Thanks to Klyv Que!
Wharfedale Crystal 2-40
Good value is something that is hard to find and many aspects go into deciding if you are getting value as a customer when purchasing a product. At the one extreme end, u may get products which are cheap and nasty, and on the other, well maybe very expensive but it?s not always a guarantee that u will get good value at that end either.
So what if a well known manufacturer makes a speaker, which is priced at sub R1000.00, but claims to offer ? and I quote from their website ?an entry-level loudspeaker series that can accurately reproduce clear, fluid sound in its most natural form?. This will definitely raise an eyebrow from the discerning audio enthusiast. But will such a speaker, offer a good listening experience, obviously taking the price into account? Well read on.
When I received the speakers, each was in its own carton, nicely packaged ensuring a safe courier from manufacturer/distributor to the customer. The speakers come with a set-up manual and spikes (which I did not use, but much on this a little later).
I liked how the speakers looked, the review pair was black vinyl, cloth grill covered the speaker to about half of the speakers height. The speaker has three drivers, a tweeter, midbass, and woofer and is rear ported. The ?Wharfedale? badge is at the bottom of the speaker discretely placed. Neat!
After admiring how well the speakers were put together, I left them to run in for a few days before giving them some current. I placed the speakers about 750cm from the rear wall, about a metre from the side walls and they were placed on my Sound Structure stands. I decide to use the sound structures, as they offer better coupling to the supplied spikes. I used my Yamaha RX-V 367 AV amplifier, and my Yamaha CDS 300 was on source duty.
Set-Up and Listening.
Once all sounded settled in, I kicked off the session Sunday evening when it was nice and quiet with some Katie Melua (Pictures ? Deluxe Edition). Next on the CDP were more Country music, Jazz, and some soul. At moderate to slightly high volumes, the vocals and instruments had honest definition and bass had a slight peak around the mid-bass but I must say that the speakers were easy to listen to. The overall sonic signature did not steer to one side of bright or too warm sounding at this stage.
As evening changed to night time, I decided to put some more upbeat and dance music, and pushed the volume further north. A slight loss of composure and tweeter/midbass integration was slightly lost. This was however not so apparent when listening at normal to slightly high levels when playing laid back genres. With some time left, I decided on watching a movie, and here the speakers faired pretty well. Action scenes were a little more exciting, thanks to that mid-bass oomph, which made gun shots, explosions and airplane crashes have that extra bite.
I then decided to get back to some more jazz and folk music, as I felt that the speakers where more at home with this type of genre. So I took off the critical listening hat and just enjoyed what was left of the weekend.
Overall and taking the asking price of sub R1000.00 into consideration, the speakers offer great value. They are easy to use, look good, don?t need speaker stands, have a one year warranty against factory faults and you can still get speaker cables and still stay within the sub R1500.00 mark, thanks to the folk at Audiosure for making this possible. At the price, or double - it?s a steal!
I?d say the bar, in entry ? entry level speakers has been raised.
- Klyv Que
For:
Easy to listen to
Good looks
Very good value
Against:
At the price, nothing!
Wharfedale Crystal 2-40
Good value is something that is hard to find and many aspects go into deciding if you are getting value as a customer when purchasing a product. At the one extreme end, u may get products which are cheap and nasty, and on the other, well maybe very expensive but it?s not always a guarantee that u will get good value at that end either.
So what if a well known manufacturer makes a speaker, which is priced at sub R1000.00, but claims to offer ? and I quote from their website ?an entry-level loudspeaker series that can accurately reproduce clear, fluid sound in its most natural form?. This will definitely raise an eyebrow from the discerning audio enthusiast. But will such a speaker, offer a good listening experience, obviously taking the price into account? Well read on.
When I received the speakers, each was in its own carton, nicely packaged ensuring a safe courier from manufacturer/distributor to the customer. The speakers come with a set-up manual and spikes (which I did not use, but much on this a little later).
I liked how the speakers looked, the review pair was black vinyl, cloth grill covered the speaker to about half of the speakers height. The speaker has three drivers, a tweeter, midbass, and woofer and is rear ported. The ?Wharfedale? badge is at the bottom of the speaker discretely placed. Neat!
After admiring how well the speakers were put together, I left them to run in for a few days before giving them some current. I placed the speakers about 750cm from the rear wall, about a metre from the side walls and they were placed on my Sound Structure stands. I decide to use the sound structures, as they offer better coupling to the supplied spikes. I used my Yamaha RX-V 367 AV amplifier, and my Yamaha CDS 300 was on source duty.
Set-Up and Listening.
Once all sounded settled in, I kicked off the session Sunday evening when it was nice and quiet with some Katie Melua (Pictures ? Deluxe Edition). Next on the CDP were more Country music, Jazz, and some soul. At moderate to slightly high volumes, the vocals and instruments had honest definition and bass had a slight peak around the mid-bass but I must say that the speakers were easy to listen to. The overall sonic signature did not steer to one side of bright or too warm sounding at this stage.
As evening changed to night time, I decided to put some more upbeat and dance music, and pushed the volume further north. A slight loss of composure and tweeter/midbass integration was slightly lost. This was however not so apparent when listening at normal to slightly high levels when playing laid back genres. With some time left, I decided on watching a movie, and here the speakers faired pretty well. Action scenes were a little more exciting, thanks to that mid-bass oomph, which made gun shots, explosions and airplane crashes have that extra bite.
I then decided to get back to some more jazz and folk music, as I felt that the speakers where more at home with this type of genre. So I took off the critical listening hat and just enjoyed what was left of the weekend.
Overall and taking the asking price of sub R1000.00 into consideration, the speakers offer great value. They are easy to use, look good, don?t need speaker stands, have a one year warranty against factory faults and you can still get speaker cables and still stay within the sub R1500.00 mark, thanks to the folk at Audiosure for making this possible. At the price, or double - it?s a steal!
I?d say the bar, in entry ? entry level speakers has been raised.
- Klyv Que
For:
Easy to listen to
Good looks
Very good value
Against:
At the price, nothing!
