Warm speakers for Yamaha A-s500

3 Way Bookshelf Speakers
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kaudmeter

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Hello,

I am looking for a warm (soft) sounding book shelve speakers for my rig, which consist of:

Source - SB Xi-fi smth (not sure of specific model).
Amp - yamaha A-s500
Sub - Rel Quake MK1

Currently I have two front speakers from surround set called audio pro stage 22.

The whole upgrade started when I first bought Rel sub and was amazed by the base (I do listen electronics, dub with some deep base). Then I bought Yamaha amp and was amazed once again, had no idea my music should sound like that.

But after two weeks I started to get really tired of highs, I started to play with loudness knob on amp, which helped a bit. It progressed and ended in being simply painfull to listen anything on more than average loudness (only high frequencies). After making some research I realized it is the speakers fault, to be more specifically their metal twitters.

Now I am in a situation where I need to buy speakers fast, as I can't listen to my music and I am dying inside everyday without it.

So far I am targeting this candidate: Wharfedale Diamond 10.1.
It fits the budget which is 300 euro max. Has soft dome twitter and supposedly (according to reviews) has neutral tonal balance.

I am very much open to used market too.
I live in small room (17sqm), but will move out in half a year. My current neighbours have nothing against loud music.
My music preferences: Acid-Jazz, Ambient, IDM, Dub-funky stuff and all kind of good stuff.
I don't care that much about detailed, analytical sound I am more for the soul of the music, emotional part of it.

Any suggestions, candidates and critics are welcome.

Thanks!

PS: I live in Holland
 
Any of the bookshelves from the wharfedale diamond series should be a good option. They are warm sounding speakers. 10.1 should be a good bet; go for the 10.2 if you want a bit more bass.

I have heard the previous generation wharfedales, the 9.1 & 9.2. I can easily recommend these. They may be still available at clearances and will be a very good buy at the discounted prices. Buying used is also a good option to save money!

Best,
APK
 
Last edited:
cyber_cat said:
hi, have you read this Yamaha A-S500 review from the experts at whathifi.com

they seem to have got good results with Monitor Audio Bronze BX2 with your amp, falls in your budget too, but do get an audition and proceed.

cheers
Click to expand...

Unfortunately they are too expensive here - 175e per piece, which is 350 in total, while WD is only 135 per piece. Too much for my thin wallet ;)

I think I will go with wharfedale diamond, only positive reviews, warm sound, good price!
 
Slightly OT,

I am planning for the following combo

Marantz CD 5004 + Yamaha AS500 + KEF iQ7 + Velodyne EQMax 8 or 10

I think this combo will sound bright as KEF tends to be on the brighter side.

-John.
 
So in the end I bought Wharfedale Diamond 10.1
They sound really good - soft and rich.
I got one problem though. Yesterday I tried them biwired and at some point I noticed that on very highs frequencies one speaker produces "sand" like distortions, like its overpowered on highs.
So I've switched back to one wired - the same issue. I tried switching channels, wires, amlifiers, sound sources - the same result. Basically I eliminated every reason except speaker itself The twitter fails to produce clear sound without distortion on very high. And it doesn't have to play that loud to have those distortions.

The weird thing is that it happened only after biwiring.

Does anybody knows what can be the reason and is there a way to fix it, or I have to send them back to seller.
I just got them and they sound really good and its such a bummer!

Thanks for replies.
 
If is it in same speaker even switching the channels then definitely there is something wrong with that particular speaker. You should contact the seller. Was this issue before biwiring? As you mentioned now it is with one wired too.

You can try it too to make sure..... Run only one speaker which need to check... place the BOTH speakers side by side closely and then connect any channel to the speaker, then switch the SAME channel to another speaker.(you can use A or B option to do it) Connect both speakers as A and B but same channel either left or right. After connecting listen the speakers one by one, by switching the A or B selector (don't use A+B both). A then B, repeat it again. Notice if it is only speaker... If found in one speaker, contact the seller.

kaudmeter said:
So in the end I bought Wharfedale Diamond 10.1
They sound really good - soft and rich.
I got one problem though. Yesterday I tried them biwired and at some point I noticed that on very highs frequencies one speaker produces "sand" like distortions, like its overpowered on highs.
So I've switched back to one wired - the same issue. I tried switching channels, wires, amlifiers, sound sources - the same result. Basically I eliminated every reason except speaker itself The twitter fails to produce clear sound without distortion on very high. And it doesn't have to play that loud to have those distortions.

The weird thing is that it happened only after biwiring.

Does anybody knows what can be the reason and is there a way to fix it, or I have to send them back to seller.
I just got them and they sound really good and its such a bummer!

Thanks for replies.
Click to expand...
 
Prepress
Thanks for the method. I've just send them back today.
Now that they are shipped I start thinking if there is any point to switch to 10.2 if I already have good sub (Rel Quake MK1)?
I mean it looks like 10.2 will just add some bass (40 vs 48hz) which is already covered by the sub.
But it is always tempting to switch to smth better........
 
You already have Sub, so you can use any bookshelf speakers.
Bookshelf + Sub is more warm than FS.
Even I am searching for good budget FS (not bookshelves) and finalized Sonus 2605 V3 but due to quality control issues (discussed many times on this forum) I have changed my mind, another problem is their customer service.

Wharfedale Bookshelf and FS are good with Yamaha A-S500.

kaudmeter said:
Prepress
Thanks for the method. I've just send them back today.
Now that they are shipped I start thinking if there is any point to switch to 10.2 if I already have good sub (Rel Quake MK1)?
I mean it looks like 10.2 will just add some bass (40 vs 48hz) which is already covered by the sub.
But it is always tempting to switch to smth better........
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
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