I was browsing the wharfedale website the other day and came across these: Wharfedale Opus They look new, and I haven't heard anything about them until now. They look really nice, and seem to follow the same design themes as the Evolution series, which isn't a bad thing imho. They are obviously gunning for the likes of KEF reference and B&W nautilus with these. Features include a composite construction of Australian eucaliptus and pine, curved cabinets (like the nautilus and evos), carbon fiber drivers (8" and 61/2"), a new 3" textile dome mid driver, and piano glos laquer finish . I' did a quick search and found initial prices for the opus 1, 2, 3 centre and surround (price in euros): Opus prices They are out of my price range , but perhaps others here can afford them. They're certainly much cheaper than the reference or nautilus ranges .
I've certainly read something on these in the past, even if it was just an announcement from Wharfedale when they released the range - as you said, they certainly look very like the Evolution series with higher quality construction and driver units (the soft dome mid driver is an interesting choice). Piano gloss has to be one of the nicest finishes for speakers - my Quad 11Ls are finished in black piano gloss laquer, and they look stunning. One comment in that Wharfedale PDF made me laugh though: Oh so no other speaker manufacturer in existence has managed to make their Centre speakers integrate well with the front left and right channels? What's that I can smell... is it?.... Why yes! It's marketing bull****
That comment about the centre is quite amusing. I think I know why they made the comment though. It's probably because in this regard, they have not been so successful themselves previously. I say this based on my experience with the Evolution range. Don't get me wrong, I have the Evo 30s and 10s, and both are really great - I love them. They have some great features, like real wood veneers, and curvy cabinets. More importantly, the sound is amazing (price is good for what you get as well). The Evo centre though, is clearly not as good as the 30 or 10 (don't ask me about the 20, 8 or the DFS 18 I haven't auditioned). The centre uses smaller mid-base drivers (5" as opposed to 6.5"), and seems to sound a little different - less authoritive. The Evo centre is almost like an afterthought as though Wharfedale said to themselves, "right we have some great speakers - hang on, I'm sure we've forgotten something. Oh yeah, what about this home cinema thing? I know we'll botch together a centre!". I wish that they had made something more like the B&W LCR60 - this uses all of the same drivers as the main speakers in the DM600 series. Maybe Wharfedale are coming to their senses though, and have cracked this with the opus range. They have used the same soft dome mid driver throughout the range; this is the driver that they claim handles everything from 800Hz to 4kHz (also extends to 6kHz I believe). The mid-base drivers are 6" on the centre though, as opposed to 8" for the other main speakers in the range (the surround also uses the same 6" mid-base). We all know that it's a common practise to stick with the same speaker manufacturer when building an AV system. This is for the obvious reason that drivers and cabinet design will be harmonious. If they're using different drivers though, it kind of defeats the object. Dedicated home cinema manufacturers like M&K use the same speaker for each part of the system generally speaking. Maybe this is something that other manufacturers should do. Of course, if you buy a pair of floor standers like the Evo 30s, this is always going to be prohibitive because of cost, and space/positioning of speakers etc. I have to thoroughly agree with you about the piano gloss. I thought that it sounded a little absurd when I first read about the Quad L series. However, I was down at a local hi-fi shop one day and saw a pair of Quad 22Ls - I was stunned. The piano gloss lacquer is amazing. I believe they use several layers don't they? It's interesting that Wharfedale are using this finish actually. Wharfedale and Quad seem to have some kind of strange relationship. If you look on either of their sites they have links to each other. It's also interesting that both manufacturers have both used Kevlar in the construction of their drivers. I guess that there is some kind of technology sharing. I don’t think that it says it on either web site directly, but I suppose that both companies must be affiliated together. .
Unfortunately in this respect I have kind of shot myself in the foot by buying the Quad 11Ls - I don't have the space for both a two channel system and a separate multichannel system. I have now pretty much committed myself to buying the matching Quad centre (£350) and either a pair of 12Ls or even 21Ls (and use my 11Ls as rears), which is going to prove expensive. The piano gloss is one of those finishes you have to see in the flesh in order to appreciate it. When I bought my Quads, they only had the rosewood and maple finishes on display which looked pretty amazing - I was quite surprised when the guy in the shop said that he would recommend the black piano gloss finish, as I didn't see how it could look anywhere near as nice. As soon as I got them out of the box it became obvious how wrong I had been. As far as I know, it's something like seven layers of laquer, with each one being allowed to dry for a day before the next is applied (I think I read it somewhere on the Quad web site).
tbh, i dont like the look of those at all... tho wharfedale have been known to make some rather nice speakers in the past In my mind you cant really beat classic speaker design, i want my speakers to look like speakers, not eggs on acid Im running these at home these days, and i dunno why but i find something about the styling very appealing. (and they sound really good to my ear too)
They're nice, but I prefer my Pacific Evolution 30s (real rosewood finish). That's my opinion of course. I think you should see them in the flesh though, as they're real eye openers.
I went to hear some Opus speakers the other day, mainly as my dad was interested (I can't afford, lol). We heard them through the Arcams newest pre and 2 marantz power amps. Compared with the Quad 22Ls they don't quite sound as nice, they look lovely in rl although fingerprints are a real problem. There smaller than they look in pictures. The clarity didn't quite cut it compared with the Quads, or the bass. Dont get me wrong thats £800 well spent becuase they are brill speakers but for a little more there are some speakers that can improve slightly on them. SEA - Which Denon decoder / B&W speakers do you have M8? When I tryed my Denon amp with some B&W speakers they felt overly bright, being as B&W speakers are allways bright anyways (something that puts quite a few people off - inc. me) and a Denon amp which is bright as well they sounded abrasive?
Hello. I was wondering if you would mind going into a little more detail on the Wharfedale Opus speakers , you heard? What model from the Opus line did you listen to? You say the clarity wasn't as good as the Quad 22L, but was the clarity and detail bad on the Opus? Or just not as good as the Quad 22L? I'm seriously considering the Wharfedale Opus 2 for an Audio/Home Theater system. As a matter of fact I'm considering the Opus Center Channel and their Opus Surround speakers also. I'm also considering the Quad 22L, and Acoustic Energy AELITE 3. Any detailed information or experiences anyone may have had with the Opus line, or even the other speakers I mentioned; would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
