New Floor Standing Speakers

[gmoneyreece]

Looking for Audioholics opinion. I am re configuring my HT/HA system and want to go with 4 large floor speakers, 2 for the fronts and 2 for the surrounds. I need a small footprint and a light wood veener finish. here are the speakers in the running currently:

Axiom M80ti's
http://www.axiomaudio.com/m80ti_main.html
these seem to get alot of talk up on this forum but i am concerned about the veneer not being real wood, how do they look? cheap?

Wharfedale Pacific Evolution-40
http://www.wharfedale.co.uk/model.php?model_id=9
look really good! what is the difference between these and the Opus series, they look identical and have the same/similar specs?

B&W DM 604
http://www.bwspeakers.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/products.models/label/Model DM604 S3
their rep is great, but these are their lowend product so that concerns me.

any feedback or comments would be greatly appericated. My budget is $3000 or less, that would include the matching center channel for each of these sets.

 

[JonBaker99]

It may be worth looking at the Kef iQ9 for this price. They should retail for about $599 per tower and about $499 for the iQ6C matching center channel. Great sounding speaker with a nice veneer finish in maple. You probably can track them down online significantly cheaper than the MSRP.

 

[kay]

Reportedly, the B&W DM603 S3 is acutally better than the 604. I have a pair of 603's and am very happy with them indeed. Entry-level they may be, but great performance for the price. (Actually there are lots of cheaper B&W speakers, e.g. the 300 series and numerous sub/sat type deals; DM309 is quite a bargain IMHO but not available in all countries).

I quite like the Wharfedale EVO's, the finish is just gorgeous - they're very smooth, perhaps no the ultimate in resolution but that also means forgiving of bad source material - it sucks when you discover half your CD's are actually bad recordings I've only heard the EVO-30, EVO-C and EVO-10, but I'm sure the EVO-40 is just as good. If you decide on them go for the Rosewood finish - looks killer against the bright yellow kevlar drivers. The Opus series are better but very similar to the EVO's.

Some other brands to consider would be Monitor Audio (don't like the Bronze series much but Silver & Gold series are receiving excellent praise), KEF, PSB.

Axiom might be the best bang for your buck from all of the above.

 

[Xsound]

The wharfedale evos are great. There is a good bit of difference between the evos and the opus. Different drivers, 2-way vs. 3-way. The opus are practically built around their dome mid-range. There are differences in the woofers and tweeters as well. They share cabinet build philosophy, and similar driver materials. Both are built in the same facility, but the attention to detail in the Opus line is almost obsessive. Take a look at the brochure.

http://www.wharfedale.co.uk/range.php?range_id=1

Enjoy
X

 

[markm]

You could look at the Paradigm Studio 100's and the cc570 center as well. Nice speakers.

 

[gmoneyreece]

i just got back from my local HT shop and listening to the B&W 600s and 700s

they both sounded really good to me with the 700s demonstrating a little more detail, and also alot better styling than the 600s. but are they worth the price difference? also the 700s are very hard to find used for me to save a few bucks. comparing the B&W 603 vs B&W 704.

I do have 2 HSU VTF-2 subs that will stay in the mix.

there is no where in my area to demo the Wharfedales, has any one heard them? how do they compare?

this speaker shopping is very difficult, please post your opinions!

 

[jaxvon]

If you want to check out the finish on the Axioms, you can call them up and request a veneer sample. I believe the standard finishes are free to sample and the Custom Finishes are $10/sample. I think the High Gloss finish would be the classiest finish, and you can get a light maple in high gloss.

 

[gmoneyreece]

axiom custom!

thanks! i was not aware that they had these custom finishes. high gloss birds-eye maple is perfect...axiom is starting to pull away...

 

[mike c]

if you are having doubts with the price difference of the 6 and 7 series B&W's. its not worth it. use the price difference towards better amps.

If I didn't hate the local dealer of b&w's I would have gotten a 604 or 603

 

[jaxvon]

axiom custom!

thanks! i was not aware that they had these custom finishes. high gloss birds-eye maple is perfect...axiom is starting to pull away...

Keep in mind that the High Gloss maple will cost you up to $1000 extra to have on your system. I think the $10 sample is well justified for the possible extra cost.

 

[gmoneyreece]

well, i weighed my options and the winner is...

Wharfedale Evo-40s!! 2 pair from audioadvisor. they have the 30 day in home trial which is very nice.

the axiom's would have actually been slightly more with the $1000 adder and it would still be vinyl.

i really do not like the apperance of the B&W 600 series, and to step into 700 series stuff the price just gets too high, also not worth it as noted above. B&Ws are a good investment but I belive the Wharfedales will be also.

i think as far as preformance is concerned all three i was looking at would be very similar as well as those suggested. so what it really came down to was asthetics, and the Wharfedale's blow everyone away! also they are not ported in the rear which will allow me to situate them closer to the walls.

thanks for all the input, and i will let you know how they sound when they arrive.

 

[Fastnbulbous]

Interesting, I just finished searching for speakers with similar criteria (small footprint, wife/girlfriend-friendly look and finish, needs to be close to wall), except my price range was a step below, at $800. Ironically, I sampled nearly every brand but the three you mentioned, and I couldn't find Axioms. Though I didn't mention it in <a href=http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=19743>this thread</a>, I did hear the Klipsch R25 too.

I ended up with the Rega R3. Like the Wharfedale Pacific Evolution-40 (front driven, 6 ohm nominal impedence, 22.9cm x 40.3cm footprint), the <a href=http://www.rega.co.uk/html/R5.htm>R5</a> is similar in that it's front driven, has 6 ohm nominal impedence, has nice natural cherry, maple or rosenut finishes, and a 27cm x 34.8 cm footprint, a little cheaper at $1,100 a pair.

The Wharfedale has more power though. I wish I could have found some to hear.

 

[einsteinjb]

Interesting, I just finished searching for speakers with similar criteria (small footprint, wife/girlfriend-friendly look and finish, needs to be close to wall), except my price range was a step below, at $800. Ironically, I sampled nearly every brand but the three you mentioned, and I couldn't find Axioms. Though I didn't mention it in <a href=http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=19743>this thread</a>, I did hear the Klipsch R25 too.

I ended up with the Rega R3. Like the Wharfedale Pacific Evolution-40 (front driven, 6 ohm nominal impedence, 22.9cm x 40.3cm footprint), the <a href=http://www.rega.co.uk/html/R5.htm>R5</a> is similar in that it's front driven, has 6 ohm nominal impedence, has nice natural cherry, maple or rosenut finishes, and a 27cm x 34.8 cm footprint, a little cheaper at $1,100 a pair.

The Wharfedale has more power though. I wish I could have found some to hear.

FYI, you won't find Axioms because they're an Internet Direct brand, which you will see the moment you visit their web site at www.axiomaudio.com.

Congrats to both of you for finding the speakers you wanted.

 

[MacManNM]

if you are having doubts with the price difference of the 6 and 7 series B&W's. its not worth it. use the price difference towards better amps.

If I didn't hate the local dealer of b&w's I would have gotten a 604 or 603

I'm sorry but I believe that statement is totally incorrect. The B&W 703's are significantly better sonically than the 704, or any of the 600 series for that matter. The soundstage is much larger, and the imaging is spectacular, the 703's have the FST midrange, which gives tremendous mid clarity and detail. I listened to them side-by-side, level matched and the difference was tremendous. I would not buy the 600 series unless I was planning to trade up in the next year. I think they are a really good deal at their price point. I haven't heard anything that competes with them, and i have listened to a lot of speakers lately.