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Topic: Purchasing Speakers - Page: 2

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Hi I use warrior psr15s there great and sound very good
 
What's wrong with Wharfdales?
 
Its ultimately youre choice! Everyone has good and bad experiences with different speakers. I am a 'budget DJ' and under $550US I managed to buy a pair of Behringer 215D, tripod set with cables, and a small 5 channel pa mixer. I'm happy with the way it sounds but not everyone will agree. I hope you understand where I'm getting at here...

Daniel
 
Wharfdale used to be a well respected British manufacturer of very good quality HiFi speakers.

They never made Pro PA speakers until the company was bought out by a manufacturing company in China. As with many respected names Wharfdale have become nothing more than a Badge :-( Not the best in the book by any means. There are far better quality speakers out there so keep looking and listening.

Daz
 
Dazmax wrote :
Wharfdale used to be a well respected British manufacturer of very good quality HiFi speakers.


Used to be? They still are! Their hi-fi speakers are still winning awards.


Dazmax wrote :
They never made Pro PA speakers until the company was bought out by a manufacturing company in China.


Also not correct. They made PA speakers in the 60s. Unless the "History of Wharfedale" page on their site is wrong....

http://www.wharfedalepro.com/Company/HistoryofWharfedale/tabid/58/Default.aspx


As with many manufacturers though, they make various products at different price levels. Just avoid the cheap ones.
 
I never saw a Wharfedale PA speaker until recently and by that I mean in the last 10 years!
 
As far as I am aware they are part of the huge IAG group of companies. Their HQ is in China. Quite true that the "Wharfedale" badge is now attached to a company that once again is making good quality HiFi speakers. That is not what I was saying. Wharfedale are not Wharfedale anymore. It’s a Chinese company using the badge of a trusted British manufacturer. There is actually a giant factory in China that makes nothing but HiFi speakers branded with some really nice badges. It just bugs me immensely that almost all these once fully independent British companies have all but gone and that only their badges remain. Herrumph lol Rant over.

BTW I still own a rather nice pair of British designed and built Wharfedale Glendale XP3 HiFi speakers that I still use regularly and I love em :-D

The 60s "PA" Speakers referred to in the History link were made for announcements using distributed 100v line systems with single driver speakers in wedge shaped boxes on the wall. The link between that and the Pro PA equipent we are talking about is tenuous at best and missleading at worst. Forgive me for not including them in the same breath as JBL,Martin,Community,Tannoy or a whole host of other manufacturers who were then and are now, at the cutting edge of high performance concert PA systems.

From what I have seen and heard, the current Wharfedale Pro PA speakers really are not very good when compared with similar priced speakers from other manufacturers with far more market presence and manufacturing experience. I think money could be better spent elsware.

Just MHO

Daz
 
Dazmax wrote :
The 60s "PA" Speakers referred to in the History link were made for announcements using distributed 100v line systems

I don't think that's all they made. For instance on one "history of Wharfedale" page I looked at, there's a picture of a young lady with a column speaker. Certainly not wedge shaped or single driver. There's also mention of the company being involved in the "development of speakers for huge touring rigs".

Dazmax wrote :
the current Wharfedale Pro PA speakers really are not very good


What, the entire range? How many have you heard?

There's 8 different lines of passive speakers, with about 10 models in each line. Then there's a powered range with a large number of models, an installation range......in other words A LOT of different speakers, at all sorts of price levels - which is what I was saying about not buying the cheap ones. I wqouldn't buy a pair of cheap JBLs for the same reason.

They even make line array cabs - and they wouldn't go into that market unless they could compete.
 
Thats cool Groovin. Perhaps you could post the link to that history page. Always up for more info on vintage PA gear :-D I totaly agree with your get what you pay for point. You don't get nuffin for nuffin as thay say.

As far as hearing goes. Nope i have not heard every speaker in the range. I have auditioned a fair number of them including the Flagship SHO range allong side my local equipment dealer. Nice chap who is happy to let me try before I buy. We just didn't like them when compared with other speakers in the same price range. Not on sound or build quality. We did our best to listen to like for like systems ie similar price, size and so on. The afformentioned Dealer decided not to stock Wharfedale in the end but it was interesting research all the same.

There venture into a Line Array system looks interesting, although I can't help being curious about some of the claims made. Claiming that your system is better than someone elses because it is horn loaded ( As if other companies don't do this) is a little interesting. Horn loading is not new after all. It certainly looks like they are now producing some inovative drivers and I will be watching with interest to see how they fair against others.

Just for fun tho, try a search for "Voice Of The Theatre" Altec Lansing. They were producing Pro PA equipment as far back as 1947. Then try a search for Vintage Wharfedale PA. You might be hard pressed to find anything.

I have worked with some huge PA rigs with a number of companies. None of which use or have used Wharfedale speakers. There is always a first time for everything tho.

Enough of the bashing. I wont say that they can't do it, but I don't think they are there yet and some catching up is in order. Who knows I might well be eating my words in a few years.



Daz
 
Thanks, for the feedback fam, those Ev's look'n real good right now. But a salesperson told me not to sleep on the Behringers.
 
I have used many different brands and models in the past. Currently I own FBT tops with 2 RCF subs. The FBT tops are the best i have heard in a long time. And the new line is so light weight it is unbelievable.
 
I have not heard the ZLX line of EV's, but absolutely love my ZXA1's. I'm currently running two tops and a single sub, and love them. I couldn't believe how much better the (2) 8's and single 12 sub sounded over my previous setup, a pair of Behringer 215D's. Since my EV purchase the B215D's sit in the garage.
 
roxfire53 wrote :
I have used many different brands and models in the past. Currently I own FBT tops with 2 RCF subs. The FBT tops are the best i have heard in a long time. And the new line is so light weight it is unbelievable.


I agree, having got a FBT Vertus system, its great! over 2,000 watts and very compact. they're great speakers .
 


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