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Epos LS3 or Wharfedale Diamond 9.1?

Both these monitors come well-regarded by the rags and represent good value for the money. I will be using in my HT, very little music use and that when on the treadmill, so pace and punch are more important, I suppose, than subtlety. But brightness is still a no-no, although I don't think either of these would be that. Using a JVC F10 receiver.
Not a big deal as purchases go, but wondering if anyone can point out weaknesses or relative strengths.

On an aside, anyone tried the Diamond 8 DFS surround?
kck

Showing 2 responses by rar1

rar1's avatar
rar1
1,815 posts
 
If my choices were only between the EPOS ELS3 and the Wharfedale Diamond 9.1, I would choose the Diamond 9.1 with no hesitation.

I owned the EPOS ELS3 and found them to sound somewhat boxy and congested in the upper bass. I also felt that the EPOS could not be driven all that loud before breaking up. I used them with solid state components ... a vintage Marantz 2240 receiver; an Audiosource power amp; a Music Hall CD 25 cd player; and a JVC 602 DVD player. I had the Diamond 8.1's in the same set-up and the differences were fairly noticeable. The sound was very clear and open and the Diamonds worked well in a variety of placements. The 9.1's offer improved sound, especially in the bass department ... a real step above both the Diamond 8.1 and the EPOS ELS3.

If you are open to other options, I would audition the NHT SB2's. These are the small monitors that I ultimately went with and have kept. I prefer how these speakers sound with both solid state and tube components ... very musical sounding.

Regards, Rich
rar1's avatar
rar1
1,815 posts
 
Kck:

The SB3 does go lower in the bass than the SB2; is in a slightly bigger cabinet; and the position of the woofer is on the bottom for the SB2 and on the top for the SB3. Otherwise, they have the same tweeter and my guess the same woofer (at least they are the same size). If you are planning to use a sub-woofer, I would think that the differences would be negligible.

The SB2 is really something else and rises to the occasion when placed with better components. I had paired them with a Prima Luna Prologue 2 integrated tube amp and the sound was musical, engaging, nuanced, refined, etc. They were great with my Marantz receiver, but exceptional with the Prima Luna.

Regards, Rich
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