Wharfedale - Reva/Diamond

To reiterate...

If there are almost no reviews for a speaker, and the little amount said about them is rather negative, does that mean its Sh!t?  Especially if they LOOK fantastic.

I have the Reva 2, and I really enjoy it.  I tend to like a very smooth, non-fatiguing sound, even at the expense of some detail.  As I read reviews, it seemed that Wharfedale's entry-level bookshelf speakers (Diamond 225, Reva 2, and the Denton) were all voiced in precisely that way.  After reading the positive review in Hi-Fi Choice (http://www.wharfedale.co.uk/files/HFC_412_InDepth_Wharfedale_Reprint.pdf) I decided to give them a shot.  I've been very pleased with them --  a relaxing listen with enough low end for my smaller room.  I like the slot-loaded port as the bass doesn't get boomy.  The soft-dome tweeter is very smooth and has cured the listening fatigue I was getting from other speakers.  

Just my two cents, 
Scott

Oh, and you can order the Revas through Music Direct with their 60-day return policy.

Glad to hear some positive feedback.  I might give them a shot, hopefully they are a step UP from my Diamond 10.7s and not sideways.  They look like a top notch speaker, so I hope they behave like them.  I am very bad at pulling the trigger, maybe I’ll get a few glasses of whiskey in me over the weekend and fire away through Music Direct.

Reva 4s are on their way.  I will report back when I get them set up!

hmm, there are certainly a lot of Wharfedale models over 85 years, my favourite classic is Wharfedale Denton, recently there is a Denton 2 which sound a bit more aggressive, and I've seen many prefer Denton 1 over any other models, a small weak point could be dynamic at extreme volume, though my experience tell that it is loud and dynamic enough even if you play a movie with many explosions or bullet sounds

I have th Reva 4's and Center in the piano white finish. Beautiful speakers! 

I have the the towers bi-amped to my CXR200, and they sound great to me. I'm by no means an expert Though. Would love to hear another opinion on them. 

I'm looking for new speakers for my secondary man cave system. My electronics in this system are all vintage Yamaha. I recently purchased a Ca-810 Integrated. I had one when I was in my twenties and loved it. Listening to it now and it sounds great so want to get better speakers for it. Looking for bookshelf stand mounters and also am interested in Wharfedale, Epos, or whatever else you guys would think would be a good match. Not looking to spend over 700- 800 for the pair. Thanks and I hope you guys don't mind the jump in. 

Hey 10000 Hz, did you ever get the Reva's...if so....speak.....

Bm7b5,

Yes I did!  Letting them go now actually and in the market for either KEF R500 or Tannoy XT6F.  Possibly even ELAC.

The Wharfedale Reva 4s are a great sounding speaker.  They were an excellent step up from the Wharfedale Diamond 10.7s and they produced that warm gentle Wharfedale sound just as I expected in every area except one.  The low end.  The plinth port design just did not deliver for me.  The low end was lacking rather significantly and I found myself constantly trying to make up for in with EQ.  I blame it on two things.  The port design and the phase plugs on the woofers.

The phase plugs I personally feel to be a design flaw on these speakers.  There may be circumstances where a woofer will benefit from a phase plug, but when there’s a dedicated mid range and the woofer is only handling the lower frequencies It seems to be worthless.  The air blows by the seam between the cone and the plug, thus losing air that would have been pushed out into the room and chuffing occurs at low frequencies when cone movement is at it’s highest (though not audible in most recordings).  In short, they are a little light down below for me.  

Up top they shine quite nicely.  They reach much higher than the Diamond 10.7s and do so accurately and with a beautiful and gentle approach with their soft dome tweeter.   They image quite well and have a great soundstage.  They have a beautiful warm mid range (their woven fiber cones work wonderfully here) and are overall very flat.  I really hate to see them go, but I must move on to bigger and better pastures.  

I have the Reva 4's and Reva center speaker. 
I finally got some time to watch a movie and listen to some music tonite after having these speakers for months now.
First off the fit and finish on the speakers are amazing for the price.
I am truly blown away bye these speakers. I was worried about the size of the center channel that it wouldn't be able to keep up but wow voices are dead on.
I am running these speakers with a California audio labs 5 x 500w amplifier wich also worried me but they seem to really like the power.
They seem to sound great with all sorts of music not adding anything. Music just sounds great.most speakers I have tried in past always added something or was missing something.. the Reva's just sounded neutral. .
For music I tried without subs and depending on the music produced nice bass.. some music I just find screams for subs..I have 2 Rythmic 12" sealed subs for music and I add my PSA xs30se dual 15" for movies. Everything seemed to blend really well.
 If things keep sounding this good I will have no reason to replace the Reva's.. I have listened to much more expensive and less expensive speakers and these Reva's are putting a huge smile on my face.

10000hz
Thanks for the update. Was looking at those for my home theater.

I love my Reva 3’s in gloss white! They look amazing! They also sound amazing. Soundstage is wide and midrange is wonderful. Full bodied vocals. The highs are also good. Not as much sparkle as my much more expensive Martin Logan electrostatic speakers, but good enough considering their price. Low end is enough for most music, but I supplement with a subwoofer. I use a Martin Logan Depth i ($2195).

Of course the subwoofer alone cost more than the Reva 3 pair. I use a Cambridge Audio CXA80 ($999) integrated amp and a Bluesound Node as the main source. Strictly Tidal streaming in this room. It might also help that I have a Shunyata Hydra Talos ($3000) and Shunyata Alpha HC power cable ($1200) along with Transparent interconnects and speaker cables ($800). So the great sound might be attributed to the $6k in electronics and power conditioning / cables I’m using with the Reva 3s. These were items I had left, after upgrading my main listening system...I would not have bought them strictly to pair with Reva. I just had them.

Hope this helps any perspective Reva buyers.

@10000_hz_legend hey man - was wondering where you are at in your speaker quest?

also curious what amp you’re using? I have the 10.7s too and I really like them - but also noticed that the more power I give them the more noticeably tighter and refined they get. Each amp upgrade was like getting a new pair of speakers. Currently using a Yamaha A-S801 integrated. 

@leemazeI 

I sold the Reva 4s and bought a pair of Dali Oberon 5s with a matching center in light oak.  Beautiful speakers.  My wife loves how they complement the room.  Their sound is very forward up top and as many reviewers have stated they have a “surprising” amount of bass from a tiny Floorstander.  The low end seemed quite effortless from the first tune I played on them.  The bass just has a really nice presence.  I wouldn’t call it shocking.  More like pleasantly surprising.  

Most of their focus though is on the top end, which is again rather forward.  I bought them because I really liked the tweeter in Dali Specktor 2s that I bought for my desktop a few months earlier.  Vocals sounded really transparent with the Specktors so I wanted to try the Oberons.  The tweeter is apparently both a little larger than average (not to the naked eye) and the material they used for the soft dome in both the Oberon and Specktor is reportedly thinner than the average soft dome.  Turns out the Oberons do inherit the same qualities as the Specktors, albeit with slightly more control and higher reach (to my ear).  They have a great amount of detail, good imaging and tendency to bite with some aggressive material such as cymbals and horns.  Not nearly the bite from a metal dome tweeter, but it’s there.  I don’t mind this at all.  I think they are great speakers especially for the money.  I have been enjoying them very much so far, but after 6 months I am already looking for something else that has a little more authority and warming midrange like my old Diamond 10.7s.  Those 10.7s really are a damn good speaker.  They are really satisfying because they have that big warm bass that my fathers old 70s-80s speakers had, but with a great midrange and a halfway decent top end.  I always wished they imaged better and extended a little higher, which is why I went with the Reva 4s that ended up lacking that warm punchy low end the 10.7s had. 

So anyway...  I’m still looking for the right balance or warm and punchy low-mid and detailed top end.

@10000_hz_legend thanks for the update! They sound cool! What HiFi really loved them too! May I offer 2 other speakers to look at since you’re in the market?

Rega RS3 or RS5 (find used?) - I have the RS1 (bookshelf) version and this tweeter might be what you’re looking for. It’s very clean and clear up top, very sweet and reaches a little higher than the 10.7. I also have the R3 (older model) and it’s lower end doesn’t go as low as the 10.7 but it’s quite punchy and fun. With these powers combined...

Wharfedale Diamond 250 - again I have the 220 (bookshelf) and this tweeter seems to have a touch more clarity than the 10.7. I’d expect the floor stander to have a similar warm and punchy mid range/low end.  Definitely remove the grills on this speaker if you try it - they add a little distortion while on. 

Also do you still have your 10.7s?  A few easy tweaks with them I’ve found to really increase the high end performance. 
1) remove the grills - nice increase in clarity, definition and imaging
2) tow them in significantly towards the listening position and make sure they are perfectly level and stable. Much better imaging. 
3) thick speaker wire - I’m using 10 AWG OFC from parts Express. Made a big difference. 
And finally:
4) more power! Not necessarily easy but every time made a HUGE difference in performance. Almost like getting new speakers!  I went from 50w Marantz -> 75w NAD -> 100w Yamaha (with others in between) and each time they really projected what the amp/source had to offer. 

Also there’s another member here who’s written frequently about upgrading the capacitors on them because the drivers are so good and apparently they save on the capacitors to make them more affordable. This isn’t something I’ve really explored but it does peak my interest!

@leemaze.  


Unfortunately I sold the 10.7s.  I was originally driving them with a Marantz receiver, but yes, when I switched to an Adcom 5300 there was a significant improvement in control and reach.  Then I switched to an Emotiva A-500 and they sounded even better.  I wish I had held onto them.  I had the matching center too.  Best center channel I have owned.  Voices sounded so warm and present.  Never found myself saying “What did he say???”


Thanks for the Rega recommendation.  I haven’t listened to a rega yet.  I will do some research.

Wanted to resurrect this thread.

Any one listen to the new Wharfedale Lintons and compare them to the Wharfedale Diamond 10.7s?

Thanks!

Wharfedale EVO line is getting RAVE reviews. 
Wharfedale Diamond 12 looks fantastic and unbelievable price point. 
Had anyone sampled either with previous experience of the Diamond 10 series? 

Nothing really of note to contribute here, but I heard the Wharfedale Diamond 10.7s at a dealer about a year ago and really liked them. I was considering them for a second system. 

Leemaze - 

I have had my eye on the Wharfedale Evo’s!  They look amazing and have received race reviews.

But, it appears they have the exact same woofers as the Reva 4’s which I wasn’t satisfied with.  I really don’t understand why Wharfedale keeps using phase plugs on their dedicated woofers.  Phase plugs, as far as I understand, are for helping direct mid to high frequencies and serve no purpose on a dedicated woofer.  The space between the phase plug and cone causes air to move in and out of the cabinet causing chuffing at higher excursions and without a center dust cap the cone moves substantially less air. 
I just don’t understand their thinking on this, especially with such a reportedly well integrated top end.

I finally took the plunge and bought the EVO 4.4 towers in white oak. Will report back in a few weeks in comparison to the Diamond 10.7s

cheers!

@leemaze Any thoughts and/or comments on your experience with the Evo 4.4s?  I've been considering upgrading my Reva 3's.