Hello everyone
I'm new to the forum
Recently purchased: Marantz m-cr603 and love it! Have 20 year-old Celestion 3 (mark 2) speakers and love them too but thinking that new speaker technology must've moved on some, and wanting a similar sound but maybe with more punch, I convinced myself to buy a pair of Wharfedale Diamond 220s, darlings of the Hifi press.
Result: Mehhhh!! A very uninvolving, lifelsess sound, distinctly unimpressed! Where's the sweetness, the subtlety, the (dare I say it) musicality of my 20 year-old babies, even with one bashed-in tweeter?! Am I missing something here, is there something wrong with my hearing? No, I don't think so... and no, I don't believe in the snake oilism of speaker burn-in! .... let's not go there. Come on, if I put my dog-eared old loves on ebay I'd be lucky to get £30, unless they were stumbled upon by someone who knew better, but I won't let them go now. Tbh, I remember making the same mistake trying out the Diamond 9.1 a few years ago with my previous much loved Teac mini-system, and same result! Is it just Wharfedale?
So my dilemma is: same sweet sound, but more umphh. I know the amp is capable of it and I know there must be some bargains out there. But new designs, I'm suspicious.... too much spent on finishes and marketing I reckon.
B&W 601 s2.... a few of them coming up on used market and as far as I remember these were great. Any tips to help me out here gratefully received! Budget about £200 on new or used... just to add my Celetions have a sensitivity of 88 dB
Thanks
Rob
I'm new to the forum
Recently purchased: Marantz m-cr603 and love it! Have 20 year-old Celestion 3 (mark 2) speakers and love them too but thinking that new speaker technology must've moved on some, and wanting a similar sound but maybe with more punch, I convinced myself to buy a pair of Wharfedale Diamond 220s, darlings of the Hifi press.
Result: Mehhhh!! A very uninvolving, lifelsess sound, distinctly unimpressed! Where's the sweetness, the subtlety, the (dare I say it) musicality of my 20 year-old babies, even with one bashed-in tweeter?! Am I missing something here, is there something wrong with my hearing? No, I don't think so... and no, I don't believe in the snake oilism of speaker burn-in! .... let's not go there. Come on, if I put my dog-eared old loves on ebay I'd be lucky to get £30, unless they were stumbled upon by someone who knew better, but I won't let them go now. Tbh, I remember making the same mistake trying out the Diamond 9.1 a few years ago with my previous much loved Teac mini-system, and same result! Is it just Wharfedale?
So my dilemma is: same sweet sound, but more umphh. I know the amp is capable of it and I know there must be some bargains out there. But new designs, I'm suspicious.... too much spent on finishes and marketing I reckon.
B&W 601 s2.... a few of them coming up on used market and as far as I remember these were great. Any tips to help me out here gratefully received! Budget about £200 on new or used... just to add my Celetions have a sensitivity of 88 dB
Thanks
Rob