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

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

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

Product Description
Amazon.com Review
Great speakers keep getting more affordable. It used to be, a first-rate speaker entailed a second mortgage on the house. The eminent British manufacturer Wharfedale, however, debuts its amazing, biwireable/biampable Emerald line with an astonishingly high quality-to-price ratio.

The Emerald 97 three-way floorstanding speakers, also available in rosewood, occupy minimal floor space while gracing any room with their gorgeous sound and glossy, real-wood finish. Their treble and midrange drivers render voices and acoustic instruments so seductively that you'd swear the performers were right in front of you.

And while Wharfedale is best known among stereo purists, two pairs of Emerald 97s (or a pair of 97s with Emerald 93s for surrounds) work beautifully with the Emerald Centre to fill a room with surround sound from DVDs or DTS-encoded 5.1-channel music CDs.

Positioning, often a chore with floorstanding speakers, is a snap with these, in part because the Emerald 97s are so light (about 35 pounds each). They sound best with space on all sides: at least two feet from the walls and seven from each other. Setting them closer to the walls isn't disastrous, however, so if you're tight on space just be prepared for an overemphasized bottom end. We prefer toeing these speakers into the listening position as opposed to strict parallel placement, but toed or not, the Emerald 97s fill a room with pleasing, uncolored sound.

A subwoofer does help drive home the bottom octave (40 Hz and under) with greater solidity--especially with action films and rock music--but the Emerald 97s are capable of very deep bass on their own thanks to a well-designed (and unobtrusive) port in the front panel.

It's easy to rave about a speaker's extended range (high to low), especially when a speaker commands a wide frequency range, as the Emerald 97 does. But what really makes this speaker special is the quality of its silk-dome tweeters and their integration with not one but two nearly 7-inch woofers. The high frequencies sound sweet and open, to be sure, but the midrange--mostly embodying voices and any melodic instruments--sounds as warm and natural as can be.

Sometimes speakers that excel in the midrange sound their best only with certain music, like folk or acoustic jazz. Not so the Emerald 97s. From Haydn to Hendrix, Nina Simone to Nine Inch Nails, these speakers do perfect justice to the music--and, it seems, with ease.

The Emerald 97s sound better with their grilles on, which is unusual in our experience. This is unfortunate, as the grilles obscure the speakers' glorious woodwork. Like all hi-fi, however, you should season to taste--if your amplifier or receiver leans dark (with slightly diminished treble sound) or if your taste tends bright, you may prefer the grilles off.

Rock fans and movie buffs may still want a subwoofer for extra low-end slam, but a good amp with a biwired hookup (see our FAQ for more on biwiring) brings these babies close to perfection all on their very own. --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 97 3-Way Floorstanding Speakers (Real Oak Veneer)
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Wharfedale Emerald 99
  • very clean sound but...
  • You cannot do better for the money, twice the money...
  • Nice speakers, but beware of the hype
  • Pretty speakers and great sound...
 Wharfedale Emerald 97 3-Way Floorstanding Speakers (Real Oak Veneer)

Manufacturer: Wharfdale
ProductGroup: CE
Binding: Electronics

FloorstandingFloorstanding | Speakers | Audio & Video | Categories | Electronics
Audio & VideoAudio & Video | Refurbished & Used | Special Features | Electronics Features | Electronics
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Accessories:
  1. Monster Cable ML MT-H Monster Lock Monster Bananas Modular Speaker Cable Termination (2-Pair Pack, 4 Pieces)

Product Features:
  • 3-way front-ported floorstanding speakers
  • 125-watt power handling
  • 40 to 20,000 Hz frequency response
  • 6.7-inch polymer-plastic bass/mid units; 1-inch silk-dome tweeters
  • Oak veneer finish

ASIN: B00004SY5C

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

Great speakers keep getting more affordable. It used to be, a first-rate speaker entailed a second mortgage on the house. The eminent British manufacturer Wharfedale, however, debuts its amazing, biwireable/biampable Emerald line with an astonishingly high quality-to-price ratio.

The Emerald 97 three-way floorstanding speakers, also available in rosewood, occupy minimal floor space while gracing any room with their gorgeous sound and glossy, real-wood finish. Their treble and midrange drivers render voices and acoustic instruments so seductively that you'd swear the performers were right in front of you.

And while Wharfedale is best known among stereo purists, two pairs of Emerald 97s (or a pair of 97s with Emerald 93s for surrounds) work beautifully with the Emerald Centre to fill a room with surround sound from DVDs or DTS-encoded 5.1-channel music CDs.

Positioning, often a chore with floorstanding speakers, is a snap with these, in part because the Emerald 97s are so light (about 35 pounds each). They sound best with space on all sides: at least two feet from the walls and seven from each other. Setting them closer to the walls isn't disastrous, however, so if you're tight on space just be prepared for an overemphasized bottom end. We prefer toeing these speakers into the listening position as opposed to strict parallel placement, but toed or not, the Emerald 97s fill a room with pleasing, uncolored sound.

A subwoofer does help drive home the bottom octave (40 Hz and under) with greater solidity--especially with action films and rock music--but the Emerald 97s are capable of very deep bass on their own thanks to a well-designed (and unobtrusive) port in the front panel.

It's easy to rave about a speaker's extended range (high to low), especially when a speaker commands a wide frequency range, as the Emerald 97 does. But what really makes this speaker special is the quality of its silk-dome tweeters and their integration with not one but two nearly 7-inch woofers. The high frequencies sound sweet and open, to be sure, but the midrange--mostly embodying voices and any melodic instruments--sounds as warm and natural as can be.

Sometimes speakers that excel in the midrange sound their best only with certain music, like folk or acoustic jazz. Not so the Emerald 97s. From Haydn to Hendrix, Nina Simone to Nine Inch Nails, these speakers do perfect justice to the music--and, it seems, with ease.

The Emerald 97s sound better with their grilles on, which is unusual in our experience. This is unfortunate, as the grilles obscure the speakers' glorious woodwork. Like all hi-fi, however, you should season to taste--if your amplifier or receiver leans dark (with slightly diminished treble sound) or if your taste tends bright, you may prefer the grilles off.

Rock fans and movie buffs may still want a subwoofer for extra low-end slam, but a good amp with a biwired hookup (see our FAQ for more on biwiring) brings these babies close to perfection all on their very own. --Michael Mikesell

Pros:

Cons:

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars Wharfedale Emerald 99.......2005-07-09

I like these speakers. They sound good - very good for music and the price is hard to beat. I am very pleased with their midrange and quick, although not very deep reaching, bass response. But then, how could they? The bass is "only" 8" in diameter. I am using a separate and self-powered Polk Audio subwoofer for the very low frequencies. My amplifier is a NAD 372 that provides ample power (150W/channel) to make these speakers sing.
Secondly, these speakers are beautifully finished, heavy enough that our dog doesn't kick them over, and offer some extras such as bi-wiring and adjustable spikes.
The reason why I am not giving 5 starts is that I am somewhat missing the "airy" and clear response of the tweeter. I already found a way to improve the situation significantly: These speakers NEED a lot of room to breathe. Do not position them any closer than 1' to a back wall and at least 2' away from any side wall. My previous speakers were a lot less sensitive to this issue. Because of that I did not pay enough attention at first when I installed the Wharfedales.
The Emerald 97 are very similar to my 99s. I recommend these speakers to anybody who enjoys listening to music. However, positioning them correctly is very critical for acustic performance. This is much more important than bi-wiring or the gauge rating of the cables. If you don not have sufficient space, you may want to look for speakers that are less sensitive to their set up.

4 out of 5 stars very clean sound but..........2005-02-09

This might be the best speaker available in its price range. But the reason I gave 4 stars is because of the sound quality of its tweeter. Mid-range sound is well defined and bass is relatively clear and not blurry at all. But somehow high frequencies sound, despite of their so called 'silk dome tweeter' is not very good. Does it ruin the listening experience? Not really. But it would be perfect if the tweeter could produce a little better sound.

5 out of 5 stars You cannot do better for the money, twice the money..........2004-02-20

Audiophile garbage aside, I have not heard better speakers at four-five times the price of the Emerald 97 speakers. I got these from UBID when they were selling Wharfedale products daily...but no more...These are being powered by a mid-level Onkyo theatre design receiver and they project a musicality and clarity that you do not find in most $1000 speakers. The base is sometimes a little muddy but usually is extremely defined and mixes well with the ample mids and sweet highs. The "tuned" port is designed well and does not cause the speakers to lose definition or "tightness" that creates a sense of realism (which is what speakers are all about, after all). I don't care where they're made...they are beautifully finished, amazing sounding boxes that can be found for less than $350 delivered (for the pair!). At soft levels they provide details YOU DON'T HEAR ELSEWHERE. At mid levels they are BETTER than just about ANYTHING serious listeners can afford. At high levels they do not distort, they do not blur, they do not disappoint. Poorly mixed tracks will NOT sound good on these speakers. They are large and need space to sound their best. Also try the Diamond 7.2 Anniversary Edition. Possibly the BEST small speaker (I got pairs from UBID for $40 plus shipping) ever produced. Absolutely amazing.

4 out of 5 stars Nice speakers, but beware of the hype.......2003-07-12

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.)...

4 out of 5 stars Pretty speakers and great sound..........2003-06-03

These are very good speakers for the money. I won't expound on what others here have said. But you should know that these are Wharfedale's Chinese-made knock-offs, not the UK-made real-deal. Also, these speakers are 6 ohms impedence, whereas most amps are designed to drive 8 to 16 ohm speakers. By using these, you run the risk of blowing the fuse on your amp if you play the volume extra loud. I gave these 4 stars because I don't think their suitable for most people's systems.

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