[techwizardinc]

hi everybody i'm to this forum so please forgive me if i sound like a newbie

i'm in the market for a new av system as my rubbish lg home cinema in a box has just died on me after a year and i can finally taunt my girlfriend about why buying cheap plastic tat is a false economy anyway my mind was made up on the wharfedale vardus series i had set my eyes on the

vr400 £199
vr100 £79.95
vrc1 £69.95
vrsub £124.95

but then i came across these babies

Wharfedale Hi-Fi Products

i googled high and low , left and right but as far as google is concerned these products do not exist whatsoever i would really love to get my hands on this system and give it an audition

please guys any help would be much appreciated

[softsorter]

The high end Airdale and the Amber range is not inported into the UK market by the looks of it, as i read your very question in HFC Issue 16 which you can read here

http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache%3AH6V84MgaLmIJ%3Awww.hificritic.com%2Fdownloads%2FExcerpt16B.pdf+wharfedale+amber+loudspeakers&hl=en&gl=uk&sig=AHIEtbTvEc9KnUEUgNlhi6Nyrb80SO5aGQ

so looks loke the AV range or Diamonds here in the UK

[flimbo]

Just to bring this thread back into play.
I bought a pair of Wharfedale Amber 20.3 floorstanders a few weeks ago. I had been looking at them last year when I was after a pair of floorstanders but dismissed them as I could find zero information or reviews. Eventually went for the Mission MV6. These lacked bass and the tweeter blew after a while. Wasn't impressed so sent them back and got the Wharfedale Vardus VR-400's. Now these were good and have been serving me well since last year. Good bass and clarity in the midrange. Happy with these.
Anyway, I saw on amazon Wharfedale Amber 20.3 were going for £129 and pounced on it. I thought what the hell, give it a go.
Well, these speakers are mental. I have never heard anything sound so good. The bass is fantastic and clear and I can turn the bass dial of my Marantz PM6003 amp back to neutral. The highs are so clear and crisp it is ridiculous and again I can turn back the dial on my amp. Midrange is amazing, vocals stand out like never before and I am thrilled as I have never heard my music collection sounding so good. My test albums are Rush's back catalogue as I have been listening since 1986 on a regualr basis so have heard them on all sorts of sound equipment and know them inside out. On the Amber 20.3's details are popping out that I've never heard before. So I suppose this is the first review of the Ambers and for £129 reduced from £399 I am not complaining. They are way better than the Vardus VR-400 that I thought I was happy with. Unfortunately it seems impossible to buy them in this country at the moment. If you can source them, snap them up!

[flimbo]

They come with well made plinths and are bi-wirable. I haven't got round to either of these as they sound amazing as they are. Hopefully will try it next week.

[BlueWizard]

Here is a GOOGLE trick you may not have thought of. When I'm searching and having no luck, I switch to Google Image search. Though it is not selective by country, you can almost certainly find resources that you can't find in any other Google search.

I found the Speakers in Hungary (.hu), Russia (.ru), Poland (.pl), in (.kr) (not sure what country that is, Korea maybe), Finland (.fi), China (.cn), etc...

Sävelaitta

This is not that uncommon, the very excellent Wharfedale EVO2 line is not available in the UK, but is available in other parts of the world. Despite these being very good speakers, they don't seem to have captured the imagination of people in the UK. I suspect the same is true of the Amber line, the market in the UK is simply not large enough, even though the speakers are popular in other part of the world.

In the UK, if you are interested in Wharfedale, it is hard to beat the quality and price of the Diamond 10 series.

Though the Amber are not unheard of in the UK, as this Ebay-UK deal shows -

Wharfedale Amber 20.2 Bookshelf Speaker Blackwood (Pair (5055498302278) | eBay

I don't know what your budget is, but the Vardus, while OK for the money, are no where near the performance of the Diamond 10 series.

Check out this thread where I explain the options in the Diamond 10 series to another poster -

http://www.avforums.com/forums/home-...ding-help.html

Here is the basic system I outlined for him -

£330/pr = Diamond 10.4 Floorstanding (front)
£150/ea = Diamond 10.CS Center (Center)
£100/pr = Diamond 10.0 bookshelf (Rear)
£215/ea = BK Electronic Gemini-II Subwoofer
----------------------------
£795 = TOTAL

That could be trimmed back as follows -

£200/pr = Diamond 10.2 Bookshelf (front)
£110/ea = Diamond 10.CC Center (Center)
£100/pr = Diamond 10.0 bookshelf (Rear)
£215/ea = BK Electronic Gemini-II Subwoofer
----------------------------
£625 = TOTAL

Or substituting the Diamond 10.1 in front, that would be £40 less for a total of £585.

A bit more money, but an excellent system

Steve/bluewizard

[Wilseus]

So "Britain's Most Famous Loudspeakers" are not available in Britain. The mind boggles.

[xedas]

Originally Posted by Wilseus

So "Britain's Most Famous Loudspeakers" are not available in Britain. The mind boggles.

They are available here (Portugal).....cheaper than the Diamond 10 series but more expensive than the crystal ones......just in the middle.

[bluedroog]

Originally Posted by BlueWizard

Here is a GOOGLE trick you may not have thought of. When I'm searching and having no luck, I switch to Google Image search.

Yeah I like to do that too Steve, it's amazing what it turns up and how much time can pass!

[NoOneNew]

God, I really hope these speakers sound better than they look! That maple finish seems ghastly in the pics.

[BlueWizard]

Originally Posted by NoOneNew

God, I really hope these speakers sound better than they look! That maple finish seems ghastly in the pics.

Certainly you are welcome to your opinion. But I think light colored speakers can blend in much more easily in many rooms than huge black monoliths.

I'm not a fan of black speakers, though can see the logic in a dedicated Home Cinema room where you want to concentrate on the screen and not be distracted by shiny objects. But I much prefer real wood grain speakers.

I'm not a big fan of black amps either, but they do work well in a Home Cinema Room. Though, oddly, they make the amps black, but the modern trend it to then put all kinds of bright shiny lights on them. If it is going to be all bright and shiny, it might as well be silver.

I don't especially like the finish on the Amber speakers either, but I do understand the appeal of a speaker with a light finish.

Steve/bluewizard

Originally Posted by NoOneNew

God, I really hope these speakers sound better than they look! That maple finish seems ghastly in the pics.

Not the most helpful of posts, if that is all you have to say on the subject.

[NoOneNew]

Originally Posted by BlueWizard

Certainly you are welcome to your opinion. But I think light colored speakers can blend in much more easily in many rooms than huge black monoliths.

I'm not a fan of black speakers, though can see the logic in a dedicated Home Cinema room where you want to concentrate on the screen and not be distracted by shiny objects. But I much prefer real wood grain speakers.

I'm not a big fan of black amps either, but they do work well in a Home Cinema Room. Though, oddly, they make the amps black, but the modern trend it to then put all kinds of bright shiny lights on them. If it is going to be all bright and shiny, it might as well be silver.

I don't especially like the finish on the Amber speakers either, but I do understand the appeal of a speaker with a light finish.

Steve/bluewizard

I have nothing against light colored (or wood) finishes in general. In fact, I think that the best looking finish for 805Ms was the white one- never mind I ended up having them in black.

Problem is, black and other solid colours are more "forgiving" of chunky angular boxes because they give a minimalist look. The Ambers in maple OTOH, designed as they are, look to me like artillery shell crates with drivers screwed on. Wharfendale should pay a little more attention to the box construction, I think.

[NoOneNew]

Originally Posted by recruit

Not the most helpful of posts, if that is all you have to say on the subject.

Excuse me, but since when the design of rather large boxes you put in your living room is irrelevant? Function is important, but some of us look at form too.

Originally Posted by NoOneNew

God, I really hope these speakers sound better than they look! That maple finish seems ghastly in the pics.

Originally Posted by NoOneNew

Excuse me, but since when the design of rather large boxes you put in your living room is irrelevant? Function is important, but some of us look at form too.

If there would of been more substance to your post than just the sweeping statement then fine, but please try in future to add more input, from previous posts in other threads you seem to have a lot more to say which I feel could be more valuable to the forum.

[flimbo]

The Amber 20.3 speakers I bought are in the black ash wood finish rather than the maple. And with the grilles on they look pretty good.

[NoOneNew]

Originally Posted by flimbo

The Amber 20.3 speakers I bought are in the black ash wood finish rather than the maple. And with the grilles on they look pretty good.

Glad to hear that. Could you post pictures?

[flimbo]

There's a few pics of the black ones here...
Wharfedale Amber_ - HiFi-?

[NoOneNew]

Originally Posted by flimbo

There's a few pics of the black ones here...

They look much better in black. Minimalist, see?

[Wilseus]

Those Wharfedales remind me a little of the old B&W P6 in looks.

[20Hearts]

Just bought these wharfedales brand new boxed, for stupid money.
Floorstanding Speakers / Speakers / / AV Bristol
.....Absolutely unbelievable deal to be honest.

I replaced the Q900's I sold in the classifieds here with Gale 3040 fronts, but my front sound stage took a significant hit in the bass department 80hz and upwards.
The 20.4's sound AWSOME with music so far and the drivers have not even been run-in yet. The bass is full and the highs have good clarity.

For the money £179.95, & in my opinion, the build and sound quality is very good to a point where I don't miss my q900's anymore.

[20Hearts]

Also as a bit of a heads up; Everywhere I've looked online says that these are 8 Ohm speakers, but the label at the back of them reads "6 Ohm".

The wharfedale website says these are 8 ohm speakers;
Product - Products - Wharfedale Hi-Fi

The promo leaflet does too;
http://www.wharfedale.co.uk/Portals/...mber_range.pdf

[Wilseus]

Originally Posted by 20MegaHertz

Also as a bit of a heads up; Everywhere I've looked online says that these are 8 Ohm speakers, but the label at the back of them reads "6 Ohm".

The wharfedale website says these are 8 ohm speakers;
Product - Products - Wharfedale Hi-Fi

The promo leaflet does too;
http://www.wharfedale.co.uk/Portals/...mber_range.pdf

TBH it probably doesn't matter too much.

[mykyll2727]

Originally Posted by BlueWizard

Here is a GOOGLE trick you may not have thought of. When I'm searching and having no luck, I switch to Google Image search. Though it is not selective by country, you can almost certainly find resources that you can't find in any other Google search.


Steve/bluewizard

Thanks for the info! I didn't know that.

[mykyll2727]

Originally Posted by BlueWizard

.

I'm not a big fan of black amps either, but they do work well in a Home Cinema Room. Though, oddly, they make the amps black, but the modern trend it to then put all kinds of bright shiny lights on them. If it is going to be all bright and shiny, it might as well be silver.


Steve/bluewizard

I'm in agreement with you. Emotiva's new reference amp being an example. I know you can turn the LEDs off but still. Admittedly I've always been a fan of silver audio components. Here in the US it's not so easy to find in the more affordable price ranges. I've always envied the greater color choices you guys have in a greater variety of gear.

Reading this thread I was really surprised to read that all Wharfedale models weren't available in the UK. What I wonder is if that decision based on a lack of UK interest or due to them simply making models for specific regions.

I own speakers in black ash vinyl and have some with rosewood veneers. I've also had piano black as well. Color doesn't matter much to me if it looks good but I do have a preference for darker colors. For HT I definitely can understand a preference for darker color speakers. In a dedicated stereo room I can understand wanting speakers that are more eye catching. WAF not withstanding

[flimbo]

20MegaHertz - Glad you like your new speakers. Still enjoying mine and well pleased for the "silly money" price!

My speakers are the Amber 20.3 model and the label on the back says 6ohms too but on the website they are labelled as 4ohm speakers. Strange.
Product - Products - Wharfedale Hi-Fi

[20Hearts]

Originally Posted by Wilseus

TBH it probably doesn't matter too much.

Well, there is an Ohm setting on the receiver that is supposed [according to the manual] to correspond to the speakers' Ohm. My surrounds are 8 Ohm, my center is 4-8 Ohm capable, and when I bought these speakers I was expecting them to be 8 Ohm. Everything online says they are 8 Ohm but the label says otherwise. User @flimbo also says the label on his/her speakers doesn't correspond with official literature.
For now I've left my receiver on the 8 Ohm setting where its always been.

[bradhopp07]

Originally Posted by 20MegaHertz

Just bought these wharfedales brand new boxed, for stupid money.
Floorstanding Speakers / Speakers / / AV Bristol
.....Absolutely unbelievable deal to be honest.

I replaced the Q900's I sold in the classifieds here with Gale 3040 fronts, but my front sound stage took a significant hit in the bass department 80hz and upwards.
The 20.4's sound AWSOME with music so far and the drivers have not even been run-in yet. The bass is full and the highs have good clarity.

For the money £179.95, & in my opinion, the build and sound quality is very good to a point where I don't miss my q900's anymore.

image

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image

image

image

image

image

image

just picked the last pair of these up from av bristol for £179.95
i feel like ive robbed them!!! unbelievable deal!!!

[B6MFD]

How do these compare to the diamond 10.4?

[flimbo]

These speakers are mentally good. Grab em while you can at this silly price. Compared to Wharfedales VR-400 they are loads better. More detail and clarity in the mid/top range. Bass is better too and they come with bungs if you want to block the bass ports up.

[20Hearts]

As you know I got the amber 20.4's. I wanted to match my center speaker but the wharfedale Amber AM-20c didn't look to be on sale anywhere. The amber 20.2's were though, so I bought those and only use one as the center speaker.
They have similar sized drivers [6.5"] as my 20.4 floorstanders which i'm chuffed about.
As others have said, these are being sold really cheap but have an unbelievable performance for the money.

Wharfedale Amber 20.2 [Buy/it/Now ...or make offer]
Wharfedale Amber 20.2 Bookshelf Speaker Blackwood (Pair | eBay

Wharfedale Amber 20.1
Wharfedale Amber 20.1 Pair Black Special !! | eBay