Mark111867

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Price Paid:  $300.00 from Wild West Electronic

Summary:
Dealing with Wild West Electronics was great. I originally ordered the 9.2's, but they were out of stock. WWE gave me a selection of two other monitors plus the 9.4's to choose from, which is why I got them for 300.

If you have hardwood floors, these speakers are a good choice. They are fairly "laid back". The bass is taught and defined. Midrange is slightly recessed. Treble is smooth and detailed without any harshness at all, which is why they probably work well in a room with poor acoustics. Soundstage and bass are not as defined as they are on my Revels, but the Revels cost another 400.

The vinyl (in cherry) looks nice and the build quality looks good. Kevlar woofers look great. I think the usual asking price for the 9.4's is around $500. Even at $500, I would consider these speakers money well spent. For $300, I don't think that I could find another speaker that sounds as "listenable" and enjoyable as the 9.4's. Most of the music that I listen to is classical and folk, which these seem to excel at.

Please note that my review ratings are based on the $300 USD price that I paid.

Strengths:
Warm sound, yet detailed.
Vinyl cherry looks nice.
Kevlar woofer looks great.
Great for acoustic music.
Nice binding posts.

Weaknesses:
For $300 USD, very few.

Similar Products Used:
Revel Concerta M12
Mirage M-290
Cambridge Soundworks Newton M80

Price Paid:  $350.00 from online - demo pair

Summary:
This is the first truly decent pair of speakers I have owned. I run them with a Proton D540 integrated amp (oldie but goodie!) and so far don't have any complaints. In fact, I think they sound brilliant, overall. If you like to rock and like to rock hard, these might not be the best speakers for you. A lot of that is probably just the fact that these speakers can bring out flaws in a recording that sounded great on a crappier setup. The thing the wharfedales are meant to do is reproduce sound accurately. Vocals, classical and jazz sounds real. These speakers are clear and crisp, but not trebly. Also, the bass is tight and surprizingly full for being small 2-way speakers. I've heard that the 9.6's are supposed to be far superior, but then again theyr'e almost twice as expensive. If you are looking for a pair of speakers that sounds great, but you're not a hard-core audiophile type, I say look into the wharfedale 9.4s. In the end, it's best to listen to a bunch of speakers and buy the ones that sound the best for your money.

Strengths:
Accurate, full and controlled bass. Bring out the best in vocals.

Weaknesses:
Not many. I guess they don't sound as good for loud rock as some speakers, but they're not really meant for that anyway.

Similar Products Used:
Old pair of EV speakers that I rebuilt with new 3-way components.