- Joined
- Mar 11, 2010
- Messages
- 3,129
- Points
- 0
WARNING! Long post about to be unleashed 
Trying to add as much as I can & with as much accuracy as I can remember
Couple of confessions to make before I start off:
1) I do not look at Book Shelves in a positive ray of light, have always been a Floor Standers Fanboy
2) I have not heard any Wharfedale Speakers till date! Yes some may find that shocking but its True! Something kept me away from them (like spideys 'spidersense' :lol
Its been a long time since I demoed some speakers & armed with an excuse to do some serious demo's on behalf of a friend (who was pestering me for a long time) finally managed to take the opportunity of doing just that!
The friend in question was very specific, he wanted me to hear the Wharfedales (9.1, 10.1, 10.2, 10.4, 10.6) & Quads (11L2 & 12L2) on his behalf (Yes I know folks will jump & say he should do so himself & such) but he wanted to me to give my views on them so that he could compare notes as he has already listened to most of them.
Happy to oblige him as I got a valid reason for doing sohyeah:
Couple of things had to be figured out,
1) Where can I get the opportunity to do so with respect to the place having atleast 70% of the models in question?
2) I would need sufficient time to do justice to all of them, hence time factor had to kept in mind, as it is I like to take my time during the demo's (much to the horror of the sales rep!)
3) Shall I split the session or do it in 1 shot?
4) Would have to take a wider assortment of Test Material
The Answers to which were
1) Shitij, of Designer Audio made it happen (almost as except for 10.2 & 10.6) the rest were made available for the demo.
2) I had kept the latter part of the afternoon till evening just for this purpose.
3) Did not need to as got 95% of the models on demo + 2 additional models & some thing else(Scansonic Speakers) too as an extra BONUS!:licklips:
4) Had to keep friends listening taste in mind hence took some music which I listen to once in a while. Please see & hear the tracks listed below as these are the ones I used for auditioning. The fact that my friend might not hear this type of music is another matter but hey atleast I tried something different other than Hard Rock/Metal
Testing Material comprised of the foll: AUDIO CD's ONLY!
Woman - Wolfmother‏ - YouTube
Kaiser Chiefs - Ruby‏ - YouTube
Hinder - Lips Of An Angel‏ - YouTube
The Killers - When You Were Young‏ - YouTube
Maroon 5 - Makes Me Wonder‏ - YouTube
Keane - A Bad Dream‏ - YouTube
Fall Out Boy - This Ain't A Scene, It's An Arms Race‏ - YouTube
The Feeling - Sewn‏ - YouTube
The All-American Rejects - It Ends Tonight‏ - YouTube
Dashboard Confessional - Stolen‏ - YouTube
She Wants Revenge - Tear You Apart‏ - YouTube
And 1 Track for me
Judas Priest - Judas Rising‏ - YouTube
I carried more material but recycled the above just to get an accurate enough idea during the A/B comparisons between 2 specific speakers.
Now about the remaining part of the gear that was used with the above mentioned speakers:
AMP - Marantz SR5005 (2 ch mode obviously & a compromise but there was no mid level amp available for the demo, the others available at hand were the high priced Quads (full range might I add - which in itself was a nice surprise as one never or very rarely gets to see multiples of high end gear of 1 particular brand in one shop!)
Source - Sony BDP (Yes yes I know but same as case with the amp, had only a Quad CDP at hand that too an ancient one circa '95)
Cables - Quad IC's & DAC 14 AWG Speaker cables (not bi wired)
Another point to raise here was the Demo room being geared for all out HT set-ups(plenty of them). Who cares for 2channel guys these days? They are like a dying breed anyway & depleting community in comparison to the HT guys.
So yes a compromise of sorts but still, my take is that if a particular speaker is good enough, it will shine through in almost any kind of set-up, be it 2 or multiple channel.
So trade off in some aspects but more + points as I could get a very generous demo of so many speakers & that too in an unhurried manner & WITH THE REMOTES IN MY HAND!!! :licklips:hyeah:
All bookshelves demoed were placed on wharfedale stands.
The demo started with a pair of Quad 12L2's Vs Wharfedales 9.1's
Please note that this is like comparing apples to oranges. The Quad 12L2 sells for Rs. 45,000.00 and the Wharfedale 9.1 sells for Rs. 13,000.00
A) QUAD 12L2's:
I was warned by shitij for not expecting too much from them, ok - so kept that in back of my mind.
The speakers were at best average, a mix of all frequencies with the spotlight not shining on any particular one. If you have them running as background fillers, you won't much care but if you use them as your main speakers, you WILL be dissatisfied. I was actually expecting more from them but they did not deliver at all. By no means are they bad but they just do not give you any satisfaction.
B) Wharfedale 9.1's:
Oh yes the speakers which people are wanting so very badly. Wondering what the fuss was all about. FELL FLAT! man what was happening? Everything was muddled/muddy! I could not figure out what was going on at all. The complete jumble of all frequencies had me stumped & very upset. I listened to them for a period of 2 tracks but I just could not enjoy it anymore & asked for them to be removed ASAP.
What a bad start! As it is I was let down by the Quads & then the 9.1's made things worse.
Shitij told me that the 9.1's were brand new, had not had any 'burn-in' & so please do not assume anything about them in this scenario. Fair enough I say, but I am sorry they did not do anything for me & feel they won't even when they are burned in. My gut feel!
Heard the 10.1's in their place, felt they were better than the 9.1's with more separation, less muddle & better sound stage but still did not much care for them.
Feeling very disappointed, I saw a small pair of Book Shelves lying behind the 12L2's & asked Shitij about them who told me they were the Quad 9L2's. So I requested him to do a A/B with them & the Quad 11L2's next.
A) QUAD 11L2's:
Again these were fresh out of the box, in fact they arrived when I was listening to the above mentioned speakers. Straight away I found the difference between them & the others heard earlier. Chalk & Cheese, night & day! That much of a difference. The 11L2's are such a sweet sounding pair of speakers that one may listen to them for hours & not get tired at all. Track after track they just kept me enjoying the way they conveyed the details of each song, be it the tiny background sounds, clearer instruments sound & placements, the voice of the singer, all nicely spaced & given their due with a clear & crisp sound stage which was nicely conveyed with a slight toe-in.
I have heard the tracks above off & on but I realised that there were quite a few details of them which I had not heard earlier, which were brought out by the 11L2's. Pleasantly surprised to discover this. The thing that really made me like the 11L2's were the clarity & sweetness they delivered. To describe in One Word, 'VELVET'!
B) QUAD 9L2's:
Do not be deceived by their diminutive size, these are surprisingly good at delivering nearly 80% of what the 11L2's deliver & yet again they were a pleasant surprise for me.
I felt they would be ideal for someone having a small room or if one wanted a small set-up for one's bedroom.
Now the only speakers left to hear were the Wharfedale 10.4's, which were promptly placed alongside the 11L2's - also no other FS in similar price bracket so decided to compare them with the 11L2's
A) Wharfedale Diamond 10.4's:
These were well 'burned-in' I was told, so at least they would be at their optimal in delivery or so I thought!
Again I played a mix of the above tracks just to refresh my mind on the difference that one would/should find when one would compare a BS speaker to a similarly priced FS. Straight away the difference was apparent & the words of so many came to mind instantly which were BS costing slightly more or at par with FS in similar price range are always better. This is an ideal example of this advise & is completely true in this situation, no doubt about that! It was as if the music suddenly got muted/dulled than when it was heard through the 11L2's. This comparison was all the more startling for me as I never really bought the above mentioned advise but here it was being proved in front of me, LIVE!
In spite of having separate Bass & Mid Drivers in the 10.4's the sound was not at all as sweet, appealing & enjoyable as from that coming out of the 11L2's
So yet again another Wharfedale model for me fell flat on its face.
To put it mildly, I was disappointed with the Wharfedale sound. If the Quad's were freshly baked bread, the Wharfedales were Dried, Crusty & stale old bread
So another speaker demo session came to an end, yet again I learned so much about this hobby of mine, of the people involved in this industry(read distributors/dealers) their mid set & so on.
Final Parting Words & observations:-
Please note that this is like comparing apples to oranges. The Quad 11L2 sells for Rs. 32,000.00 and the Wharfedale 9.1 sells for Rs. 13,000.00
I now like Book Shelves! Well, Quads at least In spite the fact that they cannot handle my genre of music:sad:
Wharfedales may be popular & VFM but I would rather save more money & buy a better pair of speakers (there are so many better ones available - one needs to hear as many as possible to decide which one suites them)
If for arguments sake I as a newbie bought wharfedales, I would most certainly start hating them pretty soon & itch to buy another pair of speakers in a very short period of time, no doubt about that, resulting in going thorough the painful process of selling @ a loss & buying more expensive speakers with even lesser funds to start with!
We need more people like Shitij :clapping: of Designer Audio, he just is a prime example of how one should deal with any client who is interested in experiencing a demo to his/her liking. Hope he continues to remain the same & treat like minded folks to sample gear the way they want.
PS: Heard some sad news from Shitij, speaker prices are to be revised from next month onwards with a hike of 20-30% projected. as per notification he received from IAG. So folks, buy your speakers before the price hike:sad:
Will write about the Jade 7's & Scansonics later pls!
Trying to add as much as I can & with as much accuracy as I can remember Couple of confessions to make before I start off:
1) I do not look at Book Shelves in a positive ray of light, have always been a Floor Standers Fanboy
2) I have not heard any Wharfedale Speakers till date! Yes some may find that shocking but its True! Something kept me away from them (like spideys 'spidersense' :lol
Its been a long time since I demoed some speakers & armed with an excuse to do some serious demo's on behalf of a friend (who was pestering me for a long time) finally managed to take the opportunity of doing just that!
The friend in question was very specific, he wanted me to hear the Wharfedales (9.1, 10.1, 10.2, 10.4, 10.6) & Quads (11L2 & 12L2) on his behalf (Yes I know folks will jump & say he should do so himself & such) but he wanted to me to give my views on them so that he could compare notes as he has already listened to most of them.
Happy to oblige him as I got a valid reason for doing so
hyeah:Couple of things had to be figured out,
1) Where can I get the opportunity to do so with respect to the place having atleast 70% of the models in question?
2) I would need sufficient time to do justice to all of them, hence time factor had to kept in mind, as it is I like to take my time during the demo's (much to the horror of the sales rep!)
3) Shall I split the session or do it in 1 shot?
4) Would have to take a wider assortment of Test Material
The Answers to which were
1) Shitij, of Designer Audio made it happen (almost as except for 10.2 & 10.6) the rest were made available for the demo.
2) I had kept the latter part of the afternoon till evening just for this purpose.
3) Did not need to as got 95% of the models on demo + 2 additional models & some thing else(Scansonic Speakers) too as an extra BONUS!:licklips:
4) Had to keep friends listening taste in mind hence took some music which I listen to once in a while. Please see & hear the tracks listed below as these are the ones I used for auditioning. The fact that my friend might not hear this type of music is another matter but hey atleast I tried something different other than Hard Rock/Metal
Testing Material comprised of the foll: AUDIO CD's ONLY!
Woman - Wolfmother‏ - YouTube
Kaiser Chiefs - Ruby‏ - YouTube
Hinder - Lips Of An Angel‏ - YouTube
The Killers - When You Were Young‏ - YouTube
Maroon 5 - Makes Me Wonder‏ - YouTube
Keane - A Bad Dream‏ - YouTube
Fall Out Boy - This Ain't A Scene, It's An Arms Race‏ - YouTube
The Feeling - Sewn‏ - YouTube
The All-American Rejects - It Ends Tonight‏ - YouTube
Dashboard Confessional - Stolen‏ - YouTube
She Wants Revenge - Tear You Apart‏ - YouTube
And 1 Track for me
Judas Priest - Judas Rising‏ - YouTube
I carried more material but recycled the above just to get an accurate enough idea during the A/B comparisons between 2 specific speakers.
Now about the remaining part of the gear that was used with the above mentioned speakers:
AMP - Marantz SR5005 (2 ch mode obviously & a compromise but there was no mid level amp available for the demo, the others available at hand were the high priced Quads (full range might I add - which in itself was a nice surprise as one never or very rarely gets to see multiples of high end gear of 1 particular brand in one shop!)
Source - Sony BDP (Yes yes I know but same as case with the amp, had only a Quad CDP at hand that too an ancient one circa '95
)Cables - Quad IC's & DAC 14 AWG Speaker cables (not bi wired)
Another point to raise here was the Demo room being geared for all out HT set-ups(plenty of them). Who cares for 2channel guys these days? They are like a dying breed anyway & depleting community in comparison to the HT guys.
So yes a compromise of sorts but still, my take is that if a particular speaker is good enough, it will shine through in almost any kind of set-up, be it 2 or multiple channel.
So trade off in some aspects but more + points as I could get a very generous demo of so many speakers & that too in an unhurried manner & WITH THE REMOTES IN MY HAND!!! :licklips:
hyeah:All bookshelves demoed were placed on wharfedale stands.
The demo started with a pair of Quad 12L2's Vs Wharfedales 9.1's
Please note that this is like comparing apples to oranges. The Quad 12L2 sells for Rs. 45,000.00 and the Wharfedale 9.1 sells for Rs. 13,000.00
A) QUAD 12L2's:
I was warned by shitij for not expecting too much from them, ok - so kept that in back of my mind.
The speakers were at best average, a mix of all frequencies with the spotlight not shining on any particular one. If you have them running as background fillers, you won't much care but if you use them as your main speakers, you WILL be dissatisfied. I was actually expecting more from them but they did not deliver at all. By no means are they bad but they just do not give you any satisfaction.
B) Wharfedale 9.1's:
Oh yes the speakers which people are wanting so very badly. Wondering what the fuss was all about. FELL FLAT! man what was happening? Everything was muddled/muddy! I could not figure out what was going on at all. The complete jumble of all frequencies had me stumped & very upset. I listened to them for a period of 2 tracks but I just could not enjoy it anymore & asked for them to be removed ASAP.
What a bad start! As it is I was let down by the Quads & then the 9.1's made things worse.
Shitij told me that the 9.1's were brand new, had not had any 'burn-in' & so please do not assume anything about them in this scenario. Fair enough I say, but I am sorry they did not do anything for me & feel they won't even when they are burned in. My gut feel!
Heard the 10.1's in their place, felt they were better than the 9.1's with more separation, less muddle & better sound stage but still did not much care for them.
Feeling very disappointed, I saw a small pair of Book Shelves lying behind the 12L2's & asked Shitij about them who told me they were the Quad 9L2's. So I requested him to do a A/B with them & the Quad 11L2's next.
A) QUAD 11L2's:
Again these were fresh out of the box, in fact they arrived when I was listening to the above mentioned speakers. Straight away I found the difference between them & the others heard earlier. Chalk & Cheese, night & day! That much of a difference. The 11L2's are such a sweet sounding pair of speakers that one may listen to them for hours & not get tired at all. Track after track they just kept me enjoying the way they conveyed the details of each song, be it the tiny background sounds, clearer instruments sound & placements, the voice of the singer, all nicely spaced & given their due with a clear & crisp sound stage which was nicely conveyed with a slight toe-in.
I have heard the tracks above off & on but I realised that there were quite a few details of them which I had not heard earlier, which were brought out by the 11L2's. Pleasantly surprised to discover this. The thing that really made me like the 11L2's were the clarity & sweetness they delivered. To describe in One Word, 'VELVET'!
B) QUAD 9L2's:
Do not be deceived by their diminutive size, these are surprisingly good at delivering nearly 80% of what the 11L2's deliver & yet again they were a pleasant surprise for me.
I felt they would be ideal for someone having a small room or if one wanted a small set-up for one's bedroom.
Now the only speakers left to hear were the Wharfedale 10.4's, which were promptly placed alongside the 11L2's - also no other FS in similar price bracket so decided to compare them with the 11L2's
A) Wharfedale Diamond 10.4's:
These were well 'burned-in' I was told, so at least they would be at their optimal in delivery or so I thought!
Again I played a mix of the above tracks just to refresh my mind on the difference that one would/should find when one would compare a BS speaker to a similarly priced FS. Straight away the difference was apparent & the words of so many came to mind instantly which were BS costing slightly more or at par with FS in similar price range are always better. This is an ideal example of this advise & is completely true in this situation, no doubt about that! It was as if the music suddenly got muted/dulled than when it was heard through the 11L2's. This comparison was all the more startling for me as I never really bought the above mentioned advise but here it was being proved in front of me, LIVE!
In spite of having separate Bass & Mid Drivers in the 10.4's the sound was not at all as sweet, appealing & enjoyable as from that coming out of the 11L2's
So yet again another Wharfedale model for me fell flat on its face.
To put it mildly, I was disappointed with the Wharfedale sound. If the Quad's were freshly baked bread, the Wharfedales were Dried, Crusty & stale old bread
So another speaker demo session came to an end, yet again I learned so much about this hobby of mine, of the people involved in this industry(read distributors/dealers) their mid set & so on.
Final Parting Words & observations:-
Please note that this is like comparing apples to oranges. The Quad 11L2 sells for Rs. 32,000.00 and the Wharfedale 9.1 sells for Rs. 13,000.00
I now like Book Shelves! Well, Quads at least
In spite the fact that they cannot handle my genre of music:sad:Wharfedales may be popular & VFM but I would rather save more money & buy a better pair of speakers (there are so many better ones available - one needs to hear as many as possible to decide which one suites them)
If for arguments sake I as a newbie bought wharfedales, I would most certainly start hating them pretty soon & itch to buy another pair of speakers in a very short period of time, no doubt about that, resulting in going thorough the painful process of selling @ a loss & buying more expensive speakers with even lesser funds to start with!
We need more people like Shitij :clapping: of Designer Audio, he just is a prime example of how one should deal with any client who is interested in experiencing a demo to his/her liking. Hope he continues to remain the same & treat like minded folks to sample gear the way they want.
PS: Heard some sad news from Shitij, speaker prices are to be revised from next month onwards with a hike of 20-30% projected.
as per notification he received from IAG. So folks, buy your speakers before the price hike:sad:Will write about the Jade 7's & Scansonics later pls!
