Wharfedale Emerald Center Channel Speaker (Real Oak Veneer)

Other products by Wharfedale

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 20.6 x 7 inches ; 15.8 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 21 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B00004SY57
• Item model number: Emerald Centre Oak
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #188,022 in Electronics (See Bestsellers in Electronics)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes
• Date first available at Amazon.com: May 20, 2000

Product Description

Amazon.com Review
Designed to accompany any configuration of speakers from Wharfedale's classy new Emerald line (including the Emeralds 93, 95, and\ 97),(including the Emeralds 93, 95, and 97), the Emerald Centre center-channel speaker holds its own as an elegant, sweet-sounding, and well-built center channel. (including the Emeralds 93, 95, and 97), holds its own as an elegant, sweet-sounding, and well-built center channel. And Wharfedale's gorgeous real-wood finish (it comes in rosewood as well as oak) makes the speaker as suitable for furniture as it is for audio.

The challenge for most center-channel speakers, apart from blending with the other speakers in a system, is to reproduce dialogue and music with clarity and naturalness while being small enough to sit directly atop or below a television. Achieving this boils down to using quality components and offering as much bass as possible while minimizing the boxy sound that follows small, oblong speakers like odor follows a garbage truck.

The Emerald Centre, we're pleased to report, eludes this boxiness altogether. Rather, the speaker sounds extremely natural and can best be described as "easy." Voices, music, and sound effects--all the crucial center-channel elements--stream from the Emerald Centre with honesty and a sense of effortlessness.

The speaker owes a lot to Wharfedale's extensive design work. The company uses computer modeling to minimize box coloration, while patented, mineral-loaded homopolymer plastic woofers dampen unwanted resonance and ensure dynamic performance. Further, the Emerald Centre's sweet silk-dome tweeters were designed using laser interferometry, a process that helps calculate optimal measurements by examining the interference of light waves.

Still, size counts for something, and center channels larger than the Emerald Centre will offer beefier bass output--a boon to multichannel music and to the reproduction of DVD soundtracks mastered in Dolby Digital 1.0, where all the sound comes from the center speaker. But the Emerald Centre makes up in accuracy and neutrality what it sacrifices in the low end. Fans of multichannel music (such as DTS-encoded 5.1-channel CDs) may want a bigger center speaker, but otherwise this works great.

If you're buying a set of Wharfedale Emeralds, the Emerald Centre is a no-brainer. But it's also a great place to start a system upgrade if you're graduating from, say, a small Dolby Pro Logic setup with cheaper speakers to a home theater capable of delivering full-fledged Dolby Digital/DTS 5.1-channel surround. --Michael Mikesell

Pros:

• Open, airy sound quality
• Melds seamlessly with other Wharfedale Emerald speakers
• Not the least bit boxy-sounding
• Inconspicuous front-panel appearance
• Beautiful wood finish

Cons:

• Limited bass output

Product Description
With a performance as inviting as its classical good looks, the Emerald, now in its second generation, is a truly refined speaker. Designed with a distinctly art-deco feel, the speakers from the new Emerald range are built into a real wood cabinet, producing a rich, warm sound, steeped in emotion. Although undisclosed by the appearance of the Emeralds, technology is used extensively in the manufacture. Complex computer modeling has been used in the design of the cabinets to minimize coloration, the woofer cones are constructed using the patented mineral loaded homopolymer plastic to damp unwanted resonances, whilst retaining the strength to keep bass accurate and dynamic. Finally, laser interferometry has been used to create a truly outstanding tweeter for the Emeralds.The end result is a classic amongst speakers - a dry acoustic character with a revealing and flawless transparency.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 4 Out Of 5 Aint Bad., November 8, 2000

By	MATTHEW BLACK "MATT BLACK" (Auckland, New Zealand.) - See all my reviews

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 one here in Auckland city! The only thing that stops this center speaker from getting 5 star from me is a relative, I stress RELATIVE lack of bass response. But this is only a problem with extremely deep male voices and explosions at high volume levels. Otherwise its all systems go for this very fine Wharfedale product. It's clean and open sounding with almost no hint of 'boxiness'. And the real Rosewood veneer finish is just superb. I'm somewhat biased, as this is the third Rosewood colored set of speakers I've owned. You see, I bought the Emerald 97 main speakers, 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.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Solid center speaker with a beautiful look., August 18, 2000

By	kiwiplex (Tulsa, OK United States) - See all my reviews

I love the oak design, since it blends so well with my living room. I would recommend this system to anyone wanting to intensify their DVD experience. The sound it very clean, but not overbearing or "tinny" with its silk tweater. The dual drivers with the silk tweater provide a comfortable listening experience. Clear, accurate, sharp appearance and sound, Good build quality and hardware.

A word about the size: if you have size constraints, be careful, it will not rest lightly on your TV.

I'm trying to limit my bias, but I liked the sound of this center speaker so much I bought two more for rear speakers. MFM-7s left right, modus music centers, center and rear. Matched up with a Yamaha 795 receiver and a decent Polk sub, your in DD or DTS Heaven!

NOTE: This same speaker is avaliable in Rosewood (a darker red color) which may do better to blend with your room design.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Definitely worthwhile for video, October 26, 2002

By A Customer

OK, it's not an super high end/expensive item, but for anyone with a real world budget, this is pretty good. I was very surprised at how big an improvement it made in watching video (once I got the settings and levels right on my receiver). The purchase is entirely worthwhile. Dialog is noticably clearer than simply running the video sound thru my main speakers (and mine are pretty high end). For anyone whose stereo budget is under $5k this is a very useful addition, in my opinion. Even in a higher end system it may fit in, for any but the super picky and hyperwealthy.