I recently purchased a NAD 773. Great amp (except for a little hiss which the dealer is looking into). Now I am looking to upgrade my speakers. I am about three inches away from buying a Paradigm Studio set up with the 60s for the mains. I have a friend who works for a dealer and may be able to hook me up with a deal for a Wharfedale system in the new Opus line. Any thoughts on Wharfedale with this amp? Warfedale Opus compared to Paradigm? Wharfedale as a speaker in general? Any info on these guys would be greatly appreciated!
I auditioned the Wharfedale Opus 10 at length and found it very fine in the price range, but I have several cautions. The unusually revealing midrange (via the hefty soft cone mid driver) is RUTHLESSLY revealing of the source equipment. A mid priced yamaha CD player/Marantz receiver came through as grainy, steely, cold and fatiguing. A switch to an NAD 521i yielded a better sonic landscape but vocals were just a tad dull and undertimed. So I returned with some better cables. All was well. However, the strings and lower-mids were coming across underdetailed. I re-toed the speakers to no avail. So I finally returned with MY interconnects. Lower quarter of the spectrum cleaned up. Now, I was happy with the upper highs (sweet and natural with plenty of air) the treble region had presence, coherence and sonic accuracy. Upper and lower midrange well developed, free of tubbiness, natural vocals and sufficient midrange detail. BUT the lowest bass was a tad lightweight, as you might expect from an 8" woofer. So I backed up the speaker to the wall as the length of the cables allowed and achieved a reasonable, but not mind-blowing increase in bass energy. So placement, cable selection, ancillary equipment, wall proximity and musical choice and room size will be a very important factor in determining if these will work well for you. The 8" woofer needs to be auditioned to see if there is sufficient bass output for your liking and needs. Wharfedale is releasing a new less expensive DIAMOND 9 model range with the Opus cabinets and thier less expensive Kevlar drivers this summer. Best to wait a bit.