price, balanced sound, tight bass, size

not a huge sound

After reading all the reviews, I thought I should chime in. These are excellent speakers. I've been a recording engineer/producer for 18 years and haven't put a lot into my home system. After browsing on Ubid, I bought these on the strength of the Wharfedale name and the stupidly low price (shippping? well.....). They sounded great out of the box. I would think that a lot of complaints arise from defective or improperly hooked up speakers. QC is probably where they cut the corners. From what I've read, Wharfedale backs these speakers up pretty well.

Speakers sound good relative to their abilitly to capture the ambient sound (either real or artificially-created) around an instrument(s). The W's do a fine job. Drum sets are easy to visualize, voices sound natural and not overextended in the higher frequencies. Real nice sounding for jazz trio recordings. These speakers aren't trying to hype you. Neither am I. (No, I don't work for Ubid - but that's the place with the deal).

I haven't bi-amped them yet but will over the holidays.

Similar Products Used:

B&W, Paradigm

looks

they will not handle anything. speaker pop

i sell speakers when i received these speakers I said you have to kidding.E-bay was not to willing to take them back I bought 4 pair yes I know.I have the opel 90 and 100 and mf7 there ok but doooooooooooooo not buy these speakers

Similar Products Used:

none well mybe york lol

Good mid and upper range support, price

None apparent yet

I purchased four of these speakers to use with my home theater/stereo. I originally had a pair of DCM 12's. I liked those speakers, they had decent bass output, but were not nearly as clean with the vocals and mid range sound. The Wharfedales sound nice and have decent bass out put for just using a 6" bass driver. I am adding an AR S500BA (which I havn't received yet). These speakers seem to handle well and maintain a fairly even distribution of sound at higher levels. I was fortunate and got my four speakers from Ubid.com for $97 each (plus $20 shipping and handling each) I think it was a reasonable deal. I am happy.
I listen to a lot of music and watch some movies, and for an average college student who likes everything from Classical to Rap they seem to support everything well.
I gave it an over all rating of 4 because I havn't got to compare them to many other speakers. But I did go to Circuit city and listend to the Infinity overature 2 and I didn't like how they sounded too much, it is only my opinion but they seemed to lack definition, and lower support. But that is just what I hear...besides for the fact that they charged an arm and a let for them. I would pay no more than $200 for the infinities. I know some people love those speakers, and that is great...I didn't.

Similar Products Used:

DCM 12, Technics 12

Value for the $$

Absolutely tacky grilles

I too, purchased these speakers for Ubid. That in it self is an experience for another time and one I will not repeat. Wharfedale IS an old time hi-end audio manufacturer. I purchased the Sapphire 87's based on the info provided and my own limited knowledge of this English speaker maker. the speakers are used in the front end of my Home Theatre set-up and I was hoping they might see duty in my tube audio system. These speakers DO need time to break-in and they seem to be worth what I paid for them, NOT what Ubid or Wharfdale says they are worth! Thay perform well in my H/T system giving good a balanced stage, adequate bass, and are reasonably attractive. IF you are looking for speakers for your Audio system, PLEASE, PLEASE audition the speakers BEFORE you buy. Many hi-end audio systems are sensitve to component matching. My rating is based on the price paid, not HYPE.
ome

Similar Products Used:

JBL, Polk, Vandersteen, and Jensen

Excellent value.Great bass. Good rose finish.

Cheap grills

I bought this speaker @ ubid For $200.00 per pair including shipping. Excellent product. Customer service @ AIG is one of the the best out there. They send me two different color speakers but with Brian's help I got my new pair within 48 hrs. There is no speakers in the market at this price with all this good qualities.

Similar Products Used:

none

transparent, balanced, neutral, incredible value

The grilles and veneers could be a better, but not for the price

These were the first speakers that I had ever bought without auditioning. I bought them strictly due to the brand reputation of Wharfedale and the great price on Ubid auction site. I got them on Ubid for $69 each plus $40 shipping to be the main speakers of my bedroom system. I loved them straight out of the box, and I loved them even more once the broke in. Even my dad, who generally couldn't care less about Hi Fi, commented on how great they sounded. I liked them so much, I subsequently got their big brothers, the Sapphire SP 89 as the front speakers for my Home theater system, and the SP 83s as surrounds. Well, I like those as well, but the more I have listened to all of these, the more I am convinced that the SP 87s are actually the best speakers of the entire line. A bit more balanced and transparent than the SP 89s which can sound a bit heavier in the lower midrange, due to the additional Bass driver. While the Sp 89s do have a bit more in the Bass, I find that if the SP 87s are mated with a proper subwoofer, then these can hold their own with speakers going for over $1000 apiece.

Similar Products Used:

Mission, KEF, Dahlquist, other Wharfedales

For my needs, they are fantastic. Good bass and highs

can't think of many

After I bought an h/k AVR45 (which is a great product so far) I needed to get some speakers, and saw the W's. I never heard of this company and came here to read about what people have to say. After i read this, I was hooked. I figured I could not go wrong. I read in an audio Buyer's Guide that these speakers retail for around $1500. I figured I had to get them. So, I did.

They are great speakers. I don't really have a lot to compare them to, since these were way cheaper than anything I could have gotten in a store and I did not look any further. Though they are crisp and clear. The bass is amazing for the size of the speakers. I like the highs as well.

Overall, I have no idea how they compare to other $1500 speakers, but these are really nice in their own right. Also, I am sure I have listened to these for many hours and I have heard stories that they sound better with time. This might be slightly true. I remember when I first got them that there was some static in the speakers when I would listen to music. After 2-3 months of ownership, I can say that it is no longer there. All of this from really bad k-mart speaker wires. I will have to get some nice wires and see what happens.

Yes, I recommend the product to other and would recommend Wharfedale in general.

Similar Products Used:

none

Good looking.

Quality of construction and components.

>>>>>>>>>> WELCOME TO THE UBID ADVERTISING PAGE<<<<<<<<<<<<<


These speakers have the cheapest drivers I have ever seen anywhere. All the woofers were defective, just making a few buzz and rattle noises. Ubid is the master at finding terrible junk from good name manufacturers who are selling out their reputations fro the quick buck.

Do yourself a favor and get up from your PC and go down and listen to some equipment and see a guy that you can look in the face when he is making a deal for your hard earned pay check.

All these other ridiculous rave reviews were probably made by Ubid employees.

Similar Products Used:

Good speakers from reputable honest dealers.

Bass is very strong for 6 in. woofers, STEREO IMAGING IS GREAT, DIRT CHEAP!

made in china and the grills are cheap but they do the job just fine.

I got these speakers with out a clue on how they were going to sound. These Speakers are unbeatable for the price! the highs are very clean and the overall sound is super clear. I was able to get them for $99 each plus 75 shipping. Ubid charges way to much for shipping but these speakers are worth it. These speakers sound great for Pop music, Country Music and Rock but I dont like them with clasical.

Similar Products Used:

some old yamahas

Imaging, frequency extension, bi-wire bi-amp capability, very easy load.

Very sensitive to location, small "sweet spot"

Like everyone else here, I too bought these via u-bid for $284 including shipping, mostly out of curiosity. I have been looking for an inexpensive speaker that I could live with while my very active and inquisitive 2 year old learns not to touch the speakers.

I have listened to Wharfedale speakers on occasion but not for some time so when someone recommended that I check out U-bid I couldn't resist and bid on a number of things. Unfortunately, I won several bids and now am the proud owner of a number of duplicates....oh well.

It is almost impossible to review these speakers without constantly referencing to the price, I mean this is in "white van speaker" territory for real speakers. I was pleasantly suprised at the build quality after reading some of these reviews. I too, would have preferred a wood veneer finish, but if that is that important you could have the cabinets refinished. You do get quality drivers, biwire, biamp capability, and pretty decent crossover components.

My initial out of the box impressions were disappointing, boomy, raspy (to use my wifes words who ussually has little to say about my audio purchases, except when the VISA bill comes), and "boxy" (pun intended). I have been around enough to have learned that things take a while to burn in and loosen up, especially speakers. I have never noticed any difference with "burned-in" or new cabling, that's a bit over the top for me.

After running for 20 hours or so I sat down to listen and fiddle with the placement. Much smoother, no rasp, still boomy, lousy imaging. I decided that I was going to have to remove my current speakers and place these in their place. MUCH better. After an hour of fiddling and listening, I ended up about 1 foot from the back wall, 4 feet in from the sides and very toe'd in. They sounded better further into the room but we all have constraints in double duty rooms, in this case the living room.

Impressive low frequency extension and detail. Still a bit bright for my tastes but more time may take care of that. Imaging after toe-in was very good with a wide and high sound stage. Depth is a little lacking and female voices sound a bit "canned" or "boxy", but overall the presentation is quite good, especially at these prices.

Associated equipment:

Bryston B60R
Sony DVD 7700
Ah! Toeb CD
Kimber Cable Silver interconnects
Kimber 8 TC speaker cable

Similar Products Used:

Thiel 1.5, 2.3, Hales Revelation 3, MGD Rev 60i, Legacy tower