moved house, need new speakers. Wharfdale Diamond 9.1 vs. Wharfdale Valdus 5000

[burrowsv8]

Hello to all.

I'm after a bit of wisdom with regards to proper speaker selection.

I have moved house recently and have experienced a massive decrease in sound quality, My HiFi setup was previously in a small bedroom over crowded with furniture , now I’m in a down terrace style semi of my own with the staircase wall knocked through and a kitchen extension; acoustically a very different place.

I actually think it’s got worse in the last week which would mean my 4 random bookshelf sparkers are finally on their way out.

Another engineer at my work is a serious HiFi man and recommends Wharfdale’s because I said I want sound quality without breaking the bank. I found diamond 9.1s at only £100 a pair on Superfi and they have a excellent review by what HiFi. I am assured that I will see an improvement by bi-wiring them as well, something which I had never encountered outside side of work.

Wharfdale 9.1

Twin front-reflex port

HF: 25mm textile tweeter
LF: 130mm Kevlar bass/midrange cone

Curved cabinets for extra rigidity and to reduce standing waves - superior bass performance and a more focussed image result.

Power (watts) 20 – 100

W x H x D (mm) 194 x 296 x 278

Sensitivity (dB) 86

Bi-wirable

Just when I thought I had settled a choice emerged, another engineer who is also moving wants to offload a pair or Wharfdale Valdus 5000s for 'less than the new 9.1s'.

Valdus 5000 – second hand

(I can’t find a good page for specs)

They are alot bigger being floor standing (I’m told this may not be better though)

x3 8 inch cones and a tweeter

‘25 - 250 W Power Output'

Bi-wirable - ?

I picked up some forum chatter off Google, apparently there a ‘DJ speaker not a HiFi speaker’. A few said there great but on the second page of the thread a user that who had originally said he liked them hand swapped his for to 9.1s for a better mid range.

Sometimes I hate choice because it begs a difficult question, which is better for my application?

My tentative conclusion is the Valdus will give me more bass but personally I don’t understand my generations fascination with bass because for me it’s all about the High-mid range guitar riff with enough bass to hear bass guitar and drums; I always seem to turn the treble up on every device I use. But then again I’m concerned about the diamonds ability to fill the room with good sound.

What do you think?

My setup is a Technics SU-V620mk2 integrated amp and a SL-PG460 CD player. 20 Hz - 20 KHz continuous power out 2 x 70W (8ohms)

room layout, setup on the left of the dining area

 

[RobinKidderminster]

Valdus are 4ohm. Big & loads of grunt but not accurate, smooth or detailed. Do you want to party? Otherwise not a good choice. Ask yr friend to borrow them for a few days. I would not worry about biwiring IMO little more than marketting tho' bi-amping may have benefits in some environments. You may need to get used to a different sound going from bedroom to open lounge.

 

[CarlDW]

Personally I would go with the 9.1s. Very good speakers.

 

[plastic penguin]

The Valdus were amongst a number of models produced by Wharfedale that were design for quantity as opposed to quality. They really were party animals, hence why they don't cost that much.

I'm a big Wharfedale fanboy, and have been for 30-odd years, but if I was looking at floorstanding speakers I would save pennies or look at There a pair of 10.3 for sale.

 

[Big Chris]

My Brother has the Valdus 5000.......... They're awful.

OK, they can go loud, but with the muddy and muffled sound they produce, why would you want to?

Unless you really have must bass at any cost, I'd pick a budget standmount over a budget floorstander any time.

 

[burrowsv8]

That was my gut feel about the valdus, not heard mch love for the diamonds though, are they right for the space?

 

[Big Chris]

It is a big room, so they could end up sounding a bit lost.

It's a hard one to call with your tight budget. If you really can't afford to spend any more than £100, then I think in your shoes I'd still go for the 9.1s, because at least I don't think it'd make me want to stop listening to music like the 5000s would. :?

If you are considering used, you might be able to pick up some Wharfedale Diamond 8.3s, Q Acoustics 1030s or Mission M73/M74s off eBay for around your budget.

 

[John Duncan]

That was my gut feel about the valdus, not heard mch love for the diamonds though, are they right for the space?

Much love here (and for the gorgeous 10.1s if you feel like splashing a bit more)...

You *might* be right about that space but they can pump it out when they have power behind them and if they turn out not to be enough you probably need more amplification anyway.

 

[plastic penguin]

The 9.1 are fabulous speakers but trying to fill a large space?

 

[burrowsv8]

I am watching some 10.2s on ebay, are they and big improvment on the 9.1s?

The space isnt empty though, how much will my furniture affect the it?

I have a 4 seat lounger on the left on the living area, tv and a large swivel chair that can squeeze two in on the right, the dining area obviously has a table and chairs.

Heres a picture taken from the bottom right corner that makes the place look small but bear in mind the redish sofa is going and the bed in piece is being moved upstairs.

taken from the kitchen door

 

[plastic penguin]

I am watching some 10.2s on ebay, are they and big improvment on the 9.1s?

The space isnt empty though, how much will my furniture affect the it?

I have a 4 seat lounger on the left on the living area, tv and a large swivel chair that can squeeze two in on the right, the dining area obviously has a table and chairs.

Heres a picture taken from the bottom right corner that makes the place look small but bear in mind the redish sofa is going and the bed in piece is being moved upstairs.

taken from the kitchen door

Not heard the 9.2s. But by looks alone, they look no bigger than 10.1s. For your area I would still look at floorstanders, such as the 9.4 or 10.3s. They also should be a little easier to drive, which may help in a large room.

 

[burrowsv8]

Thank you for your advice.

I ended up buying the 9.1s, should be here tuesday but I'm away all week, I will try the post a result at the weekend.