Epos ELS-3 and Wharfedale Diamond 9.1

[curiousburke]

Both these speakers have been mentioned many times on this and other forums. They seem to be "the" speakers in their price range. Stereophile has reviewed them both, but I find their reviews somewhat politically correct in that they seldom flat out say A is better then B if they are in the same price category. They did say, "Wharfedale has a winner with the Diamond 9.1", but that can mean it's a great speaker, certainly it's a winner monitarily for Wharfedale.

So, anyone out there tried both of them, maybe even side-by-side, and want to share their comments? Where does one excell over the other? Room configuration (given port difference) challenges?

Maybe this has been hashed out elsewhere, but I have not found it. If it is, tell me to go away and where to go

cheers,
mark

[Dusty Chalk]

...they seldom flat out say A is better then B if they are in the same price category...

Well, in their defense, it's seldom as simple as that. As a friend recently said to me, is there anything more personal (in audio equipment) than speakers? It's a matter of taste. A good review tells you what its strengths are, so that you can decide for yourself whether or not something is important or not.

Oh, and sorry, I've heard neither.

[curiousburke]

Thanks DC,
I know it's not, but I wish it were that simple. I guess in the rare cases were one set sucks it is that simple, but that doesn't apply here.

I'd still like to hear (read) peoples impressions.
-m

[Mtbrider]

I can't comment on either of those speakers, since I haven't heard them. However, I can recommend the Onix x-ls speakers from av123.com for $219. They are excellent!

[Bernd]

Hi,

I use the Wharfedales in a secondary system. A while back I helped a young friend of mine select his first system and we compared the 9.1 with the mentioned Epos and some Castle Richmond 3 (these are more expensive and became the choice).
To my ears both speakers are fine examples of a decent budget standmount. I would say that the Epos is slightly brighter and maybe leans more towards rock. The Wharfedale is little more mellow. However the difference is very slight and as DustyChalk said a personal choice.
I do feel that the 9.1 performed well above it's price band.The front port makes the Wharfedale less fussy about placement.
You pay your money, you make your choice.

Hope this helps

Peace

Bernd

[curiousburke]

Thank you Bernd, this was a great help. Yeah, the Castles would be above my price range, actually so are new Epos and Wharfedale. My price range includes b-stock/demo Els-3s and Diamond 9.1s.

I have a demo set of each that I'm comparing. I agree the Epos are a tad brighter. My wife thinks they sound almost identical, so I'm glad to read opinions from someone who knows better then I do what to listen to.

I almost alway prefer the brightness of the Epos in an A-B switch; the music just jumps out at me more. However, I suspect over hours(or minutes) of listening this difference won't persist and I may actually prefer the mellower Diamonds in the long run. I often have them on a background music with a selection of either classical or folk/rock.

I haven't had any problem with placement on the Epos, but maybe that's because all the placements I've tried have been suboptimal. I like that the Epos are a little bit smaller, but the front porting of the Wharfedales is a nice feature and their color/wood graining is really nice.

thanks,
mark

[Bernd]

Thank you Bernd, this was a great help. Yeah, the Castles would be above my price range, actually so are new Epos and Wharfedale. My price range includes b-stock/demo Els-3s and Diamond 9.1s.

I have a demo set of each that I'm comparing. I agree the Epos are a tad brighter. My wife thinks they sound almost identical, so I'm glad to read opinions from someone who knows better then I do what to listen to.

I almost alway prefer the brightness of the Epos in an A-B switch; the music just jumps out at me more. However, I suspect over hours(or minutes) of listening this difference won't persist and I may actually prefer the mellower Diamonds in the long run. I often have them on a background music with a selection of either classical or folk/rock.

I haven't had any problem with placement on the Epos, but maybe that's because all the placements I've tried have been suboptimal. I like that the Epos are a little bit smaller, but the front porting of the Wharfedales is a nice feature and their color/wood graining is really nice.

thanks,
mark

Hi Mark,

Great that you take the time and audition the speakers yourself.
My experience has been that if a piece of equipment impresses straight away it will usualy become tiresome over a longer period. But again it's all relative. For instance I can't stand un-natural bright speakers, aswell as dull ones. I think your choice of amp and musical preference will not doubt play a further role in deciding.
Good luck with the evaluation.

Peace

Bernd

[curiousburke]

I'm crazy auditioning. It borders on neurosis; I A-B everything, and it drives my wife crazy. I feel a little bad buying and returning, so I try to buy ebay and demo so that it's really no loss to anyone but myself in shipping.

I just had what I think is a big breakthrough here. The Diamonds really seemed a little warmer then they should have, and they are not imaging as well as I would expect. I'm just getting into this hobby, so I am unsure of myself, but I swear they are pulling to one side on certain songs. I have swapped speakers about 10 times and each time the pull shifts to my ears.

I have been in contact with Wharfedale (their service is very good) about these speakers several times now. First, the crossover came loose in shipping and they guided me through re-attaching it (speaker 1). Second, on the other speaker a screw came loose and was stuck to the tweater (speaker 2). Third, the vocals are stronger on speaker 1 in some songs. I ran just the tweeter by unstrapping them to confirm that the two tweeters are indeed different. Wharfedale is being very nice about it and sending me a new crossover and tweeter. The person there thinks the loose screw demagnitized the tweeter some. Who knows, I just hope it's not a lot-number difference. Sad part is that it's coming from China so I have to wait and wait.

Anyway, I think their service is great, but their screws are too short (insert your prefered "screw loose" pun here)

-mark

[Bernd]

WOW! That is pretty shi**y. All I can tell you is that my 9.1s have been in my Study now for over three years and never missed a beat.
You can audition to much though. And as you're not talking night and day difference just trust your ears and go for it, and enjoy the tunes.

Peace

Bernd

[curiousburke]

Yeah, I think I did over audition, but I'm decide now and I'm happy.

I don't think this one incident reflects badly on Wharfedale, an off product can slip through on any company. The important part is they spent the time to work on it with me and fix it.

-mark

[accastil]

yes, epos a bit brighter than the wharfedales. id say the wharfedales sounds more natural and balanced. i also agree thhat the character of epos makes one like it more but yes, it would tend to get fatiguing when listened to at extended period of times, with this, i would go for the 9.1's...however, give the studio 20 V3 from paradigm a listen. you might want to stretch your budget a little more for a far better sounding bookshelf.