I'm using these in concert with a Wharfedale Diamond series center and bose satellites in a home theater setup. I've been extremely pleased with the sound quality in both music and movie applications. I do want to mention that they rely on the sub to fill out the bass; they wouldn't pack much of a punch without it.

-Will not become harsh to your ear over extended listening. -Correctly positioned, a wide sound stage is created. -Imaging, being what it is, is incredible considering the build quailty and price of these speakers.

-Bass is still not as tight as I would like. -Vocals can be a bit veiled. -It's hard to complain about this speaker

This is a follow up to my review as alligator007. I need to give these speakers the 5 ratign they deserve. While hesitate to call myself an audiophile, I will admit to having a critical ear. And after three plus years with these speakers, I can not justify replacing them with anything under $1200.00.

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Various fullrange Fostex speakers

Good drivers and decent build quality. 1000 dollar sound at 1/4 the price.

None at this price level

This is a follow up to my review from 2 yrs. ago. My system now consists of the Sapphire 87's, Sapphire Center, Sherwood 6108 A/V receiver, Boston VR500 sub, Wharfedale 7.2 Anniversarys for the rears, I really cannot say enough about how much I enjoy the sound from these 87's. They are really a pleasure to listen to and when all 6 speakers are connected there is a good sense of envelopement and naturalness to the sound with no exaggeration from any part of the musical spectrum. I listen to mostly new age and jazz and movie sound. They're good for rock and classical too but not at very loud levels. I would sum the Wharfedales as being very neutral, easy to listen to speakers which can be had for cheap on Ebay.

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Klipsch Heresy's and Forte's, PSB 400i and Stratus Mini, Paradigm Titan and BIC V62 bookshelves.

Inexpensive except for Ubid shipping.

Midrange, Bass, a bit muddy sounding and empty.

These speakers are a mediocero unit. The Midrange is weak. Bass is okay, but a sub is needed. The grills are a disaster. The sweet spot for listening is also very small. They are however inexpensive.

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ADS 1090.

Value, Mids and Highs

Low-end

Like everyone else I got these from Ubid about a year ago and also like everyone else I paid way too much for shipping but whatever, at $230 these are a real nice deal.

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looked at everything

Good sounds for cheap

bass, not good for fast paced or rap music

Very good sounding speakers, kind of laid back. highs and mids are excellent for the price, bass was a little muddy. By far the best pair of speakers for the price. Works best on easy listening music or pop, headbangers go to Best Buy. Have moved on to B&W cdm-7nt (wonderful)

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acoustic Research, Jamo (low end Model), B&W cdm-7nt

bi-wire cap.,in your face clarity,mirror image

grill construction

as w/the rest i purchased the sap-89 modle for the front the sap-83 for the rear, and sap-center chanel at ubid. i paid just under 700 for all 5 and this included s/h. what can i say the deal is to good to be true! i am using a kenwood kav-7500 amp for power ground shaking courtousy of cerwin vega!. the mids and high have defined clarity that is amazing. the adj cross over on the sub makes the sound transition flawless. i most highly recommend you go to u bid and pick a complete set up. sound is exellent if i am listening to kitaro or lords of acid and sound garden. good all around. as for movies, the center chanel has 3 drivers, and picks up highs and voice w/staggering accouracy. perfomance is high end audiophile. price is consumer friendly.

p.s. if you bid be patient. they have grips of these things. get a bargin. set a budget and stick. it took me a few weeks to bid. sunday bids cheapest. no one shopping.

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yamaha,polk,cerwin vega!,technics,definative tech.

Clear, mid, high sounds.

Good low response.

I probably have the worst ears for noticing good sounds from the bad, (I thought the Sony shelf speaks were pretty good) but these speakers clearly stands out from the pack.

Got them at ubid for $97 ash and $117 Rosewood. (Shipping was WAY too much!) For these prices, it beats all retail speakers in Best Buy, Goodguys, Circuit City, and other smaller chain stores.

You Standard Infinity, Cerwin Vega, Yamaha, Klipch, Bose just cannot compete with it in the same light. Bose probably came the closest, but its harshier sound from such a small package just cannot compare with much smoother refined sound from a floor speaker.

But definately wire these guys up with bi-wiring. The improvement in sound is amazing. I power these with a Technic SA-DX930 (not the best amp), and the Saphires still produce good, quality sound.

With its mirror image, close your eyes and you will think the music comes from the center of both speakers. It is excellent in listening to jazz, classic, pop, or voical music. It lacks high bass response for you heavy rock and probably rap, but that's why you buy a sub.

Place them futhur away from the walls will give you clearer images. Bi-wire them to A & B speakers (if you have them on your amp) will improve the sound as well.

Saphire 87 is definately better than the Valdus 400 from Wharfedale. It is not as efficient ( 90db vs 92db) and lower wattage ( 120w vs 150w) but it produce sound much clearer and procise. Valdus is design for very loud music where Saphire is design for soft listening.

I have listen to some very high end speakers from a local high end room ( range $750 to $10,000+ /pair) and the Saphires definately sit with the pack. It is even if not better than the $800 range speakers.

If you are going for loud music with massive bass, Saphire is not for you. But for Jazz and musicals, you won't be left disapointed.

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Sony, Yamaha

Bass, midrange

High range/tweeters

These are excellent speakers for the money, absolutely can not be beat. Don't be fooled, however, they are not audiophile quality. Bass is very tight and very listenable for all types of music and HT. Midrange is good also, but the high end sound is a little lacking. I don't like the silk dome tweeter. I have compared them with Infinity speakers that I have for surrounds (RS1) and those have much better imaging, high range and voice reproduction, but obviously cannot produce adequate bass. I really like the Wharfedales, especially at the price I paid for them and they mesh surprisingly well with Infinity center channel and surrounds. I even got rid of the crappy Aiwa sub I was using before I got these Wharfedales.
They are of suspect build quality, however. One of the grills I have broke, so I removed them both, and there is a lot of plastic. But they look pretty cool. Overall a superior speaker for the money.

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A/R, Infinity

Nice looking, sturdy cabinets, better bass then I was expecting, well rounded sound with correct room positioning.

Like everyone else, the grills are flimsy. I've broken 3 or 4 mounting pegs off in the holes.

I paid $69/per speaker plus the ridiculous shipping charges that Ubid is known for. Even with the shipping charges, it came out to about $200, which is a far better deal then I think you can find for similar or even worse quality speakers. I'm using mine as both audio mains and front surrounds. In surround mode, they seem a little sluggish compared to the rest of my setup. For music, I've had no problems and have been very impressed with sound reproduction. After reading some of these reviews, I'm a bit surprised at the low scores some have given them. I've never been able to really crank the volume. If I turn them up past 2 or 3 my neighbors get annoyed. One of the disadvantages to apartment living. Probably far more speaker then I need for a small apartment. They aren't the best speakers out there by a long shot, but for a limited budget, even with high shipping fees, these are a good buy. If you can afford higher-end speakers, then go for it. For my money, I can't really complain. I bi-wired mine and have had no crackling or apparent distortions that some have experienced. With a 75 watt (150 peak) receiver, these get lound in a hurry. I recommend angling them slightly toward the center of the room, and remember that there is a distint right and left speaker, as they are mirror-image speakers.

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Old Klipsh loudspeakers, Old Infiniti