Written by: Juan C. Ayllon
Translator: R-Sharing
The USHER Audio ML-801 will be unveiled at the “2022 North American Audio Show” (AXPONA) in April 2022 at the Schaumburg Renaissance Hotel Convention Center in the State of Illinois, USA.
Looking out from the deep hotel room, USHER Audio ML-801 is like two statue-like giants guarding the place, guarding the glittering gold and silver jewels. The ML-801, a high-quality mirror-finished ebony wood with a black piano panel tilted back, is inlaid with a tweeter and two mid-bass drivers. The height is nearly four feet, and it can provide the most excellent details and dynamics.
USHER ML-801 is a three-way, three-unit design. The tweeter uses a 1.25-inch magnesium-lithium alloy tweeter and a 5-inch magnesium-lithium alloy midrange unit. , the woofer is placed below, the midrange unit is moved up a few inches, and the tweeter is placed above), delivering music with amazing clarity and depth, and using the “elliptical waveguide ring” to connect the three units Create a wider sound field.
Two-thirds of the back of the ML-801 cabinet, two pairs of high-quality binding posts are equipped with “metal jumpers” that can be removed for Bi-Wire or Bi-Amp ) connection; under the USHER nameplate on the front, there is a rectangular opening, which is the bass reflex hole of ML-801.
The ML-801 is finished in a mirror finish and covered with black glass trim, resembling modern high-end furniture. They are available in Walnut, Ebony “Wood Mirror” and “Wood Natural”. At the bottom of the cabinet, it dampens resonances with a thick, multi-layered curved steel plate, while the internal cabinet support frame is cut from a solid block of MDF.
Fred Kat, head of USHER Audio’s general agency in the United States and Canada, said: “The ML-801 front panel and support frame are made of MDF, and the curved U-shaped main frame on the back of the ML-801 is made of fine laser-cut walnut wood layers. Using high-pressure, high-heat bending, without any tenon, glue, it is only one piece from front to back, compared with the Mini Dancers series, ML-801 is more like a flat U-shape rather than the sharp U-shape of Mini Dancers.”
The feet of ML-801 are a pair of shining rectangular silver steel feet. The conical vertical cone protrudes a few inches to the sides. The high-quality feet stand ML-801 on the ground.
first impression
On the first day of the opening of the “North American Audio Show”, manufacturers attracted guests with authority figures and sales skills. This is where I first encountered USHER ML-801.
On a gleaming, black-and-gold twin-base vinyl player: The Triangle Art Master Reference ($39,990) plays the vinyl, and Andrea Bocelli’s vocals are natural and rich, while the orchestra’s strings, The woodwinds and piano articulate their delicacy in this rich, clean sound.
Triangle Art CEO Tom Vu looked effortless in a blue sweatshirt, jeans and white socks, as he deftly removed the tonearm from the Master Reference and moved it to the $15,500 Triangle Art Anubis turntable. The record was played and played, and a few seconds later, Ella Fitzgerald’s pure mezzo-soprano sang and Armstrong’s gritty, serious baritone rendition of “We Can’t Be “Friends” got me hooked.
It’s breathtaking, but I have to leave. I listened to it again the next day and was mesmerized by Dave Brubeck’s “It’s a Raggy Waltz”. The crisp sound of cymbals, the full percussion sound of the floor tom and the vibration of the drum head are like being in person, which is amazing.
starting point
My only regret is that the exhibition space is too small and there is no acoustic treatment, which limits the pair of large floor-standing speakers that can describe the contours of the audio and video in detail. When the audio show ended on Sunday, I took the USHER ML-801 home to listen to it, and it was not harsh. I emphasize that listening equipment is the focus of reference during the audio show, but your own listening environment is the most important.
Introduction to the space of my audition room
The listening space is located in the front half of a 32ft by 22ft (approximately 19.8 ping) room in the basement, with an approximately 9ft (approximately 2.8m) high painted exposed ceiling, using ceiling sound-absorbing cotton, carpet, and sound-absorbing panels and bass trap, and set up two 20-amp and two 15-amp dedicated A/V circuits. The speaker’s acoustic panel is 4 feet from the front wall and slopes slightly inward, and the emperor’s seat centered on the leather sofa is approximately 10.5 feet from the speaker. This is the audio-visual space that I seriously evaluate.
Over the next week, I spent three beautiful nights and left a deep impression on me, whether it was eating dinner, watching TV shows or listening to evocative singing and dancing music every night.
USHER AudioIntroduction
It has been 50 years since USHER developed from a small audio shop in 1972 to a well-respected, high-quality audio manufacturer. Now, based in their newly completed factory in Taichung, Taiwan, they continue to develop and design superior speakers and amplifiers according to strict standards.
USHER’s official website states: “We believe that uncompromising audio components can and should be priced friendly to all music lovers and audiophiles, and they should be an affordable luxury for most people.”
To this end, they used scientific methods, acoustic engineering, extensive experiments, and strict quality control to reach the USHER official website and declare: “Many USHER amplifiers manufactured in the 1970s are still serving their owners today.”
USHERlike trumpet worldSchiits！
Four years ago in 2018, when I started reviewing the USHER Mini Dancer 2 DMD, I experienced the sound of USHER for the first time. I love these floorstanding speakers so much that I purchased a pair. Equipped with a D’Appolito array and a diamond sandwich tweeter (DMD) (a carbon coating on a metal alloy) between two seven-inch woofers, they retail for $5,300, but they sound Detail from top to bottom is very rich, deep, balanced, clear and punchy, well above its price tag.
I listen to the space USHER Mini Dancer 2 DMD
“You’ll never find better speakers than the USHER TD-10, they might sound different, but they won’t be better,” advises a seasoned insider.
A year later, I reviewed the USHER SD-500 DMD small bookshelf speakers ($2,000) and was pleasantly surprised by their striking similarities: not quite as deep as the Mini Dancers series, but with excellent bass performance, which, considering its price and size, still provides a first-class listening experience. A month later, I was reviewing the $22,000 USHER TD-10 speaker with a DMD tweeter, DMD midrange, and 10-inch Eton woofer. Although they have a similar sound, the TD-10 offers a richer, more gorgeous sound.
A few years later, I heard that the new USHER was using magnesium-lithium alloys in their new products.
Someone told me: “Magnesium is extremely light and fast, making extremely detailed and accurate drivers. They sound amazing! Normally, you’d pay $40,000 to hear them in a good speaker, but in ML- 801 and 802, you can hear them for less!”
What is magnesium? It is arguably the lightest metal, 1.5 times less dense than aluminum, such as magnesium alloy rims used in aviation and racing, which are much lighter than aluminum alloy rims but are equally strong. In fact, Porsche used magnesium when creating the roof structure of the “Porsche 911 GT3 RS”. After testing magnesium, aluminum and carbon fibre, Porsche settled on magnesium, which saves them ten kilograms of weight, making it the strongest and lightest material.
Another experienced audio veteran exclaimed: “USHER is the Schiit Audio of speakers!”
He explained that, like the Schiit, they are worth the money (as the owner of a Schiit Audio Yggdrasil Analog 2 DAC, I agree). He wanted a pair of speakers that would reproduce everything when he was mixing recordings, detail is very important to him, so recently bought my Mini Dancer 2 and have been talking about how they perform across the spectrum ever since. For me, this deal opened up a window of opportunity.
The ML-801 and 802 are designed to bridge the gap between USHER’s Dancer series and its flagship TD series. With more refined internals and crossover designs, better architecture and deeper cabinets than my Mini Dancers, they piqued my curiosity. I was already impressed by the sound of the USHER family, and I really wanted to experience it for myself. Therefore, when the opportunity to evaluate came up, I immediately signed up.
Blue whale-like extremely low frequency test
Majestic and surreal at once, John Clayton’s deep double bass resembles a blue whale with the heavy arc of its tail fin—big, sonorous, delicate, floating from the depths of the dark blue sea of music. Take control of the track with high-caliber solos on “Water’s Edge” (Gerald Clayton). Gerald Clayton’s piano is at ease, and Justin Brown’s cymbals and floor drum sparkle. The sound of the hammers, cymbals and drum kit is mesmerizing, delivering amazing detail and impact through USHER’s magnesium alloy midrange driver, tweeter and its 8-inch carbon fiber woofer.
It’s the House of Blues in Chicago, and the John Mayer Trio are playing “I Got a Woman,” and except there’s a cheering crowd, it feels like they’re rehearsing in my garage while I pull up a couch to watch them. do not do that! Steve Jordan’s jazz drum set plays a punchy rhythm that fills the room and is so real, Pino Palladino’s deep electric bass kicks in, followed by John Mayer’s growling roar, When Meyer’s falsetto – “She did me wrong…” mixes in, I’m mesmerized by the USHER ML-801’s interpretation of this recording, which is brilliant, seamless, and on full display here.
In their elegant performance of the 1812 Overture, the strings sound rich and majestic, and when the woodwinds join in, soft and melancholic. The delicacy is impressive when the instruments grow stronger together. While the visceral crash of the timpani, the progressive waves of the violas, double basses, woodwinds and brass are rendered with exquisite detail, rich tone, and a very real interpretation of large spaces. It’s the Fourth of July, and the booming, crescendoing voices describe victory in this masterpiece—the ML-801 with incredible depth and emotion. This is the best rendition of this classic I’ve heard at home.
The arpeggios played by Eva Cassidy on her steel-string guitar mesmerized and came to life, setting the tone for her clear, tender soprano vocals in “Cathy’s Song.” Textural qualities. Her purity, power and emotion are uplifting, and through the music, draw your attention to the soul in this poignant Paul Simon ballad. The captivating aural approach is lively and intoxicating.
happy audiovisual
Not only that, Bell and I have enjoyed movies and TV for the past few months. With clearer mids and richer, fuller sound, soundtracks have never sounded better, and when it comes to action movies and dramas, USHER delivers a top-of-the-line home theater experience!
The Netflix Sci-Fi Thrillers of 2022“Spider-Man”Very rich and beautiful music. Hit songs include “Song of Logic” (Supertramp), “What Fools Believe” (The Dolby Brothers), “You Make My Dreams Come True” (Darryl Hall & John Oates), “She Blinded With Science Blind My Eyes” (Thomas Dolby) and “Crazy Love” (Poco) sounded great, but as the cast list scrolled and my partner walked up the stairs, I was particularly drawn to hearing myself yell, “Hey, Belle, come back – you must hear this song!”
Herb Albert’s 1979 hit “Rise” was playing and I was literally hooked. Listening on Netflix through an optical fiber connection to my system, I heard details in this classic that I had somehow missed over the years. Go figure it out!
in conclusion
When I shared my initial impressions with an enthusiast group on Facebook a few weeks ago, some people thought my enthusiastic reaction was too nonsense and subjective. However, when I suggested that the ML-801 has better crossovers, internal components, stronger brackets, and a deeper cabinet, he fell silent. Not to mention the magic of the lightweight lithium-magnesium alloy tweeter and midrange.
Compared to my Mini Dancer Two, the mid-range is fuller, richer, and more defined. Everything is better in my opinion.
My fellow traveler commented during a recent listening session: “You know those USHERs can easily sound like $30,000 speakers”. I also agree.
The other day, someone asked me how does the ML-801 compare to the USHER TD-20? I’ve never listened to the TD-20, as for the TD-10 I reviewed, that was in another system and room a few years ago. Also, auditory memory from years ago has been blurred. All I can say is that there are some similarities, and in my new environment, they provide a much better listening performance – with caveats, AV room, equipment and gear (i.e. Pass Labs amplifiers, flagship Straight Wire Cable and the aforementioned Yggdrasil DAC.
I was very impressed with the ML801 and since my room is quite large, the USHER ML-802 was an obvious choice. That said, the ML-801 is very impressive and will definitely shine in a medium sized space.
USHER ML-801 speaker
Retail: Satin Finish $11,950; High Gloss Piano Finish $14,750
Specification
- Tweeter 1.25″ (9980-20MA)
- Midrange driver 5″ (0542MA)
- Woofer 8″ (8955A)
- Sensitivity: 87dB at 1W/1m
- Average impedance: 6 ohms
- Frequency Response: (-3dB): 28Hz to 38kHz
- Power Handling: 160W
- Crossover Frequency: 350Hz, 2.1kHz
- Weight: 52 kg (including base)
- Dimensions (WxDxH): 48cm x 54cm x 116cm