Wharfedale Owners Thread

I have (but do not use) Sapphire SP87 fronts and Sapphire Center. The SP87s were OK, although not very detailed in the high end. Not bad though for the few hundred bucks they cost me from uBid. The Center is not so good. It only has 4" drivers and does not match particularly well with those mains despite being from the same model line. I was driving them with Denon 2801.

Hey, that's where I got my Modus 1.6's. Less than $200 shipped if I remember correctly. A fine set of speakers for the price.

I have the Wharfedale Diamond 8.4s and Center up front; Diamond EVO DFS for sides, 8.1 for rears and a SVS sub. Love 'em.

Had this exact setup myself. Just recently upgraded my receiver to the
Sherwood/Newcastle R-965. I am not sold on the Evo center though. I am thinking about upgrading to the Opus center.

Dan

I had never heard Wharfedale speakers before. I was looking for a single bipole for the rear surround in my 6.1 system (Athena Micra6 are the speakers I'm running). Bought a new pair of WH-2s online just for the one speaker, without ever hearing them. Set one of them up as a rear center and was stunned by the great sound! I may end up using them both as rear surround and get a 3rd again for the rear center. A very nice speaker indeed.

If you like the WH2...try their larger siblings the DFS series. I was amazed at how good they sound.

I own the Wharfedale Opus 2. Wonderful speakers! I love them!

I have 5 Wharfedale Diamonds 7.2's in my ht setup. I must say I really enjoy the sound of them. They will play extremely loud with no distortion when pushed. The 7.2 has a 5.25 inch mid/woofer that is rated to 40hz., and I verified it with subwoofer test tones for kicks. Also for kicks I fed them a 10 hz test tone.
Of course I could not hear anything but that little woofer had plenty of excursion and didn't hit it's stops.

I really think the soft dome tweeter images very well with 2 channel setup, with 5.1 surround I am also very satisfied. I have had them for about 3-4 years. I don't think they are still available. They are small sized book-shelf speakers and I have them all on stands. I use one for a center channel, even though it is not shielded, it does not create any problems with my rear projection tv, it works great as a center channel speaker for me.

With 2 channel music, I have listened to Johnny Cash American Songs, and the richness of his deep voice just comes right thru. With my speakers toe-ed in slightly, it was scary with the imaging. He was right there in front of me. It is no B.S. for me to say it was a startling experience for me. I just sat there frozen and listened to the whole cd.

At the time I ordered three pairs for a grand total of $240.00. So I have one extra if something ever happens to one or if I ever upgrade to 6.1. I would recommend Wharfedale speakers to anyone.

I also own the Opus 2's like TjMV3 (waves at Tony). I also have the Opus 2 center but use a pair of Pacific Evo 10's for surround as well as an SVS subwoofer. IMHO stupendous sound.

Rich

i own the Diamond 9.6 and a pair diamond 9.1 for the center

great speakers when used with the right gear.

I was lucky and found a dealer nearby. Their website is here http://www.yawaonline.com/miva/merch...egory_Code=WHA but apparently they have an arrangement with Wharfedale to not sell direct online.

I'm a firm believer tho in matching your fronts as near as possible so not sure getting the Opus center would match up well with your Evo's. If you did find a dealer nearby to you I'd recommend making sure they allow you to try out the new center channel and bring it back if you were unhappy with it. If you could do this you wouldn't be out anything but your time if they didn't match well.

I'm considering the Evo 40 or Diamond 9.6. The Evo cost more, but looks more attractive, and has 1" tweeter and two 6.5" midrange/bass woofers. The 9.6 has two 8" bass/midrange drivers, 2" midrange doom and 1" tweeter. So, much more drivers area on the 9.6.

Can anyone shed more light on the differences between these two speakers?

I have Diamond 8.3 front, 8.1 for rear and Diamond center. Excellent speakers for the money. I recently bought Mirage speakers and I think I am going to keep the mirage and sell the dimaonds.

Thanks for the answer. Seems like the Evo is worth the difference in price. The 30 & 40 has exactly the same drivers, but the 40 is taller, and go few Hz lower, according to the spec. I don't mind to spend little bit more for the 40, as I find the taller shape more attractive.

I'm also considering the Swan 5.2F, which is also made in China, curve cabinet, and silk dome tweeter. I imagine the Wharfdale and the Swan will sound similiar, at least more similar to my current aluminium tweeter Energy's speakers. I'd like to find speakers in the local store that make use of silk dome to audition. Any suggestions? All the brands I've auditioned so far (Energy, B&W, Kef) utilize metalic tweeter. I'll also contact Wharfedale to see whether they have any dealer in the Phoenix area.

the 9.6 mid and 9.5 mid are completely different due to the dome midrange. I have both the 9.1 anc 9.6...and they sound like completley different speakers. THe bass design is a bit different due to the separate enclosures and different crossovers.

I havent heard the evo, but i've read on some website forum that tbe EVO and 9.6 sound very alike, but once u go up to Opus, its a completely different story.

Hello Rich! How are you?

I'm quite happy and satisfied with my Opus 2. So much so, that I'm seriously considering another pair (in high gloss Rosewood) for my home office, for a strictly two channel system.

I failed to mention, like Rich, along with the Opus 2....... I also have the Opus Center Channel and Evolution 10 as rears (all in Glossy Piano Black finish).


I'm going to audition the Wharfedale SW300 subwoofer soon.

I think the Opus Center Channel is excellent. Personally, one of the best Center Channels I have heard. Not that I have heard all of them....lol.

As Rich stated, I don't think using the Opus Center Channel with the Evolution series to be a good match.

Also, Wharfedale has an "upgraded" series coming for the Evolution line. It's called ........you guessed it.......the " Wharfedale Evolution 2". It looks like all the models retain their original model numbers ( Evolution 8, 10, 20, 30, 40), but are Evolution 2.

Oddly, the new drivers appear to be either the same or very similar to the Diamond 9 series. I guess they made some improvements .....somewhere.


Here's a pic of the Evolution 2:

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...085-060104.jpg


Here's a video from CES 2006, where you can get a glimpse of the new Evolution 2.

http://www.cinenow.com/us/play-video-216.html

I aim to hear some of the Diamond 9.1s when I get a chance.

Any idea of timing for the release of the new line? I'm thinking of getting some EVO's, but might wait if it is the end of the current line...

I had never heard of Wharfedale until today!! I just demo'd the Diamond 9.4 with the bipole surrounds dfs........I thought it sounded very good. They sounded great when the sub was kicked in. Nice n full with good detail. Are the 9.5 diamonds worth the extra cost ? They didn't have any 9.5s to try out. I ask because i can't afford the sub at this time and thought the 9.5s would have better bass response. Any thoughts ??

John

I don't know. I was trying to get that information just yesterday, out of curiosity, but my dealer hasn't heard anything yet. It appears Wharfedale are moving their US offices/distribution facility from Massachusetts to California, at least that's what I heard.

Have you heard the Evolution 30 or 40, yet?

The reason I ask is, because one never knows what an update to a series will sound like. While I suspect there will be legitimate improvements in the Evo 2 series, they may not exhibit the same sound characteristics that one may find pleasurable in the original Evolution series. Know what I mean?

I've never heard the 9.5, but I have heard the 9.6 and I thought they sounded real good.

I asked my local dealer and they said that the Evo2 would be out next year. That seems like a long time for something shown at CES, I suppose.

I went ahead and bought a Evo setup (40's, center, and two pair of 8's for surrounds). My next step is the sub, probably one of the SW series from Wharfedale...

I have to tell ya', I really like the Evolution 30 and 40. Can't decide which one I like better. They both have a certain something I love.

If not for the Opus 2 completely seducing me into it's beautiful, musical world; I would have gone with either the Evo 30 or 40. I still wouldn't mind getting the 30 or 40 for the Dining Room and have them pointing out towards the kitchen, for when I'm in there with my kids, company or cooking.

Although I may have to duck a few flying household items, launched by the little woman .......if I do.

How would Wharfedales compare to Ascend Acoustics?

I have the Diamond 8.2 in a 2-channel system. They sound absolutely fantastic for well recorded female vocals (Diana Krall, Holly Cole, Norah Jones, etc.), but the sound is a little muddier in more complex rock tunes. That is to say that I'm blown away when I listen to Holly Cole but not so much when I'm listening to rock.

I'm driving them with a HK 335. Is this a situation where I need more power, or is this just a limitation of this line?