Totem The One vs. Usher "Tiny Dancer" Be 718

Sorry, don't mean to sidetrack with your original post. But you brought up about audio shows and such....

It's not so much of Usher sabotaging themselves. They are basically at the mercy of their U.S. distributors. It is a typical story with small Asian companies (in any business) not having expertise in business dealings in forign countries, especially dealing with the west. Unlike some larger corporations, USHER can't afford to spend millions hiring business consultants to help them establish a multi-national corporation and hire the right type of people in each country to represent their company/product. So they rely on importers and distributors. As far as I know, most of the distributors and importers are more focus on selling stuff and making money than being audiophiles.

I was impressed by Usher when I first heard them in the San Francisco show several years ago. They had a great setup in a great room. I had followed them afterwards at several other shows both here in the U.S. and abroad and felt that none of their subsequent shows to date sounded as good as the San Francisco setup. I've also talked to their sales manager in length at several occassions at various shows and also when I was in Taiwan for vacation.

I've been hearing great praises about their BE-10 and -20, and spent some time listening to them at several recent shows. I didn't think they were that great. They were good, but not great. Recently I heard a properly set up BE-20 at a local dealer show room with top notch VTL setup (presented by VTL folks). I was drooling afterwards. NuForce was in the same presentation, and replaced the VTL tube monoblocks with their digital amps during the second half of the presentation. I stole the sweet spot during the break, but after 10 minutes listening to the NuForce/USHER combo, I ran out the door with my ears bleeding.

FrankC

Gundam91: Uh-oh. People like Stehno will be blasting you for bashing NuFarce, the best electronics ever.

Anyway, it's really foolish to show gear at events that draw hundreds of dealers and audiophiles and not spend the extra effort to ensure that your gear sounds as good as possible. This hurts Usher and its U.S. distributors. I continue to be impressed by companies like Totem. Thanks.

9rw, Stehno can blast me all he wants. One of the guys at NuForce is a friend of mine. I think they make good products. But in this case, there was no synergy between the two products, or it could be with something else in the system. Just reporting what I heard.

FrankC

I'm amazed at the assertions bloggers make regarding companies and organizations they know nothing about, besides hearsay.

So, let me set the facts straight.

Regarding showrooms at CES, the U.S. distributor, MusikMatters, has nothing to do with room setup. Usher/Taipei sponsors the CES show and handles in room equipment choices and system setup in the two Venetian Conference Hall rooms. There is one additional Usher room in the Venetian Tower that is done jointly with Oracle Audio. This room is equipped and set up by the MusikMatters and Oracle manufacturer's rep..

The RMAF rooms are set up by the Oracle/MusikMatters rep with the addition of Exemplar Audio and Audio Design and Marketing in the main Lupine demonstration room for 2008.

Usher being mentioned as a small, and I guess (guaging by tone), naive company, is also a misnomer. By "audiophile" product standards, Usher is a very substantial company with revenues between 15 and 20 Million annually. They are the largest audio retailer in Taiwan with 10 locations, and have just expanded their manufacturing capacity with the addition of a new 10 million dollar facility in TaiChung. Believe me, Usher is not at the mercy of its U.S. distributor MusikMatters. Musikmatters gives Usher/Taipei input and suggestions and sometimes they use them and sometimes they don't.

The assertion, "most of the distributors and importers are more focused on selling stuff and making money..." is funny and ironic. My contention is that if more audio companies concentrated less on being audiophiles and more on running their businesses there would be more successful companies. It goes without saying that you need a great product to build a successful company.

Stan Tracht
Partner
MusikMatters, Inc.

"My contention is that if more audio companies concentrated less on being audiophiles and more on running their businesses there would be more successful companies. It goes without saying that you need a great product to build a successful company."

I think Bose would prove you right on the first point, but not on the second.