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On european boards, glowing reviews aren't for the 8.2 . The good speakers to pick are the 8.1, the smallest ones. They sound far better, if less powerfull in the bass (of course, they're smaller). The 8.2 are mostly adviced as home theater speakers, while the 8.1 are adviced as small hifi speakers. It's a categorization that sounded right to my ears when i was shopping.

Anyway, the case for wharfedale is closed in here.

Look for the AE EVO 1 or the EVO3 the 2 gets the worst reviews of the bunch.

Actually guys, in a sick sad twist of events, I think I have been "convinced" to go for the cheapest speakers I possibly can. That said I still want as hi-fi a set of speakers I possibly can get. The Wharfedales at $140 are now probably at the top end of my price range. Searching for used deals is rough...

Some Wharfe 8.2's popped up on ebay for a decent price all of a sudden. Are these really that bad?

I'm gonna throw in a recommendation for the axiom m2i's if you're looking for something on the neutral side (at least what the graphs show), tho some say axiom's tend to sound a bit bright, it depends on your system I guess.

Given you budget and space confinements, maybe the PSB Alpha series might be worth considering. MacDEF and others have sung the praises of the original PSB Alpha Minis - in particular when paired with NAD components (The NAD L40 specifically as it came bundled with the Alpha Minis).

The alpha was one of my original choices but was later dismissed since I would be placing them so close to the wall. (rear ported)

That being said, I am now considering them again, but am finding them hard to find for a good price, having turned down a perfectly awesome offer to buy a pair earlier in my search.

Peep these:

http://cgi.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cl.p...6537678&2&3&4&

Nice find bundee, must have been posted this afternoon since I didn't see it this morning. Hm, however, they're in CA, and so am I (sales tax -_-) At this price, do you think it would be better than the Wharfedale 8.1's?

I just noticed that he has some 2b's for $195. Why does he have to be so close to me, yet so far? He's some 150 miles away and I doubt I can spare the time to make the trip.

Edit #234: The Axioms do look quite good but I'm not too sure on how to get around to finding a good price on them. No local dealer seems to have them and I haven't seen any on agon or ebay.



EDIT #235: All of a sudden Ed Frias's BIC DV62si crossover modified speakers start to look good again. I can get them for under $100 on ebay and he charges $30 for the crossover modification. The only thing is that I feel like it's a poor deal when he offers a completely new crossover for the speakers in addition to 5 way binding posts, but I can't afford that one at $250+ship.

Found another potential deal (if it's not long gone.) Paradigm Titan for $109

That is a pretty good deal. I would get the PSB over the Axioms and paradigms because I hate bright speakers. I also owned 2 pairs of PSB Alphas which were my first "hi-fi" purchase.

I've heard a lot of small speakers, and I still haven't found any that sound better (to me) than the PSB Alphas for the price. What sets them apart from most of the other small speakers I've heard is their sense of warmth and musicality. Many small speakers are bright. Many others make it obvious that they don't have much low end. The Alphas don't fall victim to either of these faults.

The fact that you're going to be using an NAD amp is even more reason to get PSBs -- NAD and PSB make a great match.

i own the Ed Frias Modified DV62's and they sound very very good, probably one of the top 3 speakers in their price range. I have the highly modified version ($250); the sound is very rich and realistic. I have not heard the stock ones or the ones with the $30 crossover mod so I cannot pass judgement on those. Many people who come over and listen to these speakers are blown away by the price/quality ratio. The speakers I've compared these to are the Diamond 8.1's, Paradigm Mini-Monitors, Athena BS-1s, and M-Audio Studiophile BX5.

The sound is very balanced and the bass is quite good on my cheap-o Sherwood reciever...but they're definitely not getting to their full potential =/

I just dropped by Yawa today and picked up some PSB image 2b's. The very moment I decided to get them I was filled with regret because THEY ARE SO ABSOLUTELY FRIGGIN BIG. They're GIGANTIC. I now think the wharfedales would have made me happier just by virtue of being so much smaller!! That being said, the people at Yawa are wonderful and I feel bad about returning the speakers so I don't think I will unless they sound funny with my speaker placement. Even if they do, I think I would rather sell it on ebay as a mint pair opened just to check functionality. They're still setting things up in their new Chino location and I didn't get to hear the speakers before buying. That said I still haven't heard them on my rig yet.

Edit: Oh yes, they gave me the standard Yawa good deal but the Wharfedales are just soooo much cheaper...If I sold the PSB's I wouldn't hesitate to go buy the whafedales at yawa to give them some more business (without letting them know I sold the speakers so that they don't feel bad.)

Give us a heads up on how they sound, and think about selling them here as well.

Just some brief impressions. At first I didn't think it sounded all that great, especially the bass, which I thought was exceptionally wooly and sloppy. Then I popped a sacd in (SuperBass 2 with Ray Brown, John Clayton, and Christian McBride) and I was then suitably impressed. Now, about 2 hours later, I don't know if it's just me but the bass doesn't sound as muffled any more. I'm reasonably happy except for the size. If my 19" monitor weren't sitting on a swivel stand, they would be taller.