Wharfedale Speakers at Best Buy (1 Viewer)

[Dom P.]

Well, I ordered the center channel and hooked up my other equipment.
I'm currently running a Pioneer 5.1 ch Rec, toshiba DVD, Pioneer fronts (which sound MUCH better than I thought they would) and acoustic image rears, with the wharfedale center on the way...
Only thing left right now is the Sub, which I like to keep under $300.
Obviously, I'm building a budget system here, but I'm trying really hard to save up for other things, like a house

 

[Tom Wyatt]

 

[Chris Shelly]

I am thinking about upgrading to these speakers. I think they look pretty cool. I want bigger speakers without spending a ton of money. I also like the dipole surround speakers. Of coarse the jury is still out on how they actually sound. I would trust Wharfedale any day over say KLH but you never know. I have heard Wharfedale speakers before and thought they sounded pretty good.

 

[Corey_ Williams]

Has anyone seen these speakers in best buy?

 

[Dom P.]

They are not available in the stores yet, and you cannot do in store pick-up. Only availble for ordering on Bestbuy.com. I'm not sure on a date when they will actually be in the stores.

 

[Chris Shelly]

I am still looking into these speakers. I have been doing a little more research on them. They seem to be marketing them as an all out party speaker with the emphasis on Rock and Role. Kind of like Jensen. Meaning they can play loud. Of coarse most speakers that offer this capability are hardly accurate. They don't really market them fully as home theater speakers even though they offer Center and Surround speakers. I also wonder how they would sound in quiet passages?

They are however very affordable and offer horn drivers. If done right horns are the way to go for movie soundtracks. I remember an article several years ago sponsored by Klipsch that talked about the superiority of horn drivers for movie soundtracks. Films have a lot of high end energy that can't be accurately produced using a regular tweeter. After auditioning the Klipsch speakers I agree. Of coarse I could not afford them at the time.

When and If I decide to order these speakers I would like to have the Model 600(not currently listed on bestbuy.com) for my mains and Center and Dipole surround speakers. I think I will pass on the subwoofer and go with someone else. 10" woofer and a 100W amp does not make a good subwoofer. Frankly Warfedale should offer a 200W 12" subwoofer to go with the Zaldek line.

I really hope these are the next sleeper. Of coarse they might be a cheap rock and roll kid speaker just like Jensen. They are very affordable and even better with the $50 rebates. Speaking of rebates this one is worded funny. Can I buy the mains, center and surrounds and take advantage of each rebate?

 

[mike_frontier]

The answer is YES

Can I buy the mains, center and surrounds and take advantage of each rebate?

 

[Chris Shelly]

Thanks Mike,

Being able to take advantage of all the rebates make these speakers very attractive. If only somehow I could find away to listen to these speakers. I guess I could buy them and audition and then return to my local BB if I don't like them.

Right now I am currently using an NSP1 with a PB12 subwoofer. This combination is pretty good but it does have some trouble playing loud. My room is rather large. I really need larger speakers but I don't have enough money to buy a high end large speaker system. That proposition can get expensive fast.

Zaldek 300.......$179.99
Zaldek Center....$149.99
Zaldek Surround. $199.99
$50 rebate x3 -$150.00
$379.97

If you don't mind waiting 5 or 6 weeks for your $150 rebates you can get this set for $379.97. Thats a really good deal. If available I would like the Zaldek 600 for mains. It is like the 300 but taller and has a large port on the bottom. I would guess it would be $199.99 to $249.99. It might offer a smoother bass response over the Zaldek 300.

 

[Henry Carmona]

Mike
I believe the model you purchased has a sensitivity rating of 88db the Yamis are probably better.
I may be purchasing a set of the 2000's, the big ones (91db)for more than 50% off , but ima listen to them first.
Im not sure when, since shipping takes about 4 weeks :frowning:, but ill let ya know

 

[mike_frontier]

Henry,
Are you talking about getting the Yamaha's?
If so they are wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy better speakers by far. Those Zaldeks anyways looked to fake when it was all setup and done. Looked great on the website... but after hooking it all up I was like auhhh. The when I listen to them.... they were like auh ok... there going back to the store.
Yamahas I got are wayyy better as I said.
As for Chris... Your JBLs I think will make you more happier then the Zaldek. I like to get some other peoples thoughts on these Zaldeks too. Try them all out guys,,,,,, mayve someone here will like'em,, but I didnt
:frowning:

 

[Henry Carmona]

Mike, Im talking about the Zaldek 2000's with 2 8" woofs, horn mid and horn tweet.

 

[Chris Shelly]

Hey Mike,

I have not bought the Zaldek speakers yet. I am kind of in a holding pattern waiting for more news but so far it has been slow in coming.

Best Buy is currently having a sale on these speakers and they are even cheaper. Still offering the $50 rebates. I can now buy the whole package including the subwoofer for $785.96. After rebates $585.96. If they stink I can take them back to my local Best Buy store.

I am beginning to wonder if these are really Wharfedale speakers. They are so different then anything else Wharfedale makes. Sure they have the Wharfedale name on them. Best Buy could have had a generic speaker manufacture make the speakers and then pay Wharfedale a licensing fee for the name.

 

[ShawnT]

found this@ http://www.ecoustics.com/bbs/messages/1/1181.html
Thought you would find this interesting.
ko kho
Tuesday, February 11, 2003 - 04:10 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I have no experience with Saphire series, but I set-up Zaldek 1000 and Diamond 8.3 in parallel via speaker sekector with amplifier protector, the result was so good that I ordered another 2 pairs of Zaldek 2000. The horns and the 8" base is superb for playback of brass and drum in Pop and Rock, the bass is so good that I can turn of my subwoofer. TAD TSM 300 is the only thing can better this combination but cost 250% more...

 

[Dom P.]

Wow.. that's a pretty impressive review.. but obviously it's only one guy whom we don't know.

 

[greg baker]

for what it is worth. Wharfedale diamond 8.3 has the Wild west electronics has them for $349 and you get a free set of surrounds.
http://www.wildwestelectronics.net

 

[sheldon M.]

8.3's kick butt. I have a pair and they remind me of my old Paradigm 5seMK3's-for a lot less.

 

[Kurt Schlagel]

The Zaldeks have spring clips instead of binding posts, so that fits the Best Buy profile. It should be interesting to see where Best Buy prices the Diamonds.

 

[Keith Shaw]

Actually, the Zaldek's have binding posts as well. I'm playing around with a pair Zaldek 300's that a co-worker bought recently, and they'll probably end up as garage speakers for his new house.
They seem to have pretty reasonable bass extension (which makes sense b/c they're large for a bookshelf speaker), good dynamics, and they actually image surprisingly well in my home system. I would say their major downfall is a nasty upper midrange, probably where the woofer crosses over to that so-called midrange driver. For upper octave voices, alto-sax, or piano, it gets pretty harsh with good material. Certainly not something I could live with on a system used for music. They also have a healthy 50-80 Hz bloom in their in-room response, which gives them a very warm sound in conjunction with the attenuated treble. It works nicely for rock and heavy kick-drum music, so they'll do well in the garage
Edit: Here's what my testing setup looks like
http://agt.gamedaemons.net/zal-off.jpg

 

[MichaelRS]

I saw the Ad on the wharfdale site sometime around xmas of 2002 that best buy would be carrying the Zaldek speakers.
I checked their site,and they had the center,surrounds, and the 1000 towers. a few days later they had the Zaldek 2000 speakers listed, but they had the wrong price. 299 pair. I went through the ordering process to see if a notice came up that you had to buy 2 for a pair, but it said packaged 2 to a box. I was tempted to buy them just because I was curious, but being christmas time, I was short on cash. I usually let my wife spend all she wants, then deal with the bills later. I have heard that the speakers play loud, and are somewhat boomy, depending on room placement.

 

[JoeyTadeja]

http://www.iagamerica.com/wharfedale/pacific.htm
http://www.audiovisiononline.co.uk/
Actually the Pacific Evolution series look very handsome.
If anyone know of a good review about them let me know.
Thanks!