Wharfedale Bargain Floorstander

it's not a bargain if they sound like a pile of dog poo. You only have a few hours till you receive the speakers. The opinions of any one else becomes irrelevant then,

Sister xx

As Sister E says.

I do hope you like them - they are only a bargain if you do, and otherwise the worst thing to have done if money is tight...  

if they don’t suit and you do move them on, can I suggest that with a limited budget secondhand buying often proves the most effective thing to do, and as speakers last for years (if there is something wrong you will hear), and you could have quite a range to choose from at whatever is your budget.

I think you will love them ...for less than £200..

You could have done a lot worse then diamonds..that for sure

I used to have those Kef Cresta 2 standmounts. Great little speakers if kept within their limits. Sure the diamonds will be an improvement in every area and would be happy going loud.  Good luck.

I think you'll like them. I have the Diamond 220 standmounts in a second system - designed by Peter Comeau of Heybrook fame and an excellent and revealing little speaker, preferred by me to several up to the £400 mark. I probably wouldn't have matched them with Naim equipment though!

I think you will be just fine with these.... just play around with positioning and use naim speaker cable. Will you please keep us informed ... It may help others...besides it is interesting.

Hi Richieroo

Turned up today at about 11am, not bad as I didn’t order them until 16:45 yesterday.

Its a lot of speaker for the money, that’s for sure, and even straight out the box they’re a big improvement on my old Kef Bookselfs, I don’t have naim cables, I have some factory terminated QED XT40 cables, I got a 5m pair for £125 because the box had been opened.

Good solid build quality too, they’re almost 18KG each, veneer covered sides but a gloss black front and the silver rings around the drivers look good.

No complaints so far, not had to turn the volume past 40, plenty of detail across the range, decent weight to the bass and clear highs that are not to bright.

Im looking forward to running them in properly.

They will be pretty good Peter Comaeu designed them and they are built in China...so you get allot of good speaker for your money....don't worry about snobs be guided by your ears....just position speakers well by careful listening. Keep reporting ...nice one.

Anavrin posted:

Hi Richieroo

Turned up today at about 11am, not bad as I didn’t order them until 16:45 yesterday.

Its a lot of speaker for the money, that’s for sure, and even straight out the box they’re a big improvement on my old Kef Bookselfs, I don’t have naim cables, I have some factory terminated QED XT40 cables, I got a 5m pair for £125 because the box had been opened.

Good solid build quality too, they’re almost 18KG each, veneer covered sides but a gloss black front and the silver rings around the drivers look good.

No complaints so far, not had to turn the volume past 40, plenty of detail across the range, decent weight to the bass and clear highs that are not to bright.

Im looking forward to running them in properly.

I suspect you've bought an utter bargain.

£200 is a lot of money for most people to spend on speakers, so if they were originally £500 or more.....

The law of diminishing returns applies as much to speakers as other components in the system.

Ultimately if they sound good that's all you need - you may want better in years to come but how much will better cost?

The tweeter is going to be a bit rough; but they'll still show you what the Naim can do.   

hastings posted:

The tweeter is going to be a bit rough; but they'll still show you what the Naim can do.   

As much as I agree with the source first philosophy, speakers as the output device and rooms as the environment have a profound effect of sound quality.  There are literally dozens of speakers I'd like to try if I had the time and dealers locally.

hastings posted:

The tweeter is going to be a bit rough; but they'll still show you what the Naim can do.   

It’s maybe a little early to tell, but if anything I find the tweeter is not dull but maybe not as sharp as I’d like, I listened to the Fyne Audio F501’s and I was instantly struck by how clear the highs were, but they cost £1000 more so I guess that’s fair enough.

I imagine the tweeters won’t change much during the run in, but the mid and bass drivers will loosen up somewhat, so it might balance out.....two chances ???? 

I'm lucky, there's a Richersounds right next door to my Naim dealer,  so if I hear something I like in the Naim shop I can nip next door and see what price Richersounds sells it for.  That gives me a strong bargaining position. 

Thing is, this strategy has only ever worked once with Naim gear... I got fifty quid off my Muso, still I'll keep trying.  I'm hoping Richersounds will stock the ND555... that will be worth some price haggling.

Oh, and Wharfdale Diamonds - I've had a pair of those for about forty years (not the same model as you've bought) and they have always performed well with whatever amp they're paired with.  I think your high risk 'buy it now, listen later' strategy will have paid off this time - well done.   Don't do it again. 

PS - speaker run in time is usually 100 - 200 hours, don't try to rush to a conclusion.

HI RJSTAINES

Am I right In guessing your local Naim shop is Acustica in Chester then?

I bought my Rega fono stage from them, can’t imagine there will be many more Naim dealers next to a RicherSounds around the county.

I have a pair of Naim Intro's just behind my front door where they act as flower stands. It's actually cheaper and more stilish than plastic flower stands from the flower shop. And cheaper too.

If the loudspeakers do not please you in the end, use them as flower stands.