a little more bass than the mfm-5

a a prime example of "more is too much"

I have just auditioned the mfm-7 and I can now verify others complaints. The MFM-5 is a better all round speaker than the MFM-7. The extra woofer actually muddies up the sound.. if you're a person who believes that size matters.. well these speakers are about 2" taller than the 5's thats it they are a lesser of the two speakers in sound quality. Save yourself the 20-30 bux on the bid and the additional 20 for the shipping and go with the MFM-5s
(read my mfm-5 reviews) the 7s are will seem ok if you never heard the 5s. these speakers should be the ones going for $29

Similar Products Used:

mfm-5

Great sound (especially when bi-wired), Price

Grills

The sound is great and they look impressive as well. I would not hesitate to sell these to my best friends because I feel they are a great speaker! I haven't distorted these speakers yet and I listen to a wide variety of music.(From Classical to Rap to Rock to Jazz)

BEST SPEAKER EVER

BEST SPEAKER EVER

Excellent detail, large soundfield

ubiquitous cheap grill

I discovered ubid through a Wharfedale ad in an Audio Buyer's Guide and the greatly discounted prices compared to retail caught my eye. I have been listening to different speakers for the past few months to replace in wall speakers I currently have in my home since I am moving this week and can't take them with me. And like many others, I have a wife who can easily find money for another pair of shoes, but winces at the thought of me spending money on audio equipment.

The in wall listening experience has probably colored my review of the MFM 7's since I don't consider their sound top quality. I have, however, spent a great deal of time listening to the speakers listed above in various showrooms. On with the story.....the thought of getting higher quality equipment for comparatively little money overcame my scepticism of anticipated quality and I plunged into the bidding. I just figured that the upside potential was greater than the loss if the speakers turned out to be cheap crappy knock offs. I was willing to risk a couple hundred dollars to find a true bargain.

A couple days later I discovered this site and immediately looked up the reviews which calmed and elevated my fears at the same time. I had heard of the Wharfedale name and assumed a respected British speaker manufacturer wouldn't turn out cheap junk, but noticed a few reviews that had speakers showing up DOA and some requiring replacement.

Fortunately for my ears, it was too late to change my mind and the MFM 7's arrived two days ago in good shape. I had them sent Fed Ex because UPS seems to delight in destroying the merchandise that pays their salaries. Anyway, I set the speakers up for the long awaited test, remembering the reviews that said they required a good break-in period and lots of power. I assumed my Carver amp would take care of one of the requirements and sat down to listen.

I immediately noticed they require a little more of a twist of the volume knob to reach moderate listening levels than my current speakers which makes me suspect the 91 dbl sensitivity rating, but I couldn't go over half volume without annoying my neighbors within a half mile radius either. As I listened I began to notice a large deep soundstage and very sharp details in the music. I don't consider myself an audiophile as I have little time to just sit and appreciate music, but I feel I have a decent ear, and my brother is an accomplished musician so there must have been some osmotic transference. As I sat listening, the MFM's begged for more of my attention. I couldn't help but just sit there.

I will say that for the first few hours I could detect some harshness in the mids and highs that appears to be decreasing with use, but the bass has been good from the start. I've had them running for about twenty hours now and noticed an appreciable difference. The thing I find most interesting about them though is the way they project such a clean detailed sound. I am hearing all kinds of things I never noticed before in songs I have listened to hundreds of times. The differences are there in all types of music too. I listen to a wide range of music from Pavarotti to Bloodhound Gang to Martin Sexton and on occasion classic rock. I've even noticed a couple songs from older rock cd's that have apparently had poor mixes as I could hear when different tracks were brought up or lowered. I'm also hearing not only great vocals, but also when the singer swallows or a slight catch. I guess that would show the character of a speaker purported to be a monitor as the literature on Wharfedale Website states, though I never really expected them to hold up to the statement. I must admit I was expecting deeper bass, but it sounds tight even with the two ports in the rear so it's not a problem.

I've made this as coherent as possible in an attempt to give a real world evaluation for those of you reading the reviews attempting to decide to purchase them. I can't speak for their durability yet, but so far they are excellent speakers for the money in my amateur opinion. While I haven't been able to do side by side comparisons, I would consider the sound from the MFM 7's to be equal to that of the speakers listed above at a fourth of the cost. My only wonder is whether I would have written such a glowing review if I had paid the $1400 dollar retail price.

Similar Products Used:

Paradigm, Boston Acoustics, Mission Audio, Def. Tech.

great clear sound, better after break in, best after bi-wiring them. Good tight bass, crisp sound. Vocals are clear, this is one of the smoothest sounding speakers I heard. No distortion even at high levels.

They really don't provide a deep boomy bass, personally I like this trait. I have a grat sub, so I don't need all that deep vibrating bass from these speakers.

I reviewed these speakers about two months or so after I recieved them. I broke them in over a few days, then bi-wired them. This is really the best way to hear everything these have to offer. They produce sound so well, it's that "you're there" feeling. I personally think they shine in the home theater area. I watched many DVD movies and often find myself watching scenes over and over just in awe of the sound these speakers can reproduce. For the price I paid I think I got a steal.
I have read that some are listed as 22 pounds, the black ash, I ordered the rosewood and they are 47 pounds. So, if there is any truth to that rumor, I can say the rosewood is the real deal.
I owned and stil do own speakers that I have paid huge $$$$ for. I found these to be one of the best I have ever owned for the dollar. Actually, I own a a pair of PSB image 3L, and they are right up there with them. They are actually a better speaker for home theater than the PSB. I think it is due to the fact that the PSB is very boomy, were the MFM 7 is a crisp, tight bass.
If your on a budget or you are looking to upgrade to a new set of speakers, for $250 I think you'd be hard pressed to find a better speaker. But bi-wire them to fully enjoy everything they have to offer.

Similar Products Used:

jamo, psb, mfm 5

These speakers are at the top of Wharfedale's Mid Field Monitor (MFM) line. The MFM-7 is a 3 way speaker with 2 7-inch long throw woofers, a 7-inch midrange and a 1-inch silk dome tweeter. All of this is housed in an attractive but not showy rosewood or black ash cabinet that stands 39 inches high. The cabinet's mouldings are acoustically "dead" material (termed "Audio Stealth" by Wharfedale) that supposedly absorbs many of the unwanted sound vibrations and reduces coloration. The 6 ohm speaker is outfitted for both bi-amping and bi-wiring. Sensitivity and power handling are rated at 91 db and 150 watts respectively. Frequency response is not provided, but Stereo Review in its buyer's guide indicates the response of the MFM-5 is 38 Hz to 20 kHz. According to Wharfedale, the main requirements of the MFM series are "a flat, extended frequency response; low levels of colouration and distortion; total transparency; high level sound capability; controlled directivity; and total consistency." Wharfedale's URL is www.wharfedale.co.uk.
Impressions:

My relationship with the Wharfedale MFM-7 is similar to many a courtship and marriage. I auditioned a lot of speakers (about a dozen, towers and bookshelves including Tannoy, PSB, B&W, Energy, Snell, Mission) and was in the final stage of decision. Having expanded my budget, I went back to the Wharfedale dealer after having listened to one of my two top choices (Mission 772). The dealer was having a sale on Wharfedales but not the one (Emerald 93) I was interested in. Then the salesperson introduced me to big sister. She had all the stuff I was looking for and more and was twice the height of her little sister. OK, I am interested. Then I ran my auditioning tracks through her and heard the sound I was looking for.

I am a classical enthusiast and auditioned with excerpts from the following works:

Moussorgsky (Ravel orchestral version), "Pictures at an Exhibition"
Gershwin, "Rhapsody in Blue"
Beethoven, Piano Concerto No. 5, 3rd movement.
Saint-Saens, Symphony No. 3, 4th movement
Sousa, "Semper Fideles" and "Stars and Stripes Forever"

Unlike other towers I auditioned, the bass was not boomy and did not seem to rattle around inside the tower and become muddy. Coloration was at a minimum. It handled soft kettle drums with a nice touch unlike the Energy C-2 which shook the walls. The midrange and upper end were extremely clear and detailed. Violins were clear. The sound was a pleasant balance with good ambience without being rich. Soundstage was quite good with instrument placement in the orchestra well defined (good imaging). The sound was mellow but no overly so (excessive coloration). Then "dad" hit me with his price - a 30 percent discount which brought the price down to $950. This caused my Scottish roots to loosen themselves from their heritage (Tannoy) and ally with the English. May my ancestors forgive me!

So we got home, got all set up, and then came the big moment. It was a disaster. My bride had weaknesses afterall. Where was the mellow bass I had heard? The high end was lifeless and gone. Inspection of the speakers revealed that the shorting bar between the binding post terminals was open. So I started to put on my music and as the evening wore on these speakers began to work their magic until during the second movement of Beethoven's 5th Piano Concerto I realized these were the ones for me. The detail was remarkable. Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto came alive with joy. I could even pick out the subtle triangle in the last part of Sousa's "Stars and Stripes Forever" (Boston Pops)on an analog recording which is usually masked by the rest of the orchestra. Remarkable.

I also checked out the performance on FM (KING-FM, Seattle) and digital satellite (DMX). These speakers made me want to listen to FM all day long, and the digital signals were reproduced splendidly.

Conclusions:

These speakers are very laid back, nice, and easy going with just the right hint of dynamics for me. They are a good all-rounder that does not offend. They mate well with my Luxman R-3030 (cica 1980). Rockers may want to look elsewhere because the bass will disappoint; but if your thing is clarity and definition with good, well founded bass give these and their little sister the Emerald 93 an audition. I suspect they would be good with all acoustic music. These speakers do very, very well on uncomplicated (example solo piano) music; but sometimes as the music becomes very complex, they fade toward ordinary. Be warned that if you have a poor recording, these speakers will punish you to the ends of the earth. If you have a good recording you will be in sonic heaven.

At $1400 I rate these speakers a 4 star. They list for 650 pounds in the UK. I agree with Bonson Yee's comments for the most part. If you can get these speakers for under $1000 they are a 5 star. I am rating it a five star because that is what I got it for under $1000. I do not think they are worth the full boat so to speak. You might want to check out the review of the MFM-3 speaker at www.hifichoice.co.uk for other opinions of the series.

Beware: Wharfedale speakers have been auctioned for very low prices on the Internet. My Wharfedale service center told me that it does not recognize the warranty on the vast majority of these. Check before buying.

Sound

Build quality

Good Speaker for the price...

Just like everyone else I got these cheap from UBId and read reviews here before deciding to place my bid. Yes the speakers have flimsy grills (though not unattractive), are made in China and are poorly wrapped in vinyl...BUT for the price they really are quite impressive. Oh BTW there is nothing wrong with the feet you just stick 'em under the spikes! I am a DJ and play mostly Techno and House, when using these speakers in conjunction with my Dahlquist Sub I have no complaints about the sound. During the break-in period the MFM-7s did sound a bit disjointed, but after a week or 2 of steady low volume listening of everything from Vivaldi to Company Flow to Jeff Mills I noticed they sounded much better. Now I routinely drive the speakers at high volume for 4 or 5 hours at a time while mixing and have had no problems. While these speakers are rated at 6 ohms IAG told me that an 8 ohm amp should have no problem driving the speakers. However my old Technics amp has only about 60 watts per channel (at 8 ohms) and gets quite hot after driving these monsters for awhile, I fear it's due to burst into flames soon. So I figure a new more powerful amp is in order. The speakers should sound even better with a solid 100 - 150 watts running through them.

One of my speakers arrived with shipping damage and sounded awful but I contacted The US distributor of Wharfedale, http://www.iagamerica.com , and a new speaker was at my door 2 days later. Seems to me those with the one star reviews also had speakers damaged in shipping but were just too dumb to notice;-) I had no problem dealing with either Ubid or Wharfedale (by e-mail), my problems were addressed quickly and professionally. If the speakers don't sound right then just contact the people at http://www.iagamerica.com and they'll sort you out with new units. Seems to me IAG/Wharfedale just wants to get rid of these speakers, for whatever reason. Christ it's been over 3 months since my replacement speaker arrived and I have yet to send the damaged one to IAG, they haven't even e-mailed me about it! I'll send it back one of these days...really I will;-)

Similar Products Used:

Technics, EV, JM Labs, JBL....

Clean Sound

So far none

After i saw these on UBID I admit to being more than a little surprized that they arrived when promised and sounded much better than the reviews I have read so far. I am using the Dennon AVR2800 and when pushed after a day and night of break-in I was almost SHOCKED. We have listen to Etta James Jeff Beck ( the OF COURSE CD) Anne Sophie Mutter live and last night watched PITCH BLACK on PPV ... As the night wore on we were noticing how clean all the sounds were and they are NOT bi wired! They need some head room so the better the amp the sooner they break in and also throwing so many diff styles of music and even some DVD movies today I will say they loosened right up. Right now they are holding their own against DQ10s as my rear speakers. The Highs were clean right out of the box, the lows and mids took about 4 hours to show up. All in all I would rate them up there as a mid hi end speaker and you can not beat the price! Sonicly they earn a WOOOHOOO! for sounding in a word CLEAN after only one day of break in I am looking forward to having them around for years to come as i think the sound can only get sweeter ( Hey I am in love with my DQ series speakers so dont get me wrong but they had about a two month break in when I first got them as well! )

Similar Products Used:

DQ10s and DQ20s

looks with grills off, bi-wire ability

none

payed a little too much when considering others payed a lot less for a pair, buti still think it was worth it. Excellent when bi-wired. I am using then for my front speakers, abd they are great. With a total harmonic distortion with less then 0.01% i am impressed. they sound great for home theatre use and they sound fine even without bi-wiring then. other's complain of needing a long break in time with them but when i bi-wired them i thought they sounded percise and clear within the first hour of use. however, i always have my sub on so the mfm-7's never go below 40HZ. When not bi-wired i do think wharfdale mfm-5's sound better though when used at its full range (somewhere as low as 20HZ).

the mirage was too musical with my system, and when in use as part of a home theatre i like less noise and more bass. high's are great and don't sound like noise like the mirages did, i think their distorition levels were rather high but i didn't ask the dealer what the specs were.

the b&w's were great, but the dealer told be wharfdales were as good and maybe even better. he explained that wharfdale failed in the US due to their high costs and being unheard of here. basicly there was no market to keep them here in the US. if you goto the wharfdale website you can learn about their history and find that they are rather well know and well established in the UK. I did however accompany the whafdale line with b&w's asw1000 which work well together. oh yeah, if you plan on using an entire wharfdale line for your home theatre don't use such a large speaker for the rear's. i think the mfm5's are too much for the rear's (not being used to their full potentials, the mfm3's would have been fine. visit www.wharfdale.co.uk/

my equipment

Sony KV32FV26 (flat screen monitor)
Nak AV10 (reciever)
Nak MB10 (5 disc cd bank)
Pioneer DV333 (dvd player)
Monster HTS2500 (power conditioner)
Wharfdale Modus (center speaker)
Wharfdale MFM-7's (front speakers-biwired)
Wharfdale MFM-5's (rear speakers)
B&W ASW1000 (powered subwoofer)
Cables are all monster cables refrence Z2

Similar Products Used:

mirage 0M5's, b&w lines