Usher is a good speaker company. I was very impressed with their budget product the S-520 with an audition at a local Usher dealer. Usher even uses quality drivers (Scanspeak and Seas) in some of their high end models.
Are reviews helpful?
Through several pairs of speakers of different brands purchased and sold or gifted to my brother and sister, I have learned the hard way that your setup should be built in a way that your potential audio purchases will have a good chemistry with your existing components in your audio setup. Good gear reviews can help you narrow down your next audio purchase but only trust your ears.
This is not to say that there are no down-to-earth reviewers that do not OFTEN sugarcoat or massage their reports.
Credits should be given where they are due. Bob Reina and Jim Austin at Stereophile are good reviewers. Gregg Johnson at Affordable Audio is another good reviewer that I like.
What to choose, Rotel or NAD?
Rotel is a good company and they have been in the business for a while (almost 50 years) Their warranty period is longer and better than most of their rivals in the budget audio market like Cambridge Audio or NAD or Rega or Onkyo. Rotel budget amps usually have a phono stage which is a plus for many folks here.
Rotel can drive 8 ohm speakers very well and they will deliver beautifully as long as the speaker's impedance load does not dip below their commercial ratings be that 8,6, or 4 ohms.
Rotel budget amps are open and can complement several metal dome speakers quite well. Rotel budget amps can partner well with speakers like B & W 805 or the Focal JM Lab Utopia.
Rotel, partnering with decent speakers like B & W 800 series, Focal Utopia, and Usher high end models can form a great audio reproduction partnership that will beatifully grace any 2 channel audio setup.
Why do I own NAD rather than Rotel?
My problem is that I have a way too sensitive pair of ears which has limited me the options to own some of the best speakers with metal dome tweeters available on the market like Focal Utopia, Usher Be, Totem, B & W, etc....
And because of that limitation, I have to settle with speakers that sport silk dome tweeters like Mission and Dynaudio if I want to listen for hours without having that listening fatigue.
NAD's design philosophy just happens to complement my listening habit and my silk dome tweeters Dynaudio. NAD amps (Classic Series) are ugly but they can drive almost any speakers with tough impedance loads like Totem and Dynaudio. And they are a bit warm for some people but that could help tame the harsh high end in some metal dome speakers like the JBL S-38 that I currently own in my second system.
NAD and Rotel are both good. If you do not have my sensitive problem, Rotel make some decent gears and boy Rotel budget amps are probably very handsome to boot.
Why do I like Dynaudio?
Dynaudio's silk dome tweeters help alleviate my sensitive listening. I like speakers that run almost full-range (capable of reaching down to the 40 cycle with clean and transient bass) and IMO Dynaudio spends so much time voicing, articulating the bass from their drivers, making sure that the bass do not sound bloated, thin, slow, and weak. Dynaudio are just right in the bass dept in my book.
What to do then?
IMO, the best thing to do is to bring your Usher speakers and your favorite CDs to your local Rotel, NAD, CA dealers, ask the dealers to see if you can hook their amps to your monitors, listen to them for a good while and then decide which one to bring home. You can tip them a little but that little tip will save you so much aggravation down the line.
