Customer Reviews

Wharfedale Emerald 97 3-Way Floorstanding Speakers (Real Oak Veneer)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Ran these speakers next to b&w speakers and they were neck to neck. For $1,000 less these speakers are a no brainer. Try them out and you wont be sorry.

I have never ordered anything major on the internet. I was somewhat apprehensive to order an item this significant. But after receiving these phenomenal speakers I am extremely pleased. The sound is exceptional and my wife is very happy about the beauty of the cabinets. I would highly recommend these speakers for anyone who wants a set of speakers in the $1000 range.

Although this fine product cannot be shipped to me here in New Zealand, I found the Amazon review and description so helpful that I went out and bought a pair here in Auckland city! It's all systems go for this very fine Wharfedale product. These speakers are clean and open sounding with no hint of 'boxiness', and they have decent bass output. And the real Rosewood veneer finish is just superb. I'm somewhat biased, as these are the third Rosewood colored set of speakers I've owned. You see, I bought the Emerald Center speaker, too! I may be wrong, but I think Wharfedale has become a slight underdog in the marketplace these days and I urge any undecided buyers to heed my words and at the very least audition the Emerald range.

I own the new Mark IV's in Walnut. There have been some changes: they are slightly redesigned in cabinet features (the bottom plinth) and the frequency response has been changed from 40-20000Hz to 30-20000Hz. Also the sensitivity is down 1 decibel to 88dB. The bass drivers have been tweaked for greater bottom end and my AVIA test signals show a remarkable Spl output from 40-25Hz primarily, I suppose, to offer greater HT experience without sub.

I can add very little to what has already been described in other reviews. These speakers have one of the finest tweeters I've ever come across right out of the box. When the bass and mid-range drivers have had a chance to fully break-in, the 97 will yield performance comparable to many 'name' speakers costing severalfold the outlay I made. Don't be frightened off by the 'Made in China' buzz out there...the quality is outstanding in every area: design (still British), materials (quality wood veneers---even on the bottom of the plinth!), and assembly. The finished product is an absolute steal.

One word of caution: do not buy these speakers unless you like sonic accuracy and detail. You will find little of the 'fuzzy warmth' that passes for sound reproduction in other places yet they still maintain an open, sincere character with any music style. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

I purchased these speakers 2 years ago. I had them bi-wired and hooked up to a Rotel pre and power amp. They sounded great, and were a marked improvement from my 10 year old B&W bookshelf entry level speakers. One later later I found myself in the market for a home theatre system. I again opted for the Rotel pre and power amp, but did some speaker tests with the B&W Nautilus line. Eventually I was sold over on the Nautilus line (at a much higher premium). Upon doing an A/B test of the B&W's versus these Wharfedales, there is a marked difference in overall soundscape. The Wharfedales at high volumes got a little shrill in the high end, while the B&W's just sounded great at any volume.
For the money I would definitely recommend these speakes whole heartedly, but if you have a little more money and are a picky audiophile, you may want to check out the B&W Nautilus series.

My pair is black but I dont think the color effects the sound...LOL. The problems noted about shrilliness at high volumes on the 3rd generation of the Emerald 97s have been eliminated in the MK IV. the speaker is rated now 30-20000 125 watts 89 db. the 3rd generation was rated at 40-20000. In my opinion this speaker is a best buy in the "under $1000" category. Like all towers that use a 6"-8" woofer you definitely need a sub-woofer. For home theatre you need one anyway. I also own a pair of AR-S50s (better for HT.. shielded) 97s are not.. but seriously you're not going to have tower speakers right next to you TV anyway. The AR-S50s are more efficient (91 db) high power handling (200 watts) between the 2 the 97s get the nod.. they are more musical, better looking, and less obtrusive. the s-50s are 48" tall and the 97s are only 36" tall. and the veneer finish is also better on the emeralds.

When one considers that these speakers compare favorably with the B&W 600 Series (which do cost twice as much, and don't feature real wood veneers), the great value of these Wharfedales becomes apparent.

Wharfedale was a respected speaker name from the early days of hi-fi, that since fell into disfavor (and possibly inactivity). With these and several other speaker lines, they've definitely reasserted themselves, and I understand that they are considered a high-end speaker in some international markets. Again, this just points to what a great value these speakers represent.

Two points: First, I would recommend using a subwoofer with these, despite their size. Second, they do take some breaking in.

Enjoy!

It appears that Amazon is really trying to push the Wharfedale label. They are about the only moderately upscale speakers that they sell, and the Amazon official reviews are gushing with praise for them. I just bought a pair and have some comments.
1) A practical comment. It's a pain to get these delivered from Amazon. Make sure that the phone number in your user profile is up to date, or they'll end up sitting on a shipping dock with some local shipper (not UPS in my case) who won't know what to do with them.
2) These are quite nice looking speakers. We've got this sort of art deco thing going in our living room, and these complement the whole design very well. Having said that, lots of companies are putting out good looking speakers in this price range (not at Best Buy, but look around online a bit.) If you dig the specific design (as we did), then that's a big bonus for these speakers since they are attractive.
3) They do sound pretty good. I'm not sure if the gushing reviews from Amazon are warranted, but if you're replacing a pair of lame bookshelf speakers (which I was) with these, you'll definitely notice the difference. Especially in the bass which is something that the reviewers tend to harp on. Perhaps compared to top of the line speakers, they have weak bass, but compared to what most people have hooked up, they're quite sufficient. I'm currently using a piddly Yamaha receiver that I bought just out of college to run them and, even with that, they're pretty nice (I may update later when I get the Denon one I just ordered up and running.)
4) The biwiring hoopla may or may not be overdone. I don't want to take a stand on this, but some other sites that I've checked out have either said that its a scam (buy twice the expensive audiophile wire and maybe two amps!!) or that it only matters in very specific situations. I tried to biwire them and couldn't really notice any difference. However, that's not necessarily these speakers, but may relate to the overall practice of biwiring. Biwiring seems to be like wine appreciation; some people rave about certain wines with all sorts of fancy verbiage (e.g. "soundstage", etc. in the case of audiophiles) while the rest of us stand back and say "Nice wine" (or nice speakers in this case.)...

Well, first of all, I should say the speakers look just as good in person as they do on amazon.com. Fabulous!! They really complement the modern furnishing in our house. Also, I visited two major retail electronics stores a few nights ago (Circuit City, The Good Guys). There wasn't a speaker that looked better than the Wharfedales--at any price. And, they had some fairly pricey wood cabinet speakers on display ...

Sound--these aren't just for looks, after all! A good amount of bass and well defined high-notes. Very nice, indeed, and the best sounding speakers I've ever owned. I am driving the Emerald 97's with a Yamaha RX-570 receiver, 70 watts/channel, connected in a bi-wire configuration. Interestingly, I can now actually play the receiver at full volume (yes, unreasonably loud, but tolerable), something I couldn't have dreamed of doing with my old Acoustic 3311 Series ("white van") speakers. I imagine whoever makes the Acoustic speakers weren't lying about the sensitivity--95 db. The Wharfedale's have a sensitivity of 89 db, and suppose I may need to get a more powerful amplifier to fully realize the speaker's capabilities. Then again, I do live in a condo, and probably shouldn't do anything--like buy a more powerful amplifier--that might encourage me to play music any louder than I already do ;-)

When I first received these speakers, I was amazed at the details of the finish. It looked like a woodworker had gone around the entire speaker and softened all the edges. The area around where the drivers attach to the wood is also sunk to detail the driver placement. The platform onto where the speaker sits also anchors the aesthetic qualities of the entire package. A work of art!

The best part was when I bi-wired them to my Pioneer ELITE VX-5 receiver. Oh my goodness! Oh dear God! These are the best sounding speakers I have heard - EVER! The sound is perfectly balanced and hits with detail and accuracy. CDs that you have listed to 1,000 times over will ring with new sounds never heard from lower quality drivers. I have only listened for about 5 hours, far below the 50-hour break-in criteria. I can't believe they are only going to get better!