Musical dynamics. Build Quality. Modest price.

nothing, at this price.

This review is for the P21 floorstanding speakers. I have only owned these speakers for several weeks now, the dealer said they take about 100 hours of play to break in, if that is the case, then I have many more hours of musical thrills ahead of me. In a word, superb, these speakers delight with wonderfull musical presentation. The bass is deep, controlled and precise. the midrange is expressive and detailed, voices presented in a natural, beatiful manner. Treble is pinpoint and dynamic. I have partnered the P21,s with the latest NAD CD and Amp,running some high quality bi-wireing and interconnects, so it's an excellant package for a modest outlay, but I can't help thinking these speakers are special. To sit down and play any mode of music, from Classical, to jazz, to female vocals, to rock and slamming trance music, is to be totally absorbed and involved in the music. I listened to several different speakers of a similar ilk, such as Richter, Energy, Mission, and the penultimate contender, the Krix Symphonix. To get a pair of British or European speakers of similar quality, I would have to outlay nearly double the money. But the P21's were in a class of their own.

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Last pair of speakers were Jamo bookshelf jobs.

Accuracy & detail, great sound for the price, good looking & fantastic build quality.

none for the price

Have owned C30''s for over a year and still impressed, I believe Keith (reviewer below) may be confused between C30''s (made in Aus) and cheap M30''s designed in Aus manufactured in China to a price. I have listen to both, whole world of difference, spend the extra and buy C30''s. The Magnum series (M30''s) more for home theater on a limited budget (IMO) in which case they are fine. I was interested to hear that another reviewer thought bass extension was an issue, whilst I do use with a sub (for HT) I have not found bass extension wanting. Listened to lots of other speakers (see below) before deciding that C30''s were best combination of performance and price (loved the P30,s but not enough to warrant the extra spend over C30''s) Accurate, warm yet detailed sound with excellent control, good with wide variety of music and HT. A good balanced speaker.

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Legend, Krix, Richter, Tannoy Saturns, Kef Q35, Paradigm, Energy, Mordaunt Short,B&W, Dali

For a relatively inexpensive speaker they sound very good and perform well for my family''s diverse needs. They score 10 out of 10 for looks with a beautiful wooden finish.

To me they needed to extend more into the bass. They are rated to 42 +- 3db. Everyone else in the family was happy. I didn''t know I was going to turn into an instant critical audiophile so it''s not the speakers'' fault. I then purchased a good subwoofer and this gives more bass but feel this was overkill as I want to extend the bass a bit more. The speakers already performed Nickleback (lots of teenage bass) very well.

I bought the C31''s as they auditioned the best of the speakers during my three week search. Like Keith''s experience they sounded lifeless at home. But, then I put them on the metal spikes and then they sounded just like in the shop. I had them sitting on a wooden floor and this was soaking up the sounds. They now sound beautiful.

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none since the 70''s

Warmth, clarity, beautiful appearance. (The just-released C31''s have a slightly chunkier look; I prefer the more elegant C30''s)

Perhaps not ideal if you want thumping bass.

Like the previous two reviewers I was surprised at the negative review by Keith (see below). Perhaps his amp is letting him down, and he is blaming the speakers unfairly. Like every other reviewer on this page, I absolutely love these speakers. Compared to many other speakers I listened to at a similar, and sometimes considerably higher price, these must rate as a total bargain. I drive them through a Marantz PM66SE - a quality amp but hardly earth-shattering at 50w per channel. To be fair I would say that they are less adept at reproducing heavy rock than (say) jazz or classical (my main listening areas), although with a powerful amp I doubt that this would be a problem. If you like Jazz styles, try listening to Bill Frissell''s Gone, Just Like a Train through these speakers. Guitar, bass and drum never sounded so good!

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Mission, Tannoy products in this price bracket

Woodgrain Finish

poor finnish and quality of workmanship

I listened to these speakers on site at Whatmough in Scorsby and they sounded really good so I purchased them thinking I was buying something locally made and of good quality. Boy was I wrong. No bass all mid and totally lifeless and dull.Run them for about a week to run them in as I was told by the salesman. Still no good.
Selling them in the local paper for what I can get.
Anyone want a cheap pair of Chinese manufactured speakers? going cheap just make me a offer.
Yes Chinese not Australian, I got a shock when I found out talk about misleading representation.

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Audio Sonic, Tannoy, Paradigm,

Excellent presence, accurate bass

A little too big for my small lounge

I searched for a six months for an affordable speaker that sounded excellent to me and acceptable to my audiophile friend. In the C30, I found it. With these speakers, voice reproduction is superb, and is centered solidly between the speakers.

My wide variety of music is accurately reproduced, with none of the holes or peaks that I had found with other speakers. The treble is just there, without jumping out at you, and the bassline extends way down without being at all boomy.

I even surprised my friend. By his admission, his speakers are only marginally better, but over three times the cost.

Overall, the best speakers I listened to in and slightly over my price range.

Big full bass, smooth rich midrange and sweet soothing treble.

ABSOLUTELY NONE!!!

I read with interest and total dismay the review by Keith? who claims he purchased C30s from A1 Audio at Scoresby, Melbourne, Australia. I can assure anyone considering Whatmough speakers that their characteristics are the exact opposite to those indicated by Keith. I purchased my C30s late in 2000 from the Whatmough Factory in Clayton, Melbourne.

"Did you hear that Keith"? Melbourne, NOT CHINA!!!

I recently visited Whatmough's new shop, A1 Audio at 1352 Ferntree Gully Rd, Scoresby, Melbourne. I found the staff to be extremely friendly and helpfull. I takled them on where their speakers are manufactured and I was promptly given a brief tour of the large factory at the rear of the building.

I will be returning there as soon as I get my tax cheque back, to buy a pair of C31's which sound even better than the model it replaces. The C30.

I listened to many speakers and found that none matched the Whatmough's for purity of sound and value.

To top it off, they are AUSTRALIAN MADE and OWNED!!!

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Note Perfect and Axis however they were never as good as the Whatmough's. If I had been aware of the Whatmough's I would never have purchased the others.

Exeptional build quality. Great sound and appearance

THESE SPEAKERS ARE MADE IN AUSTRALIA

Just before any of you read the review submitted by 'KEITH' below, just wanted to let you all know that the Whatmough Monitors C30 loudspeakers are in fact an Australian made speaker, contrary to what this supposed reviewer claims.

Whatmough Monitors do have an entry level range which is called 'Whatmough Audiolabs' and these particular speakers are designed by Colin Whatmough but to keep consumer cost down, they are assembled in China. EVERY speaker in the Whatmough range above this IS MADE IN AUSTRALIA!!!!!!

The Whatmough C30 loudspeaker that 'Keith' purchased at A1 Audio in Scoresby where in fact made in James St Clayton Victoria in the year 2000.

It's a shame that certain people can't get their facts straight before they try insult and damage a pefectly good AUSTRALIAN MADE product and business.

By th way 'Keith', if you really didn't like your speakers, why didn't you take them back to where you bought them. I'm sure your salesman would have refunded your money.

Build quality and of course sound

-

Like many other audio enthusiasts I too spent many hours researching and auditioning various speakers that produced excellent quality without sacrificing too many dollars. The Whatmough Monitors from the Classic range that I have purchased have behaved faultlessly with all types of music and film that I have tried. Matched to a Denon AVR3300 they fill my house with crisp clear sound and the other speakers in the classic range make for an excellent quality surround sound system without the price hype associated with many other brands.
If your trying to impress you friend with BIG badge speakers these arent it. They are a more boutique level speaker put together by Colin Whatmough who is a man who obviously loves what he does.
Oh and they look GREAT into the bargain!

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Jamo/Paradigm

Very clear, balanced sound

None

I purchased these after listening to many other big-name brands - Jamo, Quadral, Mission and JBL. Dollar for dollar, I could not find a better set of speakers.

They produce a very clear sound throughout the frequency range which is well balanced, that is, the treble does not sound harsh nor the bass boomy. The stereo spread is also very good. I am driving them with a Teac Reference 500 amplifier.

Build quality is excellent - the enclosures are very solid and are finished in real wood veneer (jarrah). Binding posts are gold plated and the speakers can be bi-amped with separate posts for the tweeter and bass/mid drivers.

All-round, an excellent speaker system which is built well and provides very clear, balanced sound.