Wharfedale Emerald Center-Channel Speaker (Rosewood Veneer)

Wharfedale Emerald Center-Channel Speaker (Rosewood Veneer)

Wharfedale Emerald Center-Channel Speaker (Rosewood Veneer)

Product Description
Amazon.com Review
Wharfedale's Emerald Centre center-channel speaker, designed to accompany any configuration of speakers from their classy new Emerald line (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 oak as well as rose wood) 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:

Cons:



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.
Wharfedale Emerald Center-Channel Speaker (Rosewood Veneer)
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Buy It Now!
  • Definitely worthwhile for video
  • Great Sound...but
  • Pretty Nice
  • 4 Out Of 5 Aint Bad.
 Wharfedale Emerald Center-Channel Speaker (Rosewood Veneer)

Manufacturer: Wharfdale
ProductGroup: CE
Binding: Electronics

Center ChannelCenter Channel | Speakers | Audio & Video | Categories | Electronics
WharfedaleWharfedale | Brands | Electronics Features | Electronics
Accessories:
  1. Monster Cable XPNWMS-100P Monster XP 100-Foot Compact Cable Piece, with 4 Prs. Pin (Navajo White)

Product Features:
  • 2-way rear-ported center-channel speaker
  • 65-to-20,000 Hz frequency response
  • Video shielded
  • Dual 5-inch bass/midrange drivers
  • Rosewood veneer finish

ASIN: B00004SY58

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.

Amazon.com Review

Wharfedale's Emerald Centre center-channel speaker, designed to accompany any configuration of speakers from their classy new Emerald line (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 oak as well as rose wood) 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:

Cons:

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Buy It Now!.......2003-10-31

Okay, I'll be brief. I built my first stereo amp from a kit when I was 12. I have bought and sold audio gear as a hobby/job all my adult life (I'm now 50). I bought two of these to use as a stereo pair. They are FABULOUS!! High quality drivers, speaker case meticulously crafted. Weight so heavy they can be stood on end without fear of tipping over. The dual 5 1/4 in. woofers extend the bass to a nice low level. In short, there is not a center channel on the market at close to $179 that can match these. They have been discontinued by Wharfdale which is why they are so inexpensive. Go for it!

4 out of 5 stars Definitely worthwhile for video.......2002-10-27

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.

4 out of 5 stars Great Sound...but.......2002-05-13

I have this paired with the Emerald 97 fronts (working on back & sub...) and a Yamaha real sound receiver. Wow. Even with the 3 speakers instead of the full 6 the sound is full and dynamic. The only issue is the grille. The prongs used to attach the grille are darn skinny and mine snapped off in shipping. I'm working on replacing that, but in the meantime, I have a great-sounding speaker (with no grille). Definately a good speaker.

4 out of 5 stars Pretty Nice.......2001-09-20

I upgraded the center channel of the KLH HTA-9006 Home-Theater Speaker System. I have had it for about 3 weeks now and am pleased. It is very crisp and clear compared to may last set but I now need to upgrade my other speakers. It also looks very nice with the oak. My buddy has a POLK that sounds better, but for my needs I am satisfied.

4 out of 5 stars 4 Out Of 5 Aint Bad........2000-11-08

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.

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