Wharfedale Owners Thread - Page 29

Hey guys,
I'm a longtime lurker in this thread and purchased a pair of Opus 2-2s about a year ago on your recommendations. Unfortunately, I'm moving in the near future and my babies are too big to come along. I put them up on the audioasylum.com classifieds, but wanted some input on how much they should be going for. They're gloss black in perfect condition. I know WWE is blowing out the satin finishes, but it looks like the gloss still commmands a premium. What do you think?

Also, what would people recomend in a bookshelf that would produce the same presence? Do the bookshelf versions of the Opus line do it, or should I look elsewhere? Do people prefer the M2 or M1?

Thanks

The silver finish isn't all that bad, at least in the smaller versions, I think for floorstanders they might look a little meh. If it's like a man cave / garage kind of setup, silver is fine, but if your in a living room type environemnt, just pay the extra $50 or email the sellers, they may give you a $25 discount - it's worth a shot.

Welcome lurker!

Great choice on the OpusII-2's, really a shame you can't keep them. If you can do a storage facility or a family's house to hold on to them for now, and you must sell them, I'd try to get $2500 for them in gloss black.

I haven't heard the Opus bookshelf speakers, but I own the EvoII's and am very impressed with their balance, but absolutely must be paired with a subwoofer.

If you put some time into placement you can get away without a sub for most types of music with the 10s, 8s I could see a sub being necessary all the time. Movies they definitely do need it either way though..

Thanks! Would a pair of 9.4's with a silver 9.CM look bad? I think the contrast would look kind of nice...?

If you like the look of the silver, then buy the silver. If you are considering the silver only because they are $50 less, then I suggest you think twice and buy the color you really, really want. In the long run, it will probably bother you that you settled on silver because of 50 bucks!

Also, ask yourself how long you plan on keeping the 9.4'S and 9.CM. There is a reason why silver is $50 less - because there probably is little to no demand for speakers in this color. So if sometime down the road, you plan on selling them, the silver finish may come back to haunt you for resale value.

Honestly, when I bought my first pair of loudspeakers, I didn't care what color they were or if they were mismatched center. I had black bookshelf's w/ a silver center and it was fine to me, I just wanted the sound. Years later, I get the color that I want

I've got the opus 2-2 and opus 2 M2, currently using the M2 's as main speakers and the 2-2's as surrounds The M2's are definitely capable as 2-2 replacements, the sound signature is the same, and they go deep enough on the bass side

Hey guys,

I just bought a pair of Diamond 9.4's and am looking at center channels to pair it with. With space constraints and a limited budget, I am looking at either the WH-2 or 9.CS. The CS is double the price of the WH-2. Would the 5" woofer in the CS really make a difference? Thanks!

Congrats on the purchase, I don't think you'll be let down.

The WH was an older series that I don't think match the Diamonds. The CS would be the best match for them. The CC would work too, but it's much smaller.

What finish did you end up getting?

Ended up with the Cherry finish. Might pick up the silver center like I had mentioned before, as its $60 cheaper than the Cherry CS. I can use that extra 60 towards the receiver. Speaking of, have any ideas on that? Anything better than the Marantz ZR6001 at $240?

Might want to check out sto sound and vision, they have some specials right now. tsto.com

I doubt you'll find anything better than that Marantz at that price.

That 9.1 + 9.CS special looks amazing. Would've definitely gone for that if I just didn't pull the trigger on the 9.4's!

Would the Yamaha V365 be a decent choice. Would it be reliable to run for a few years?

I've got a yammy and my evo2 10's sound great!

They're all "reliable", or at least they all usually last 3-5 years or so. I personally would go for the Marantz because I think they make the best sounding AV receiver besides NAD/Rotel/etc.

Really though I don't think it makes a difference much. Most of these AV receivers are more or less the same. Some will be a little brighter (Onkyo, Yamaha), and some will be a little warmer (Marantz) but I don't think you'll go wrong either way. I just personally like Marantz because I think they sound better with music than any other mass market AVR I've heard. I use an Onkyo now but would be buying a Marantz if I was getting another receiver.

Thanks! I'll go for the Yammy for now and buy a better receiver when I have a larger budget.

I was doing some reading on speaker impedance loads, and got quite worried. Why does it weight only 18lbs? The Yamaha V365 will most certainly not output its rated 100 watts/channel. Add the low current of the Yamaha and low sensitivity 6ohm impedance of the Wharfedale's and will this spell disaster for quality sound output? Will the receiver be able to drive the Wharfedale's to relatively high volumes without burning up? Thanks!

Yes, don't worry about it, it will work fine. My Evos are slightly more sensitive at 87-88db but have the same 6ohm impedance (and actually dip lower than your Diamonds do if I remember correctly) and my entry level Onkyo AVR has no problem with them. It's rated at like 65w/channel or something like that.

The Marantz has preouts, which could be important and one of the main reason I'd recommend it over the Yamaha. It's internal amps will most likely be better than the Yamahas, but if you still think you need some extra headroom in the future you can add a 2 channel amplifier. You are pretty much stuck with the Yamaha. Might be something worth thinking about. I think for the extra $90 or so you'll be getting a much better (but older) unit in the Marantz.

18lbs for a tower does seem a little light, but I wouldn't worry about it too much. When are you supposed to be getting them?

Thanks! Nope, not stuck with the Yamaha yet as I have not ordered it. I may still go with the Marantz for peace of mind. I have no idea when I would be expecting the speakers, how is STO with their shipping? I apologize, for the weight of 18 lbs, I was referring to the Yamaha receiver.

Oh, yeah that's light. Probably a small power supply. And I meant should you ever feel the Yamaha isn't getting it done, you are stuck with what you have. With the Marantz, you have the preouts, so you can add an amp.

Not sure about STO's shipping as I've never ordered from them. Just know they have some crazy deals on these speakers right now lol.

I ordered my evo's from them and recieved in 4 or 5 days, PERFECT

If you can find a Harmon Kardon AVR330 on craigslist that'd be your best bet, they were 800ish new and I see them all the time going for 300 or less, I got one of these for my step father for $200 and he loves it. It's also paired with a diamond center channel and it sounds very nice.

Scrapped the 365, and am having trouble finding any refurbed H/K's on ebay at the moment. So now its easy between the Marantz ZR6001 and Onkyo 507. Which is better? The only advantage I could see is Onkyo having the HD audio decoding onboard. Seems Onkyo is pretty honest with their wattage ratings?

I personally didn't enjoy the sound of the onkyo with my diamond series... did you check craigslist for that avr330?? best sound I've heard out of the diamonds from any receiver that i've connected them too, of course not as good as any power amplifier.

Here is a list of craigslist ads I found within 50 miles of your zipcode.

http://lansing.craigslist.org/bar/1641577807.html
http://jxn.craigslist.org/ele/1650616172.html
http://akroncanton.craigslist.org/ele/1663184761.html
http://columbus.craigslist.org/ele/1682483623.html
http://columbus.craigslist.org/ele/1643413330.html

Anyway, even though these are rated 50-60wpc, these are RMS from 20hz-20khz so it's A LOT of power in comparison to what you are looking at.

Good luck!

Hello everyone!

I was running around TSTO for a while looking at the Diamond 8.3 until they disappeared recently. Now I think it's time for a decision and I am thinking of either the 8.2 or 9.2. The Evo2-8's look really nice too, but I have no idea whether they sound "right for the money" If they sound just like the 9.2/8.2 I see no point to pay more.

Anyone has/had a chance to compare them? Especially the 8.2 and 9.2? What are the improvements?

I have the Denon AVR-790. I hope it is powerful enough.

Ooh, and one more thing. The 8.2 seems to be in stock for a while (half a decade I believe). Would anyone think there is any deterioration on the woofer?

Thanks & regards,
ib.

The Evo2-8s will have less bass but are a better overall speaker. Better drivers, better build quality, real wood veneers. The Evos are a line up from the Diamonds (and the Opus are a line up from the Evos).

The woofers are kevlar with rubber surrounds....I doubt they deteriorate at all.