Does anyone have any opinions on the Whafedale Valdus 500 speakers as a good budget speaker for playing rock music? thanks for any advise
Anonymous
Posted on
they are an excellent budget rock music speaker. these babies slam hard! killer bass, mellow highs. if you drive them with some good clean power,you can watch those bass drivers dance!!the movement is awesome when playing some low bass, hip-hop music, loud!! they are made for low bass reproduction! for the money you cannot go wrong. wharfedale is trying to get back their market share that they gave up in the seventies. in the 50's and 60's they were one of the very best highend speaker maqnufacturers around . they pulled out of the states in the seventies! now they are back and selling speakers for a fraction of their true worth.now is the time to take advantage of these ridiculous low prices while they are available. most speaker freaks predict prices will start going up soon! they are the best deal around! dt-aud
About 20 years ago I set out to piece together a sound system. I could not decide at the time from the components I was auditioning, so the dealer said no prob's, take 'em all home over the weekend and get back to me when I am ready. The speakers that I had were the Mission 770s's, 780 Arganouts, JBL's & what I would have to regard as the best value speakers from Wharfedale, the E-series. In this case they were the E-50's. At the time I was also fixing a pair of Quad Electrostats for a fellow audiophile. I also had a sample of amps that I was trying out at the time (all New Zealand designed), inc. Perreaux 3150 power/ SM3 pre-amp, plinius SA series & Mclaren 701 Pre-Power amp. I spent the whole weekend changing amps to speakers, changing cables etc. In the end I chose the Mclaren setup with the E-50 Wharfedales (Plinius was cost inhibitive at the time). Back in my comparison I heard nothing to equal the E-50's, and due to the fact that 5 years ago I sold the system for a bit of cash, I find myself trying to re-piece back that magic I had 2 decades ago. The difference now is I have a Plinius amp.. much better. As far as the Valdus 500's go I really have not a good thing to say about them.. sorry guys. Over-bloated cereal box noise as far as I am concerned. But hi-fi quality is subjective, and always has been. What one person thinks as being the best thing since sliced bread another will dump on. Mainly due to the fact that no body is working off of a set 'reference' point. The bottom line.. The real test is those things on the side of your head - if it sounds good to yourself, go for it!. You're not pleasing anybody else. BTW: I listen to a wide range of music, from classical waltz's right through to Motley Crue / Kiss / Stones / Ac/DC - I have drawn the line at RAP however .
Have a good one.
Pete New Zealand
Anonymous
Posted on
The Valdus definately packs a punch, but more in the power department than the quality dept. The Emerald, Sapphire,Atlantic and Pacific series are definately superior ( the emerald being the best and pacific the least best!) in terms of soundstage and quality sound with plenty of detailing. The valdus are definately good value for money. The new zaldek series should be avoided by serious listeners.
Anonymous
Posted on
My Valdus 500's are great, bar one thing: I keep blowing them up. I'm running them off a NAD C370 and I've gone through two tweeters and now the top mid has gone as well.
dB
Posted on
Valdus speakers are crap. If you have any kind of technical skills all you need to do is look inside them to see haw shitty and poxy the drivers are. I bought some brand new, killed the tweeters in a day (in the first test). The shop said I was driving them too hard that's why they blew. for one thing, I am a real audio enthusiest so I know full well how to handle the gear, what works and what doesn't. Valdus' don't work. The tweeters are crap tiny little things that cook trhemselves at about 2 watts, the bass drivers at about 25 watts. they seem loud because there are three woofers, that's the only reason. If you own a pair, first thing you should do is replace the tweeters (ANYTHING is better than what's in there). then throw some damping woll in the boxes to stop them rattling and having farty bass. If you get really tricky you can remove that bullshit protection circuit for the tweeter because it does more harm than good. But, if you really want the best from your Valdus', don't buy them. save the money and get some second hand speakers, some old pioneers or sansuis. more bang for your buck, rather than just bang and a void warranty.
Anonymous
Posted on
Anyone who says that the Valdus 500's can't handle anything is crap. I've had a pair for a year now and have over heated my amp several times even after adding more power each time before I've had any problems with these speakers. When you are looking for good quality sound, you cannot simply buy large speakers and turn the volume up and expect them to sound good, of course they will sound like crap. If you can supply a steady 200W to each of these speakers they will have the sound quality that you ears have never heard before. They also have the ability to play at extremely high levels with unbelievable clarity. I've never heard any rattling or distortions. when I play music for parties from my room with these speakers , they reach volume levels and clarity that you would think the speakers were right next to you. This isn't to say that these speakers will do this with out a proper power supply I'm a freak about clear and loud sound, I have focal polyk's in my car and would say that the wharfedale Valdus 500's are just as good in terms of home audio.
