Wharfedale Loudpanel Floorstanding Speakers Reviews

zakcoop

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Price Paid:  $90.00 from eBay

Summary:
At 90.00 I was cautiously optimistic about the performance of these speakers. However, when I hooked them up and tested them as front loudspeakers I was blown away. For testing I tried them with and without a subwoofer. With a subwoofer they are amazing. Without a subwoofer they are still amazing, though very slim on the bass. As surround speakers they can't be beat for their stealth. We were moving into a new house that had an irregularly shaped room. These speakers were a perfect solution since they offer a very large soundfield and a great look. For those of you wondering - yes, they do come with a natural wood frame, not a fake wood veneer. My units came with a natural pine frame, finished to a pleasant red/natural sheen. They seem to handle power well and offer more than enough power handling when used as rear speakers. The power rating information on the rear of the speaker states 70 watts at 8 ohms. Now I just have to figure out what photos I want to apply to the front of the speakers - hmmmmm, never thought I'd hear myself saying that! :)

Strengths:
- Crisp highs - Wide soundfield - Ample power handling - Great rear channel solution - Easy setup - Totally unique

Weaknesses:
- Almost no significant bass - Only 2 finish types; black or pine - A bit "wimpy" feeling, but they are meant to be frames, so ...

Similar Products Used:
I'll be darned if I could find a similar product.

Price Paid:  $75.00 from Richer Sounds

Summary:
I went into the shop looking specifically for flat speakers and was surprised at how cheap these flat panels were. After warming them up, I can say that the sound quality is not bad, but as a recommendation, these should be used in conjunction with other speakers. I've actually got a set of floorstanders as well, and with the sub, i get a good all-round sound.

Strengths:
discreet. I keep photos of all my mates in both of them and people don't realise they're speakers. Good sound for the money paid. Sub included gives warm bass.

Weaknesses:
Can get better speakers for the price range. Sound quality is good but not that loud.

Similar Products Used:
B&W shelf speakers.

Price Paid:  $90.00 from www.richersounds.com

Summary:
Had grown very weary of my home being full of black boxes silver boxes beige boxes plain boxes boxes with lights boxes with knobs etc etc etc so these speakers appealed immediately and they were CHEAP! price knocked down from £300 to £80 + £10 postage. Read conflicting reviews so couldnt be sure of quality but when its cheap its cheap....decided to buy and if theyre no good then use them for my PC. I put the things up today, very easy to connect and install. I have them in a regular shape room 18ft x 12 ft. The speakers and the sub woofer need 50 hours to run in which I'm doing now... So the moment came to use them for the first time....could they possibly work!? I connected them to my Arcam Alpha one amplifier and Sony CDPXE570 CD player, put in a disc and prepared myself for a thin wheezing flat sound.....and I was very pleasantly surprised! Straight out of the box they are good. Cant wait for them to be nicely run in. 1st observations: they need to be placed like conventional speakers in terms of height and width but this is not quite so critical. The stereo image may not be as good as conventional boxes. The speakers need a powerful amplifier, my little 40w Arcam cant make them LOUD, may try them with my Yamaha HT amp, will add an update review if lots more power makes a lot of difference. These speakers probably wont stand up to a side by side comparison with good quality conventional speakers in a purpose built listening room, however in the real world where we listen to MUSIC not to hi fi and we listen to it in homes with furniture, doorways and windows in rooms that may not be a regular shape these speakers are excellent. Also I just got half my living room back! I now have a whole new wall here i can add a cupboard or a shelf or whatever. I found some space under my big PC workstation for my hi fi and now I have a living space for living intead of a listening room compromised with furniture....I LOVE THESE SPEAKERS! My old (quite nice!) Eltax Symphony floortanders are now consigned to a cupboard and may be sold soon. I might even buy a second set of Wharfedale loudpanels for surround sound HT. I like the passive sub woofer...a box that doesnt need an electrical socket...thankyou! To summarize, for £90 ($120) I dont believe you can buy a comparable sounding speaker of any type.

Strengths:
Reclaim your living space! Good sound, very clear and detailed. The little sub woofer kicks out enough bass for a small or medium room. Easy on the eye. Easy on the wallet at this low price. Easy to install. Evereything you need is in the box.

Weaknesses:
The wiring supplied is supiciously thin and nasty looking. Maybe best to use something more subtantial. Also it's black and red. Black and Red wire is inconspicuous in how many typical homes? Speakers need a powerful amplifier.

Similar Products Used:
Eltax Symphony 6.2 floorstanders. Tannoy monitors. Yamaha subwoofer and 5 satellites.

Price Paid:  $200.00 from Crow River Sound

Summary:
I bought these speakers by chance one day when i walked into the audio store and was looking for a small powered sub i could run with my pc. i was using Paradigm Titans at the time for my computer at university and wanted something else so i could bring the Titans back home. The regular price of these things is 600 bucks where im from, so for 200 bucks new it was perfect. It rocks the dorm room and there is no chance of anyone spilling on em. they knock the pants off any multimedia speaker/sub combo in the place. for what i got i couldnt go wrong. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED FOR UNIVERSITY DORMS!!!!!!

Strengths:
neat idea, probably good for surrounds, positioning not a big problem. good price. great for the dorm room.

Weaknesses:
sound isnt that great. harsh highs, especially if you put a picture on them. boomy bass. mounting is a problem on a cement wall!!!!!!!!!

Similar Products Used:
i once listend to a cup, but it was nothing like a picture frame.

Price Paid:  $107.00 from ebay

Summary:
Very well hidden to the normal person that these are speakers. My wife put pictures of us on the speakers. With the black frame the speakers made them very contemporary and hidden to our guests. Very warm sound. Excellent.

Strengths:
Stealth of speakers. Can be used as a picture frame. Very light.

Weaknesses:
Subwoofer needed in order to compliment the bass.

Similar Products Used:
Klipsch Quintet, Yamaha NSP 220, and Aiwa Bookshelf speakers.