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.

Similar Products Used:

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.

Similar Products Used:

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.

Similar Products Used:

Old Klipsh loudspeakers, Old Infiniti

Good speakers for casual listeners, not too abrassive and transparent sound.

Bass can be a bit flubby, build is weak.

Purchased from Ubid, shipping was obscene, as everyone else can testify.
At any rate, this an excellent speaker for the price. With shipping , these speakers cost nearly $300. I truly believe that if someone is going to spend $300 dollars on a pair of speakers, at say Curcuit City, that person would be better off hunting down a pair of Wharefdale's, anything from the Saphire line, on the web. For $300, you will not find a better sounding pair of speakers.
Not the best spreakers in the world, not by a long shot, but a very fair deal.

price, looks, vocals, good punchy bass

too detailed. doesn;t seem to be shielded well.

I have a pair of saphire 83 's before i got a pair of 87. the 87's seemed too detailed for my tastes. Tapping sounds seem more pronounced than anything else. A bit irritating The bass is good , more punchy than the 83's. But i prefer the 83's for the mid and hi 's. I don;t think the speakers are shielded properly too. They turn my television green if they are placed too close to the tv. Good musical speakers if you don't listen to music with tapping. Maybe i didn;t break them in long enough. did around 15 hours or so already. Ubid sux. with shipping cost me an additional 75 bucks to ship. I think someone should file a class action suit against them or something for overcharging.

Price to performance ratio.

Unimpressive highs and mids. Lacks detail & clarity.

This was the 1st pair of Wharfedale speakers I got from uBid after getting caught in the uBid hype. It is definite not audiophile quality speakers (may not even get 30% of that!) but it is major step forward compare to those Bose, JCL, Infinity "packages" you see in the nearby price clubs.

Sapphire performs very well overall but there is nothing really stand-out in the Sappire 87. It has very good imaging and soundstage. The bass is reasonable tight but the high is not as standout as you'd want. They are very good choice as entry-level/mid listeners.

Comparing Sappire 87 vs Modus 1.6 and Modus 8:
Modus 1.6 tends to have more detail and bass but much flatter. Modus 8 is the worst of the 3 - stay away. Sapphire 87 does not have the big bass punch nor the high of the Modus 1.6 but is much more detail.

I listen to classical music exclusively so may be the speakers would sound better with Jazz (I doubted) or rock (may be) or country or .....

Similar Products Used:

Wharfedale Modus 8, 1.6, Valdus 300, Newform Research, B&W, Infinity

LOOK GREAT, PERFORM GREAT, EXCELLENT VALUE FOR PRICE PAID

HAVEN'T HAD LONG ENOUGH TO FIND ANY, BUT I DON'T LIKE TO PICK STUFF APART THAT I JUST SPENT MY HARD EARNED MONEY ON!

GREAT SOUNDS, GREAT LOOKS, THEY FLAT OUT ROCK! WOULD NOT HESITATE TO BUY THEM AGAIN. THE ONLY PROBLEM IS WITH U-BID, NOT WHARFEDALE. THEY ABSOLUTELY BREAK IT OFF IN YOU FOR FREIGHT, CHARGING 50-60 DOLLARS FOR 15 DOLLARS WORTH OF FREIGHT. PLUS, GETTING THEM ON THE PHONE IS LIKE PULLING TEETH!

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BOSE, JBL, KOSS

High Quality Sound, Low Market Price

Vinyl cabs, other speakers of this sound quality usually have wood cabs. Of course they also sell for alot more money

Excellent sound, unbelievable value at current market pricing. Ubid $250.00 + S&H (Ubid charges alot for S&H)

My referance speakers are Psb goldi. The sapphire 87 are 90% of the Psb's and I paid 1/10 of there price for them, plus they are much easier to drive.

The polk speakers also were very fine (several models auditioned) but were more $.

I have them set up in a faily small room and use a large reciever to drive them. I have not had any proplems even at high volumes like others mentioned, but I broke them in over several days before I did any listening.

As far as Ubid, I rate them a 3 to deal with. Obiviously excellant prices, but problems with placing bids/software clitches,customer service,and excessive S&H charges

Alternatily, I purchased a reciever, cd player 3 sets of speakers and 2 small powered subs for well under $1000.00 included S&H. I estimate that I would have spent between $2000 and $2500 to get anything comperable at best buy or circuit city, So put into perspective. Good luck to you.

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Psb gold i,Marantz Imp.7(older),Polk and numerous speakers sold in the mass mkt.chains

Price

Made in China????

Hi
I got my Sapphire last night
I read the reviews and I hope I am going to like the speakers; Defenetely they look awesom, Just very nice
looking; But I have a question and is about the country where they are made in; On the box which speakers come, says MADE IN CHINA
Does any body wanna explain me what does that mean?
I pyed 350 (including Sh. H. ) I have not hooked the up yet
I was woundering if I should use any other wires which I use with my old SONY spekers, or they have to be special cables (wires)?? Please
Let me know where is the costumer servise where I can get these information.
Thanks
P.C. I went to Wharfedale international and looked for original price , The Sapphire 87 cost 130pounds+20pounds shipping
Somebody know how much is that in US money?

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JBl