The Unofficial Wharfedale Gush Thread

Not having a DAC myself I will be interested in your opinion! I've now raised the W90's 8" off the floor,it seems ideal in my setting.
 
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Not having a DAC myself I will be interested in your opinion! I've now raised the W90's 8" off the floor,it seems ideal in my setting.

Well, I'm currently using just a simple HRT Music Streamer II, and they already sound fantastic. I have them at such a low volume right now (Listening to "461 Ocean Blvd"), and yet I'm hearing each individual backing vocalist on mellow songs like "Please Be With Me" and "Let It Grow". The W90's really brought this album to life for me (I know "461 Ocean Blvd" extremely-well... I've played each and every song from this album in various bands over the years, concentrating heavily on the sound of each instrument and vocal, and it's hard to imagine it sounding much better than it already does now, and at such a silly-low volume level).
 
The Allman Bros' "Wipe The Windows, Check The Oil, Dollar Gas"... This is an album that taught me A LOT about improvisation, especially Chuck Leavell's solo on the electric piano during "In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed"... Hadn't played this in a while... Sounds bloody-amazing... There's some real depth in a lot of these old recordings, depth that I hadn't heard since playing this album chronically back in the '90's through my band's PA.

Earlier, I tried some classical, Britton's "Young Person's Guide", as I hadn't played any in quite a while... The tubes in my Fisher must have burned in or something... Classical never sounded this good in this room before... I could get used to this.

Just switched to Bill Frisell & Vernon Reid's "Smash & Scatteration" (My neighbors came home with an attitude, so...).... Whoa.... Holy art shock.
 
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Sorry, guys... I don't mean to gush, but...

"Magical Mystery Tour" and Wharfedale W*0 models... It's a match made in musical heaven... "I Am The Walrus", "Strawberry Fields", and the other psychedelic tunes on that album... Talk about sounding "right"... The sound is there, but so is the vibe... I can't imagine a better Beatles speaker than something like the W70 or W90, or their big corner model... Crestwood23's W90/Marantz 8b combination must be like resurrecting John and George from the grave
 
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Crestwood23's W90/Marantz 8b combination must be like resurrecting John and George from the grave

:yes:

Got some quality listening time in last night - this combo continues to leave me speechless. Just got into this dude Hysear Don Walker - picked up two LPs from him that are jam packed with ultra mellow and insanely funky Rhodes licks. This stuff is like butter on the w90s + 8b - the tonality is spooky real. The soundstage is now floor to ceiling and the juicy Rhodes just dangles and dances inside a 3d holograph in the middle of the speakers.
Another recent acquisition is an LP x2 from Italian maestro Piero Umiliani called "Today's Sound". This is another absolute killer with this combo with lots of analog synths, guitars, and other atmospheric groovy goodness. I love funky instrumental jazz and I have never heard it sounding so good in my room!

:banana:
 
:yes:

Got some quality listening time in last night - this combo continues to leave me speechless. Just got into this dude Hysear Don Walker - picked up two LPs from him that are jam packed with ultra mellow and insanely funky Rhodes licks. This stuff is like butter on the w90s + 8b - the tonality is spooky real. The soundstage is now floor to ceiling and the juicy Rhodes just dangles and dances inside a 3d holograph in the middle of the speakers.
Another recent acquisition is an LP x2 from Italian maestro Piero Umiliani called "Today's Sound". This is another absolute killer with this combo with lots of analog synths, guitars, and other atmospheric groovy goodness. I love funky instrumental jazz and I have never heard it sounding so good in my room!

:banana:

I'll have to look for that one. I dig the instrumental Rhodes & Hammond stuff. My big thing all week has been the 5CD collection (6, actually, with the bonus disc) called "Right On: Breakbeats And Grooves From The Atlantic And Warner Vaults". Picture the kind of samples you hear on albums like "Paul's Boutique" and "The Low End Theory". Lots of cool, hard-to-find stuff.

I love that this combo has diverted your attention away from such monumental hi-fi grand champions as the L300 and the AR9. That just kills me. Synergy's a funny thing. Depends on the music though, I imagine. That's interesting about soundstage height. That was always the Super 3's fault point unless you got them off the floor a bit, but with the 8b, perhaps you don't have to anymore. Interesting for sure. Hopefully I'll end up finding me a semi-battered, yet fully-refurbished 8b for the right price in BT or something (or one that I can have restored myself), 'cause you just KNOW this is gonna' have to happen. :yes:

What have you got in there for tube brands? You like the RCA/Westinghouse thing like I do, so...

I'm listening to "Overnight Sensation" right now. A very-badass 24/96 vinyl-rip that I've had for a couple years.

BTW, check out Scott Henderson's "Dolemite" (from "Tore Down House" from '97-'98 roundabouts... Pretty sure it's on UTube) for great guitar/Hammond/horns interplay. When you hand the W90 a soundstage like this, it just takes off like a Gulfstream V... WHOOOOSHHH.
 
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My big thing all week has been the 5CD collection (6, actually, with the bonus disc) called "Right On: Breakbeats And Grooves From The Atlantic And Warner Vaults". Picture the kind of samples you hear on albums like "Paul's Boutique" and "The Low End Theory". Lots of cool, hard-to-find stuff.

That sounds fantastic - reminds of that Rhino comp "What It Is! Funky Soul And Rare Grooves" - that one is literally songs that have been sampled on Paul's Boutique and The Low End Theory. I'll def check it out! EDIT - just noticed that Right On comp contains "Stepping Stones" by Johnny Harris. The record that is from, "Movements", is an all time favorite of mine. Very atmospheric (sorta more L300 territory) - and contains the best version of "Light My Fire" I have ever heard.

I love that this combo has diverted your attention away from such monumental hi-fi grand champions as the L300 and the AR9. That just kills me. Synergy's a funny thing.

What can I say? The W90's are a joint rolled in toilet paper - you can't fake the funk! :thmbsp:

Hopefully I'll end up finding me a semi-battered, yet fully-refurbished 8b for the right price in BT or something (or one that I can have restored myself), 'cause you just KNOW this is gonna' have to happen. :yes:

:yes: That's exactly how I got mine - killer deal. Save your $, be patient and be ready to pounce when the right one comes along.
Worth every penny and wish I had pulled the trigger sooner. Keep in mind you will need a synergistic preamp as well. I can attest that the Juicy Music Bluberry Extreme is fantastic match for the 8b, and has a phono section that is to die for. Although I have a fantastic Mullard long plate in the phono slot - that might have something to do with the sweetness. :D

What have you got in there for tube brands? You like the RCA/Westinghouse thing like I do, so...

I've rolled a few in the 8b so far - I have landed on Raytheons 6cg7's (tried vintage RCA clear tops here and didn't like as much) GE 6bh6's (these won out over the famous Philips mesh plate) and the icing on the cake are some very sweet NOS Mullard el34's I recent got off BT. I had run fat bottle EH el34's before that, and I must say they were fantastic too.

I'm listening to "Overnight Sensation" right now. A very-badass 24/96 vinyl-rip that I've had for a couple years.

Love it, one of the best. PBTHAL?
 
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Yeah... But you didn't hear it from me. ;)

The preamp's the tough part. I wish I could access the preamp section on the 800C, but I don't think I can, can I? I've never run a separates system at home before, but the W90's obviously like it when you go balls to the wall on the upstream gear. Makes you wonder how far you can take it. I mean, on certain music, I'm already like, "Holy sh*t, that sounds amazing" (like the Temptations' mid-period stuff). 'Authentic' is the one word that comes to mind. Spooky-authentic, and I know I'm just scratching the surface. Sure, it might not be the last word on modern acoustic female vocal music, but that's never really been my thing anyway (I want resolution for sure, but never at the expense that warm, rich vibey character either... I hear people talking about early '70's Stones and how bad it sounds on their system, blaming it on recording quality... I don't ever want to maximize the high-quality recordings at the expense of the average stuff, and I think a lot of AK'ers do that... I mean, put on the classic old version of John Lee Hooker's "Boogie Chillun" on your system and crank up the volume... Makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up... Probably equally-amazing through the SFB's or the big 3-way corner model).. I have 40 years of reliving to do, so I'm busy wit' 'dat. Not much time for Japanese dulcimer music (or whatever that thing is... Some Japanese chick playing a full-size harp and singing... Might be a cultural divide thing, but I've just never been into that staff.. I put a system together for the music, not the other way around, you know? By the way, I'm gonna' have to check out that "What It Is" set. I need more music.

I have dreamed about doing a Leak system with some of their TL amps and a Leak preamp, but I really enjoy the Fisher sound, so I sometimes wonder which brand is really best for me. I admit, I had never thought about Marantz before until you mentioned it. They've always been like JBL to me. Automatically-disqualified due to non-sleeper status. :D
 
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That Blueberry looks like quite the pre. That's a lot of money though. Probably a grand for a used one, plus probably another grand for an 8b, not including refurbishing. I'd almost try the Blueberry first if I could run the thing with my Fisher, but I don't think I can, so I'm probably looking at $2500 total for the whole shabang once it's all said and done. For now, maybe I should upgrade my DAC and work harder on optimizing my phono rig. I just can't make up my mind on a DAC. My current one is definitely the weak link in my digital chain, even though that thing has taken me a long way. It's time, and I think that alone would be quite a noticeable upgrade if I dropped like five bills on a new or slightly-used one. Besides, I DID just put all that money into the 800C, so I might as well stick with it for a while and enjoy it WHILE i slowly-save up the funds for a righteous pre/power setup.
 
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Yeah, you wouldn't get the real taste of the Bluberry running it through the Fisher, as the Fishers own pre would be influencing the sound too. Best to enjoy your Fisher for a while, it is very sweet especially with all of the resto work you did to it.

I love the vibes of the Leak stuff too (something extra cool about having an all British rig), but from what I've heard the pre that is made to go along with the amps is less than stellar, with just a so-so phono section. My primary format is vinyl (my DAC is a distant second), so I wanted the best phono section I could find. Love the Blueberry, I've used it with various Mac power amps too and it always makes everything sound so much better.

I think most people don't get what makes Wharfedales so great because most people haven't spent a great deal of time actually making real music and experiencing that unique emotional connection to the heart and soul of the performance. I have yet to find another speaker that gets me as close to that experience as these do.
 
Yeah, you wouldn't get the real taste of the Bluberry running it through the Fisher, as the Fishers own pre would be influencing the sound too. Best to enjoy your Fisher for a while, it is very sweet especially with all of the resto work you did to it.

I love the vibes of the Leak stuff too (something extra cool about having an all British rig), but from what I've heard the pre that is made to go along with the amps is less than stellar, with just a so-so phono section. My primary format is vinyl (my DAC is a distant second), so I wanted the best phono section I could find. Love the Blueberry, I've used it with various Mac power amps too and it always makes everything sound so much better.

I think most people don't get what makes Wharfedales so great because most people haven't spent a great deal of time actually making real music and experiencing that unique emotional connection to the heart and soul of the performance. I have yet to find another speaker that gets me as close to that experience as these do.

I actually edited myself there, mainly because my brain goes on autopilot when I'm tired, and that's when I start "posting my own tail", so to speak (That's the polite version :D ).
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I like the dynamic slam and extension of the Klipschorn, and I imagine the 604 at it's peak might be a bigger thumper than the best Wharfedales of old, and the Quad ESL might be a bit more... I don't know.... something.... But then we come back to the middle again. Hard to give that up. It's like a drug. I noticed it relies on those woofers getting the room to breath that they need. How do you have your pots set on yours (the mid and tweeter pots)?

I read that about at least one of the preamps, but that guy in the Far East gets such a sound out of that setup with his Wharfedales (And I too would love an all-Brit setup... I've been playing Gran Turismo on my Kindle the past 6 months, and the next car on my acquisition list is the Bentley Speed 8... Couple of days). Makes me want a 301 in the worst way. ANOTHER thing I can't afford right now. Trying to save for when the time comes that I move. I think I'll start looking for a DAC first, I guess. I also need to find a good standalone player that also takes USB from My Books, portable drives, and flash stuff so I can shed the music server thing, although it DOES allow me extra control over the volume level, which is important with the Fisher because of that volume knob/power switch and how it screws with the channel balance (That took some ear training to learn how to quickly get the balance in check when I first turn it on... Damn Fishers :rolleyes: ).
 
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My pots are at about 3:00 all the way around, I find that gives me the best balance overall.

I've never heard Klipschorns, only Cornwalls and Fortes (both heavily upgraded and paired with Fisher gear) and i didn't like either. I much prefer the L300s for a horn sound, but even then I'm not sure a horn can reproduce the tone in the midrange (esp on electric guitar) that I am after. I'm sure the Klipschorns have some BIG dynamics, but I'm never going to have 2 free corners of a room to put them in.
I am curious about quad 57s, as they are apparently the mid range kings. Trade offs seem to be lack of bass, and the need for at least 3ft of space behind them. That's another great thing about the w90s - with the sand filled baffles you pretty much stick them anywhere and get great sound. Plenty of tuneful bass to go around too.
57's are a legendarily synergistic match with an 8b though, going to try to get my hands on some some day to see how they stack up against the w90s.
 
My pots are at about 3:00 all the way around, I find that gives me the best balance overall.

I've never heard Klipschorns, only Cornwalls and Fortes (both heavily upgraded and paired with Fisher gear) and i didn't like either. I much prefer the L300s for a horn sound, but even then I'm not sure a horn can reproduce the tone in the midrange (esp on electric guitar) that I am after. I'm sure the Klipschorns have some BIG dynamics, but I'm never going to have 2 free corners of a room to put them in.
I am curious about quad 57s, as they are apparently the mid range kings. Trade offs seem to be lack of bass, and the need for at least 3ft of space behind them. That's another great thing about the w90s - with the sand filled baffles you pretty much stick them anywhere and get great sound. Plenty of tuneful bass to go around too.
57's are a legendarily synergistic match with an 8b though, going to try to get my hands on some some day to see how they stack up against the w90s.

Wow, I wasn't expecting that. Oh, then those are pumping out some bass. Yeah, I had mine there as well, but a couple people started talking about bypassing them, and it got me wondering if I could handle them full. I finally settled on backing both off a hair and then backing off the mids just a microhair below that to take off a bit of that midrange edge. Huge improvement in soundstage, and the bass has been good in here. But I can't run them both full up. Others could though. Jazz guys. We'll see once the neighbors are gone. Then maybe I'll mess with them again. You can tailor the bejesus out of these things, which is one seriously-underrated feature. Having them up higher makes them more-low-volume-friendly. They make delightful background music speakers.

But yeah, I was thinking it was just me for a while, but I never heard guitars sound that real either. Made we want to switch from Fender amps to Vox ones. You can automatically-include any band that recorded in England or used '60's Vox or Marshall amps, which is like everybody. It's all gonna' sound... uh... pretty-damn-good.

I noticed something just now. I just played the 2009 "Sticky Fingers" CD remaster, and something just wasn't right. Then I threw in a certain vinyl rip I have ( ;) ), and suddenly I realized the problem. The '09 disc didn't have the bottom end that I'm used to because it's much louder. With the vinyl-rip, I can turn it up way more, which really gets my Fisher into the sweet spot. Problem solved. I bet it's like that with the '90's disc too, much lower, I mean.
 
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-my first gush..... i finally got around to hooking up my w70d's this weekend. After sitting for 3 months i paired them with a rebuilt dynaco st-70 tube amp ( purchased from bartertown... love that place!) and a tomcat super 6 preamp. I have an Empire 598 turntable in the works, but i still need to get the shielded cable fixed... - and it looks like it should happen in the next month or so..... anyways, i hooked up a harmon kardon cd player i had laying around.... what i heard was amazing!!! - i describe it as gravy!!! ( and I love gravy... lol ) I threw on the new beck album.... it honestly was a wall of sound! - never heard anything like it before....... all of a sudden, parts of the songs simply 'open up' as you are listening to them... that is my best discription. (and I am in cramped space, I can only imagine how much better they would sound if i had a little more room) I played several other cd's, and sure, some are recorded better then others, but with this preamp and the speakers, i can really enhance the highs, mids and lows.... taylor them to the recordings if necessary. Today, a friend unexpectedly stopped by, my wife sent him out to my office... i was listening to the new Lucinda Williams (on cd)... i put on the second track from the second side and watched his face as he listened to to it.... (you could see his mind working.... ) when the track ended... he simply said.... "that was amazing..... it sounded like the band was playing right in front of me" < that's really all you want to hear or feel when listening to a good set of speakers.... which these are.... extremely pleased with them and my system.... ec : )
 
-my first gush..... i finally got around to hooking up my w70d's this weekend. After sitting for 3 months i paired them with a rebuilt dynaco st-70 tube amp ( purchased from bartertown... love that place!) and a tomcat super 6 preamp. I have an Empire 598 turntable in the works, but i still need to get the shielded cable fixed... - and it looks like it should happen in the next month or so..... anyways, i hooked up a harmon kardon cd player i had laying around.... what i heard was amazing!!! - i describe it as gravy!!! ( and I love gravy... lol ) I threw on the new beck album.... it honestly was a wall of sound! - never heard anything like it before....... all of a sudden, parts of the songs simply 'open up' as you are listening to them... that is my best discription. (and I am in cramped space, I can only imagine how much better they would sound if i had a little more room) I played several other cd's, and sure, some are recorded better then others, but with this preamp and the speakers, i can really enhance the highs, mids and lows.... taylor them to the recordings if necessary. Today, a friend unexpectedly stopped by, my wife sent him out to my office... i was listening to the new Lucinda Williams (on cd)... i put on the second track from the second side and watched his face as he listened to to it.... (you could see his mind working.... ) when the track ended... he simply said.... "that was amazing..... it sounded like the band was playing right in front of me" < that's really all you want to hear or feel when listening to a good set of speakers.... which these are.... extremely pleased with them and my system.... ec : )

Yup... He's hooked... That's funny.

Yeah, the instruments really jump out at you, don't they? Think of the Hammond organ solo on the Stones' "I Got The Blues", that part where it first comes in and he slides his fingers across the keys up to that first note. Quite a mix of timbre and dynamics. Tubes seem to really bring that out.

The W70D is a high-end speaker same as the earlier ones. They put a lot into that series. And everybody I talk to who has ever hooked a pair up to a tube rig has had nothing but raves. I may never go back to solid-state after this. That Dynaco must power those nicely. They're pretty-sensitive for 50-watters. A Fisher 500C at 30wpc stereo would make a nice pairing, as would a Scott in that range. Those purple tweeters are different than the cones, but pit them against the fried egg tweeters from Advent, AR, etc, and suddenly they start looking (sounding) pretty-damn-good. There's magic in them old Wharfies.

Welcome... :D
 
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That sounds fantastic - reminds of that Rhino comp "What It Is! Funky Soul And Rare Grooves" - that one is literally songs that have been sampled on Paul's Boutique and The Low End Theory. I'll def check it out! EDIT - just noticed that Right On comp contains "Stepping Stones" by Johnny Harris. The record that is from, "Movements", is an all time favorite of mine. Very atmospheric (sorta more L300 territory) - and contains the best version of "Light My Fire" I have ever heard.

Thought I'd post an update on this. I picked up that 4CD "What It Is" set. The nice thing is, there isn't that much overlapping on tracks. A little here and there, but not like I figured. I bet you'd like that "Right On" set. I think that's 5 discs.

Tried to get "Movements" too, but I couldn't find it.

Was watching "The Groove Tube" (1974) last night... I love that flick...That bit in the beginning with early man (well, a tribe of folks from the days of early man, that is) grooving with a bunch of sticks and animal bones (and then the female of the group starts doing that go-go dance), and then one of them is rubbing two sticks together (playing percussion to the beat of Curtis Mayfield's "Move On up", which is playing in the background throughout the entire sketch), and the sticks catch fire, and he's all like, "Whoa.... What the hell is this?", and the chick next to him is staring in disbelief, and then it cuts to a wide shot of the whole group dancing around a huge bonfire... Classic.
 
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Thought I'd post an update on this. I picked up that 4CD "What It Is" set. The nice thing is, there isn't that much overlapping on tracks. A little here and there, but not like I figured. I bet you'd like that "Right On" set. I think that's 5 discs.

Tried to get "movements" too, but I couldn't find it.

:thmbsp:

Definitely going to check out that "Right On" set - trying to get it on vinyl if I can!

PM your email address, I know where you can get a copy of the elusive "Movements" LP... :yes::smoke:
 
:thmbsp:

Definitely going to check out that "Right On" set - trying to get it on vinyl if I can!

PM your email address, I know where you can get a copy of the elusive "Movements" LP... :yes::smoke:

I have to renew my subscription, so I can't PM at the moment, but I'll figure somethin' out.. The CD seems to be a hard-to-find item these days.
 
When you had told me before about having your mid and tweeter levels at 3:00 (which is where I USED to have mine set and was recommending that setting for quite a while), it got me looking at mine again, since I had raised mine to almost full. Anyway, I lowered both knobs just a hair from where they were before, so of course I'm getting that extra kick in the bass. The more you push the mids and tweets, the bigger and more-sparkly the soundstage gets, and it's easy to get addicted to it once you go down that road, but I like where they're at right now. Not quite full up, and the mid settings are just a micro-hair behind the tweeter settings. But it's also easy to get hooked on that extra bass and smoother, more-rolled-off highs. That's some serious sound-tailoring.
 
Tried something interesting yesterday. While I had the opportunity, I threw on the soundtrack from "The Shining" and cranked the volume (Those things were moving some serious air). The really-spooky-weird tracks like Penderecki's "Polymorphia" are INSANE through W90's. Cranked-up, that stuff sounds amazing. Reminds me of seeing that movie in the theaters back in the day with all-analog sound. That soundtrack never saw a CD release, but most/all of the individual tracks are available on their own respective albums in CD form, and should be on YouTube as well if you wanted to try one or two. Having seen the movie a gazillion times, those tracks played through cranked W90's is some freaky s**t.

"DANNYYYYYYYYYYYYY! ....... I'm RIGHT BEHIND YA'!"
 
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