# Usher 8945P and Peerless HDS make me happy



## idiot (Jun 17, 2007)

Brief history:
I had a set of Focal 165K2P installed for three years. Then after I moved from CT to AL, my sound deadening fell onto the back of my Focal woofers, killing them. So I had to replace them.

Pioneer P880PRS
Usher 8945P
Peerless HDS Tweeter
PG Xenon x200.4
Soundsplinter Rl-p15
Avionixx AXT1200.1

Tweeters
HP: [email protected]

Mids
HP: [email protected] LP: [email protected]

Sub
LP: [email protected]


The tweeter aiming is off a bit: they point a little too low and a little too far forward. They're hitting the windows about 2-3 inches forward of my shoulder. I hope that I'll be able to do a better job whenever I try this again, hopefully with a bit more freedom to work in (a garage would be nice!). Fortunately, the HDS tweeters have fantastic off-axis response, so I'm not sweating this too much. It's certainly not dramatic enough for me to re-make my a-pillars, but then again, I'm not quite as hardcore as some of you guys here.  Obviously, they're not painted yet.











I had to cut up my door panels to make room for the Ushers and their huge magnet, but at least the windows still roll all the way down. I made another thread over here about making a grill and got some great ideas, so eventually I'll cover these up with something. But I'm not sure when I'll get around to that. They're fine for the moment, as long as I keep reminding every passenger that I will tear off their face if they kick my speaker. The second picture is at a bad angle; the hole is centered around the speaker, but the bottom part of the surround and frame stick through the hole in the panel.



















*Howard Shore - The Fellowship of the Ring Soundtrack*
This was the first CD I popped in. I skipped ahead to to "The Bridge of Khazad Dum" and didn't realize that my sub was unplugged until I checked at the end of the song. One word to describe these Ushers is _powerful_. My mirrors were shaking half an inch each direction, my doors were moving like I've never felt before, and the opening part of the song was kicking in my chest. So first impressions were pretty damn good. I'd never felt that kind of bass from my K2Ps, which were getting (presumably, see post below) the same amount of power from the same location. Further, "The Breaking of the Fellowship" demonstrated the absolute smoothest top-end response I've heard in my vehicle. Ever. And despite being separated by several feet, the mid and tweeter blend tremendously. The Focals were pretty good about this when I used the built-in crossover correction, but it was still evident at certain times. Granted, I've only been listening for a few hours, but I think the crossover point helps greatly here (the K2P set crosses at ~3.8kHz).

*The Mars Volta - Frances the Mute*
For those unfamiliar with TMV, they are the ultimate test of any tweeter. Between the vocals, guitar, and effects, any possible peaking of your systems response in the high frequencies WILL be exposed. With my un-EQed TN52, this band was honestly painful at certain parts, and that was _after_ I had attenuated -7dB. Now, these HDS tweeters still peak in specific parts and admittedly brought a cringe or two throughout the album, so obviously there's some adjustments needed in my future. But overall, the response was so much smoother than my Focals that I can't really compare them--hell, I made it through the whole CD without touching the volume once... which is the first time that's happened. Vocals are now awesomely crisp, with a kind of clarity I never had with the K2Ps. Also, the low HP on my tweeters really helps to raise the soundstage. I can certainly see why these are such popular tweeters--they sound fantastic. And when "L'Via L'Viaquez" started, the midbass was outstanding--I've never had so much upfront low-end on that song.

I was just about to audition Tool - Lateralus, but I only got through one song before I was called away to barbeque. I didn't even get to break out Meshuggah for some double-kick goodness. 

To summarize, I cannot find one area thus far that hasn't seen an improvement over the Focals. And that's somewhat disheartening seeing as how the K2Ps were... well, much more than I paid for the four drivers I'm using now.


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## c0mpl3x (Nov 30, 2005)

Nice review. I'm glad to hear everything is sounding good!


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## idiot (Jun 17, 2007)

I listened to Dream Theater on my way to work this morning, and it changed my life.


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## Hillbilly SQ (Jan 26, 2007)

how would you describe the tonal signature of these ushers? i've read where they sound dark.


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## idiot (Jun 17, 2007)

I really only have the K2P mids to compare them to, so I'm not sure how helpful I can be. And this isn't an A/B comparison because my K2Ps are fried. However, the Focals were generally considered warm and I can agree with that description, especially when vocals came into play. But if by "dark", you're referring to strong low and weaker high frequencies, I would disagree, although this could be partly due to the low crossover point. 

Based on my limited experience, I'd describe the Ushers as _full_ rather than dark. They don't have that tube amp quality that the Focals leaned toward (just look at the distortion figures), and sound like a much more accurate driver overall--just like the HDS tweeter, I might add. But when male vocals, saxophone, or low-ish guitar parts come in, the midrange is anything but darkened; it sounds quite rich instead. But again, I can really only compare it to one competent driver, so take that for whatever it's worth.


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## VegasMike702 (Jul 21, 2007)

idiot said:


> I listened to Dream Theater on my way to work this morning, and it changed my life.


HAHA
Great band


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## beckSHO (Sep 10, 2006)

Wow, this is just about creepy.

I basically will be going with the EXACT same setup with the 880PRS and the frontstage/amp combo.

Thanks for making my decision for me!


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## niceguy (Mar 12, 2006)

How much were the HDS tweets if you don't mind me asking....? I have the NorthCreek tweets and may be trying out something else soon....

Thanks


Jeremy


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