Usher Audio S250

Introduction

Reviews are subjective, like with anything you read on my blog. So take it with a grain of salt, or at the least in mind how I run my gear and room differences. Results will vary....

Let's dive into it, Usher is around for a long time and the last time I heard one. It's been decades ago, I remember they were really well build floorstanders that sounded extremely forward and "high end". With high end sounding I mean very little coloration, and really pushed forward in the upper-mid. 

However, that's about all I ever heard from them and it's been really a longtime ago. What I do remember more so than the sound ,was their price it was way beyond my means talking upwards $8000 for a set of floorstanders and up. .

Usher 250 is affordable?! 

As we audio nerds do regularly, we roam eBay for that needle in the haystack. Good deals, how can we pass on them. Well I don't, I try so hard not to buy anything. Yet, eBay is my kryptonite and sure enough I saw $275+shipping cost USHER AUDIO 250. 

"Usher made an affordable speaker??!" Was my first reaction. Did some googling, raving stereophile and audioholics reviews from the early 2000ts. When these little glossy black loudspeakers were introduced. It was a joined effort between Dr Joseph d'appolito and a Taiwanese engineer working for Usher audio (it's a taiwan based company) 

Say no more! Scored them after some negotiations for $150+ shipping. If they are anywhere near as good as claimed by stereophile. I definitely wanted them, I didn't need them but wanted them so badly. 

Build quality 

They came in yesterday 4/3/2025, unpacked it they were packed really well and in near mint condition. Especially with glossy finishes, you get easily scratched and damaged surfaces. These speakers look absolutely amazing. 

Shine on you crazy diamond 

They feel solid to the touch, and a beautiful fit and finish to them. Usher is definitely top tier, they showed it even in their budget 250 that they meant to relay, their quality standards. Die cast basket transparent woofer 5.25" , and a 1inch dome tweeter, with a very fine metal grill in front of them. And a front port, they look extremely high end. The rear post looks solid, wished they marked them better tho. 

First impressions 

I'll not go to overly audio nerdy on these, as I have heard and owned my fair share of bookshelf speakers. Of which , the Boston acoustics vrm50 is definitely the king with a very close runner up  the NHT S1b. Which, I still need to review here, which was borrowed from a friend. The same friend that owns the Polk 10 reviewed here. 

The drivers are custom made by Usher Audio

The Usher posses an high end sound that I haven't experienced yet with any bookshelf speaker. The upper-mid bandwidth is extremely revealing of nature. I was transported back to decades ago when I heard their floorstanders. Resolution is the big word with these, they sound super articulate in the upper end. That I had to get accommodated to their forwardness. 

The low end in terms of extension, is definitely their weak point. Seen the size they are, I do feel the Boston acoustic vrm50 has the upper hand there. Being rear vented, however the QUALITY of low end. Is definitely, usher taking that to a home run level. It's super tight, and even on higher volumes uncolored. 

Quite the lookers aren't they ! 

Vocals and especially upper mid bandwidth wise the ushers sound very forward. I can see for some people this might be a tad to forward sounding. To me it's a very welcome trade, and definitely different from what I am used too. There is no tameness with these speakers. They sound really fantastic with vocals. I played for hours, from Diana Krall up to Luciano Pavarotti singing nessun dorma. The second he hit that high note. I had goosebumps, just beautiful and room filling and with zero strain. 

Conclusion 

Are these for anyone ? No, they are not if you have a very sensitive ear towards a forward upper mid range sounding speaker. These are not for you, they are unforgiving. They will relay a bad recording, just as you'd expect. With no mercy, you love to have a very high end , with minimal coloration (no bloatinnes, or thickened up ) overall sound. 

The usher 250 is probably one of the best sounding small monitor speakers I've heard in a longtime. If you're into guitar, vocals, jazz these speakers are really in their price range as good as it gets. 

You definitely get a quality set of loudspeakers. Are you into electronic music,dubstep heavy handed low end rich music. A subwoofer becomes a must, or move on to something bigger. I do feel the Vrm50 has the upper hand there, it's just not as clean as the Usher. 

Also a very important point , they eat power. They took significantly more power than my Infinity kappa 5.1 normally on this system the mc13s. Most definitely had to be cranked up more. So keep in mind, don't be shy to hang some serious power on these speakers.