I have the Whardidal full 5.1 system. It sounds very good. EVEN I WAS USING THE a r ACCUSTIC RESEARCH SPEEKERS EARLIER, But Wherfidal sounds wery wrll especial the clarity is superb in all ranges.

I have been listening to Wharfedale Crystal CR-40 for some time on my Sony stereo receiver(2x80w) and I must say that they are worth the money. For a good decade old technology now they play very good for the least expensive Wharfedale serie, but they still cannot compare to the serie Diamond 8 ( I had 8.2 model) because they lack in the middle range. The new serie Diamond 9 is better than Crystal in highs and middles...the new tweeters can produce much better tones with a lot more accuracy. They can sure pack a punch...their bass volume and range is very good and I sure dont miss a subwoofer. Their main weakness is definetly the middle range which becomes a bit annoying at music where human voice is the most important. Although they have sensitivity only 86dB/1w you can play them on amplifiers from 50w up with no problem.

Strengths:
For their size very powerfull...for bigger rooms with no problems, good bass and depth, natural tone with no coloring, I have them in cherry and they look very good

Weaknesses:
I would say middles but for the price I have paid I think this is not such a colosal fault

Smooth, balanced, and refined sound for the price Decent looks

None that I've noticed. Matching Crystal Center a little warmer sounding than the Towers

Wharfedale Crystal 40's are a 37" tall narrow-footprint tower with a textile dome tweeter, a 6.5 in. midrange and a 6.5 in. woofer. Designed in England and manufactured in China these speakers are a good example of current technology offering smooth, balanced sonics and quality construction. I've placed them about 8 feet apart and about 2 feet from the rear wall toed in to face the listening position in my medium sized living room and I've listened to all different types of music through them and they are faithful to the source and still can play fairly loud for rock. The Crystal 40's are equally well suited though to the demands of Jazz and Classical with plenty of ambience and treble air. Bass is good too when run full-range but I like to listen to these with the fronts set to 'small' on the receiver and the subwoofer set to 'on' which to me makes for cleaner output. Imaging is decent as with good instrument and vocal placement. I'm using a modest $120 5.1 Sherwood RD-6108 receiver to drive them and though they are rated 86 db. sensitivity and 6 ohms nominal imp. they seem very easy to drive. If you don't mind tower speakers in your setup and don't want to pay a lot I would say these are a good bet over similarly priced bookshelves. If you buy the matching Crystal center though, be forewarned that the center's sound will 'warm up' the sound a bit which may or may not be to everyone's liking. I bought these with the winter maple vinyl finish (nice).

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