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In Reply to: RE: Seems Audiogon is always littered with them. * posted by Bill the K on December 07, 2009 at 08:17:35
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As Usher states on its web site, the US versions have different, upgraded internal wiring and crossover parts. Some on line are not the US version.
That said, I bought mine new in October, and am still quite pleased. I set my bar at $5000, and shopped all the speakers I could hear locally for that price. I figured that would translate to $3000 used. As the Usher distributor is just 2 miles from my office in Dallas, they were kind enough to loan me a pair of Tiny Dancers.
I spent weekends listening to Martin Logans, Zu's, Pro-acs, and Revels. All sounded great, but none sounded better than the Ushers. The Zu's came closest.
I liked the Ushers so much, I stopped shopping and bought them. At $1400 used, they are a complete steal. Sometimes you can find new ones on Audiogon for not much more. I lucked out and got a great deal from an authorized dealer who must have ordered too many. But even at the list price of $2800, they bested anything I heard at twice the price.
I would suggest the reason there are so many available used is this. They are the lowest priced speaker in Stereophile's class A. That has to drive sales thru the roof. So if more people have them, more would be selling them. Its like the reason there's so many used Hondas. Its not that people don't like them, its just that with so many owners, more are also willing to sell. And at $1400 used, I'd expect a lot of people buy them, keep them for a while, then buy the next great deal they see.
to have different internal wire and details for the same name speakers?If that is allowable,we can never buy a speaker with full confidence.And if a retailer sells both types, he may even sell the specific inferior ones to those who he doesnt like, to teenagers or foreigners or ethnically different people.He may start profiling.In my opinion they should have different names.
If such practice is allowable,then what prevents from selling seconds and those which fail in quality control to be sold as top quality.With such large quantities made in China, i feel such practices are prevalent in asian countries.But in the US! Unbelievable.
Bill,
All of the BE-718's brought into North America were the same. They all had a completely different crossover and with much higher quality parts and wire than the non US version.
Dear Danny:
My only point is that the particular model sold in North America should be called BE718DC indicating that it is different from those sold abroad.Otherwise it is not fair to a guy buying it for the same price but getting the old crossover.
There is a general feeling among the people of Asian countries that electronics as well as cameras bought in Singapore,Malaysia,Hong Kong and Bangkok are inferior to those bought in Europe and USA.Perhaps some parts are inferior but the model numbers remain the same.
Regards
Bill
I can understand your point of view, but I'd suspect that Usher never sold both models in one market, and any confusion about which is which comes from the used market or a distributor violating their agreement.
I think this is less about giving something better to one market than the other, than marketing to different tastes for different people. Plenty of companies have tried to sell the same identical product worldwide and failed because of individual and cultural differences. (Chevy Nova anyone?)
You DO realize that most consumer goods (developed to be sold internationally) take into account cultural differences and therefor exhibit significant difference in finish, function and, aesthetics, within the same product line, right?
There's a reason a Toyota Camry isn't sold as a Toyota Camry in Japan, nor was a Ford Escort for sale in the domestic US market the same as the Ford Escort sold to the UK. I could go on...
You've got a bit to learn about this whole globalization thing and the value of cultural difference...
I can appreciate your broadmindedness as regards world marketing.I am talking about the same speaker being sold in two different ways in two countries without specifying they are different.A guy from Singapore reads a review in Stereophile and buys a particular speaker and lo and behold he gets an inferior product.This has nothing to do with the culture of Singapore.Probably says a lot about the culture of people who wants to sell their product in foreign lucrative markets.
No, I dont think it is ethically correct to sell two different speakers under the same model name.Perhaps I have to learn more about 'good' sales strategies.
The speakers are voiced for different markets - one is only "inferior" if you believe that your tastes are "superior" to those with different cultures than yours. Perhaps someone in Singapore rather enjoys the sound of his or her domestic market Ushers, as compared to the US gray market version?
There's nothing unethical or unusual about this practice. For example, I've read that many British audio manufacturers voice their products for smaller rooms, that is, for a more nearfield listening position. Same goes for many Japanese manufacturers. What say you about Marantz releasing differently voiced components for the Japanese domestic market, versus the UK, versus the US - We all get different parts specs, finishes, and functions based on our cultural biases - is Marantz unethical because it uses different output capacitors in its SACD players for different markets? Or is it unethical that a silver finished NAD component is only available to the UK and Canada?
I would consider the whole world as a global village and the same silver component NAD should be available to a buyer in NYC, Tokyo ,London and Adis Ababa.If there is the littlest change to suit the lifestyle or 'culture',the component should have a different name or a subscript like SE or mark 1 or some such identification.This is my personal view but probably it would involve a lot more work.I would also like to buy the same Toyota Camry from SF, Cape Town, Mumbai and Seoul.
Regards
Bill
Very nice of you to answer, thanks!
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