I acquired a pair of Wharfedale Valdus 500s from Ubid.com for a mere $210 each. I can't imagine a better deal on speakers of this quality. While not in the same arena as electrostatics, they are a quantum leap in range, precision and balance over the Technics and Optimus speakers I was previously using.

The Valudus 500's are a quality speaker with deep clear bass, sure to put a smile on your face, just not your neighbors. One thing to be aware of if you're looking to purchase a pair is the ohm rating for the Valdus 500. The 500's are rated at 4 ohms, while most home theater systems will push 8-16 ohms.

Quality speaker, got them for $202 a piece at ubid. Due to cash restraints (student budget)I don't have a quality system to hook them up to. I hooked them up to my economy Aiwa mini-system with a pitiful 20 watts per channel and the speakers sound AMAZING! Booming bass and clear clear highs. I can't wait to hear my babies hooked up to a reciever with some power. These speakers come highly recommended.

My brother also bought these from UBid and we were amazed at the sound quality and bass. He was looking for a set of speakers to replace the Bose AM7 and AM3 system he used for his home theater and happened to see these on UBid so he placed the bid and he's been happy ever since. The sound is clean and crisp with not too much treble from the tweeters. There seems to be a midrange gap but the lowend bass isn't too bad (drowned out the Bose sub). How come I can't find any information on these anywhere online other than here? Does anyone have any information or a website where I can look at more of the Wharfedale speaker family? Thanks in advance for any info.

I got this pair for around $170 from a used hi-fi store. The condition is still excellent and I've use them for a few months now with a H/K amplifier.
The highs and the bass are superb due to the new tweeter concept from Wharfedale and the 2x8" woofers dedicated for the lows. However I'm not that impressed on the midrange and vocals. I suspect the 8" drive is a little too big for the mids and often they get muddled up in the overwhelming bass from the 2 woofers. I got a chance to inspect the internal components of the speaker, the crossover equipment is very simple and there's only an inductor, a capacitor and a resistor for the make-up. No wonder the sensitivity is high around 93dB for this reason - and explain why some of the mids passed into the bass woofers. Nevertheless I found this pair to be very musical and its good for non-vocal and instrumental songs like Kenny G, Yanni, Theme songs etc. Combine with center channel speaker, the set-up should form a very good home theater system. Maybe I will need to get a good graphics equalizer or quality rear bookshelf speakers later to compensate for the inadequate vocal sound.

Due to the inexpensive price I paid for them, I'll give them 4.5 stars but since the bass is soo lively that I do not need to get a separate sub, I round the rating upward.

Well I received my 500s to go with the wharfedale center and I'm happy.

I purchased the 500s from ubid for under 400 delivered. For the jazz I listen to and the home theatre I'm setting up they more than do the job.

I've connected them to my new Nak AV7 which I also purchased at ubid. When I depress the "loud" button and play Jurasic Park the bass is more than enough for my needs without a woofer!

I have Ace of Base which with a good woofer has a constant low low base running throughout the tracks but I don't really miss it - if you know what I mean. If that is what you want then add a sub to these speakers.

I was looking at speakers that cost twice as much as what I paid and all I can say is I'm thrilled with u-bid for giving me HT for

Beefs up a budget system

Boomy bass, little refinement

I´ve had these for two years now, used with a Sony amp. The amp has now been upgraded and the speakers are the next to go.
They were quite cheap and really brought out the bass in the music i listened to then. As my preferences concerning music has changed (no more heavy metal...) I´ve noticed I like the sound of the Wharfedales less and less. The bass is very pronounced but they fail utterly to bring out the more subtle details in the music.

At the price they are quite good and they might work with a budget system, but if we´re talking about a better system, forget them....

Price

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This is the best pair of speaker for under $ 500 a pair. The highs are SUPER clear and the midrange is sharp and powerful with no hint of breaking up even at high volumes. I thought I was making a big mistake by taking a chance on a UK product when clearly U.S. speakers are the best speakers. Well, the speakers turned out to be incredible for their value. I can't stop listening to my compact discs, I also can't stop watching movies.

Tight Bass, Clear Midrange and Highs

I feel these speakers were a great value for the price I paid, 410.00/pair shipped. I got them new, with full warranty. I am impressed with their overall sound. I thought I would be able to use them as my main speakers in my home theater set, but when I compared them to my "old", less expensive Infinity SM-125s they didn't perform as well. All types of music just wasn't as crisp, clear, or well-driven. I don't regret buying them at all, because they perform well as rear speakers. All my music is played in 5 channel mode --> sounds incredible all together. Total package includes: Onkyo TX-DS575 Receiver, Pinnacle Gold Center Channel, SM-125s as main, JBL subwoofer, and two Wharfedale Valdus 500s as rear.

Similar Products Used:

Infinity SMs, Pinnacle Gold Towers

Tight, clean bass.

Mellow Midrange

I purchased my first pair on Ubid for barely over $300, an auditioned them in my home where I disconnected my Snell CIV's - and was absolutlely amazed at the overall sound from the Wharfdales. Admittedly, the design favors bass, and lots of it, they handle all 200 watts from my Adcom amp without even whimpering. But that's the way I like it - deep grooves and brilliant highs. I'm so impressed, I have since purchased two more pair! Haven't figured out where to put them yet... but the value cannot simply be beat. In other venues, I'd imagine these speakers have a street value of $700-$1000 a pair, and, even at that price, would be worthy of consideration.

Similar Products Used:

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