Bright Highs. Smooth Mids. Just right bass without a sub. Attractive looking.

Grills good be more sturdy

Hi,
I have owned and reviewed many types of speaker models through the years. I used to be an audio engineer, but have since stopped due to my speaker business taking all my time. At this time I can say: If you have never heard or listened to Wharfedale you are missing out! I have put these speakers through heavy testing against similar models by other manufacturers, such as Klipsch, Infinity, etc. These speakers kept right up there. You do not have to Bi-wire or Bi-Amp these speakers if you are running 100 watts or better. You need to be sure to break these in. Wharfedale suggests 30 hrs break in time to provide the correct sound, if new. They sounded great out of the box. I have broken them in and replaced my Klipsch KLF-10.5`s with these. I would tell anyone to get these if they can. Wharfedale is from Great Britain and not well known in the USA outside of audiophile circles. Wharfedale has been around a long time. Also compare them to the old Hartley speakers of Great Britain.

Customer Service

Never had to calll.

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Klipsch

Super accurate! These speakers so exactly what they were desinged to do, and that is provided incredibly accurate rich full spectrum sound. they are not a sub-woofer and not a horn tweet. They ARE great, clean, perfect sound.

None!

Buy them if you know what you are looking for. these speaker are true to there design and amazingly clear.

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polk rt800i
jamo concert series
bose 401

Strong, powerful, tight bass. Powerful, clear midrange. Crisp highs, very low harshness. All around the best music value I have seen yet. Beat out the competion in every sense (infinity/bose/jbl)

Shipping condition. BE CAREFUL WITH UPS!! very power hungry, I reccomend at least 80 watts/pc.

I recently have purchased a pair of these monsters. 238 shipped and insured. The only problem is the condition. According to the man who sold them to me they were in mint condition when shipped. They got to me with many very large dents, useless grilles(very, very broken) and a very damaged midrange. So now I must get an insurance claim for repairs( I have $300 coverage). The sound however that I did get before I realized the problems with the midrange was absolutle "Music Bliss." They have a very powerful and natural midrange. The first song I played was "Muzzle," from the Smashing Pumpkins album Melon Colie and the Infinite Sadness. Billy corgan's voice comes in very loud and very clear during the breaks in the song(if you have heard the song you know what I mean). The highs are quite crisp and clear while staying suprisingly non-harsh. The third factor of course, the bass is very strong and deep while also tight. For music I see no need for a subwoofer. I have not tried them with movies yet though (I hadn't had time before I noticed the midrange after about one song). So if what you listen to is music and you want a great entry level-price/audiophile perfomance value, go with the MFM-5's, you will not be dissapointed. Just dont forget to stress the importance of alot of padding for shipping to the one you buy them from.

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Infinity Interlude, Bose 701, Polk towers.

Monitors generally offer supurb balance, and do not lack crisp clean highs as hifi gear generally does. They cator to a different market who are interested in accuracy and not driving bass.

They pretty much require an equalizer to avoid muddy, trashy sound. They different in design, designed to be "flat" and "accurate" and not "warm" "tight" "soft" or "present"

This is just a note regarding what I have read here, I have not gotten my MFM-3''s yet, and will write a review as soon as I can But the above reviewer is absolutely right, these are MONITORS. and monitors are designed with different intentions. Flat responce and no coloration. Without proper gear (like a high-end equalizer)Monitors can sound muddy and trashy. But with the right gear, they are tunable to not only any room which they are in, but any ear which they are listening to, without the limitations of the designers personal prefrence. Recently I did a lot of shopping around, and found that only the Bostons fit my taste, but still, the tight but present bass just was not right. When I heard a pair of used MFM-3''s with me at the helm of the EQ at a recording studio supply and equiptment, I found that I could tune it to exactly where I wanted it. Know what you are buying when you get into pro audio.

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First time in looking into monitors.

This is an excellent speaker, produces more bass than a pair of pioneers with 18" woofers

chincy grill, and floor spikes, cones sometimes touch grill with bass all the way up at very high volumes

This speaker is amazing for the price, I purchsed the pair for $300 used. I would reccomend this speaker to anyone.

One of the most amazing characteristics is the power handling, bi-wiring i am able to send 210w to each speaker using my Onkyo integra 105x4 amplifier. They handle and spit out every watt at earpeircing levels with little or no audible distortion.

I just purchased the infinity BU-120 sub, which should comlpiment these speakers perectly creating the perfect set up for my application. (college apartment)

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value & sound

none at this price

got these from Ubid for 77 dollars each. What a steal. The 1998 Stereo Review Speaker Guide has them listed at 1300 per pair & tatum Electronics is selling them on the web for 608 per pair. Ubid ROCKS!!!!!! Sound is very,very good. I now have the Wharfedale Opal 100's and the Wharfedale Modus 1.6's & have A-Bed them on my Kenwood VR-3090 receiver and think that the MFM's sound better than the Opals and sometimes better than the 1.6's which I had to pay 127 each for on Ubid.Very strong and tight bass...punchy and clean where the modus can sound muddy and the Opal week until bi wired and at high volumes.The highs are still a bit shrill, but I know Wharfedales need break in time & that should pass. For now I just turn the treble down on them and back up for the others. BUY THE MFM LINE IF YOU GO W/ Wharfedale!!!!!!!!!! I am now waiting to see the MFM 7's come up for sell and then the Modus and Opals are gonners. They are good speakers but now i am sold on the MFM line for my personal tastes.

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JBL,infinity,KLH,Wharfedale Opal100 & Modus 1.6

Deep, tight bass, clear liquid mid's and highs.

Finish quality, speaker grill locking is flimsy.

I have to agree with Allan and Alex that when I bought these speakers from UBID, I basically took a big leap of faith. Especially since my local high end audio store had no information on the Wharfedales.

Before buying these however I did come across an article in a german audio magazine that had extensive test results on a lot of speakers, the Wharfedales, actually had some pretty good reviews. The speakers arrived in slightly old looking boxes, the packing however was impeccable and the speakers were unsullied virgins :-). UBID could do a better job of storing these in their Tennesse warehouse where I got them from.

The speakers sound atrocious in the break in period that lasts approximately 20 hours. The bass dynamics are too slow, the mids are harsh and highs sound sharp and jagged. The soundstaging is muddied and individual instrument placement is next to impossible. But..oh do these speakers start getting better!! I left them playing for about 40 hours total on my Marantz CD player and actually listened to the speaker evolve from an acoustic beast to an audio beauty.

In answer to Allans query about whether these speakers get better after prolonged use, my answer will have to be a resounding YES! As I listen to them now, after about 1.5 months of use, the Bass is tight and well defined, as such I don't feel the need for a sub-woofer, I am not much of a bass afficionado, my region of interest lies in the midrange and the highs and it's here that the 5 1/4" midrange driver and the silk tweeter perform par excellence. My music is very instrumental in character with a lot of acoustic instruments from the West and the East. I was surprised at the clarity and dynamic response of the speakers even in complex string loaded passages of classical eastern music. With the aid of a good CD player the soundstaging is deep and well defined, the instrumental layout is uncluttered, the highs are crisp and clear.

Most of all these speakers sound so sweet that you never get tired of listening, and that in my opinion is the true test of a good speaker.

I would rate these very highly in terms of value. I have heard better, much better in fact, but for a start up system, these speakers provide tremendous value. I am quite satified with my purchase. If you are buying on UBID, look for an auction where the lot sizes are large, you'll get a better price.

Just for the fact that I have heard better speakers that are priced commenurately, I will give these an overall rating of 4. This only means that there are better products out there, if you are willing to pay.

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PSB Stratus Bronze, Auditioned a lot of "High End" speakers.

Nice aesthetics, speaker assembly, and overall build

None at this point

I haven't yet hooked up my speakers, but can comment on the looks of them. Several have complained about the grills on the speakers, but I haven't had any problems with mine. As most everyone else, I bought mine on UBID for a remarkably low price. I am just awaiting a review of the Wharfedale 148 series speaker. I think they are asking too much for that one, but we'll see.
I mostly wrote this review with a question about a receiver in mind. Has anyone bought a Kenwood, it is a 510 model, THX certified? That is the receiver that I am looking to mate these speakers to, so I defiitely need a review of the receiver as I am new to the home theater market.

Just a follow-up to my previous review. My MFM-5's are sounding better and better everyday! I particularly love how it sounds when reproducing acoustic instruments like the violin and drums. For a great demonstration on how they perform with percussion, I would recommend watching HBO's STOMP Out Loud--probably one of my best experiences with the MFM-5's to date. (Let me know what you guys think if you do).

Needless to say, I'm still very happy with my purchase. By the way, there's $20 rebate (HURRAH!) for first time UBid winners so newbies should check it out. Careful though coz I think the rebate offer ends in July sometime...

It's been about 3 days since I connected the MFM 5's to my Yamaha 5150 and I couldn't be more impressed. I listen primarily to R&B, jazz, classical, acoustic guitar, and vocally intensive type music (e.g., Take 6)- the type of music, I believe, the MFM's are designed to reproduce.

These MFM's are tight on the bass, crisp on the high freqs, and smooth on the mid's. This is not a bright nor, a rumbling sounding speaker. However, having said that, the MFM's do operate well over a very wide spectrum. If you want them to shake your pictures off the wall they can do that too - I just don't think they're as efficient at those tasks as a sub would be...obviously, just due to pure physics.

If you prefer a warm and natural sounding speaker that's very responsive on percussions and can effortlessly accomodate a wide frequency spectrum I would recommend these MFM 5's. In other words, buy them if you like clean soundstage like sound.

BTW they look and perform better w/o the grills.