dont think the standmounts by Usher look anything like Sonus Faber stand mounts. The angles on the front and the driver count etc.. its all different.

The floorstander, it does look like a boat shaped amati... hardly the only company to do that though... wilson benesch even that irish chap o'heacha I think hes called is doing boat backed floorstanders.

I actually PREFER the look of the Usher ones though (both speakers) , although Ive heard neither, but looks wise prefer the Ushers.

We cant all be the same...

Unfortunately couldnt (and wouldnt even if I could) buy them on £££ grounds.

 

[lAmBoY]

I heard the ushers at the heathrow show - even in a naff room they sounded sublime - one of my faves of the show. The designer (Joe D'Appolito IIRC) has a proven past of success and hails from one of the more important audio towns (not Salisbury), Boulder Colorado. I was lucky enough to visit (the company i work for has a design centre there) - great place and highly recommended for a holiday.