Which speaker to buy? Wharfedale or Onkyo?
Sep 30, 2002 at 3:56 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 5

surajkumar

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Hi Guys,
Being a student I am quite low on budget and hence zeroed in on two speakers. First is Wharfedale 8.4 and another is Onkyo SKF-201. Does anyone have any info about their performance or any URL to their Reviews specially the Onkyo SKF-201 as to what quality of sound do they emit.
I wish to use them with Teac AGD-9300/9320 receiver.
Moreover, I am mostly into music listening than movies and secondly I am ruling out Sub for a while now!
Thanks in advance.
 
Sep 30, 2002 at 5:05 PM Post #2 of 5
I'll throw in my recommendation of the PSB Alphas. Great budget speakers, I have the PSB Alpha A/Vs as my mains and the PSB Intro L/R as my surround speakers.
 
Sep 30, 2002 at 5:16 PM Post #3 of 5
Onkyo is not known for speakers. They are a good electronics manufacturer, but I'm fairly certain they just outsource the speakers to another bidder.

Warfedale have a good reputation.

I second the PSB Alpha A/Vs as a great budget speaker. However, PSB has completely changed their Alpha line and no longer make the Alpha A.Vs. I have not listened to their new budget line. The Image line is also reasonable.

I use the ALpha A/Vs in my den as mains along with the matching Alpha center, a Velodyne CHT-10 sub and Paradigm Atoms as surrounds. All powered by an Integra DTR-5 receiver. It's a nice budget setup for the size room. Stereo use through the Alphas is good. Acoustic instruments sound great, but voices can be a bit chesty.

You might want to look at the Paradigm brand as well. They are a great value.

Try to find a local dealer for auditioning.

Great budget brands that I like include:

NHT (very musical)
Paradigm
PSB
Atlantic Tech
Warfdale
B&W (their entry level)
Polk (audition first, some of their stuff is ass, some is very good for the dollar)
Velodyne (for subs, I've never tried their speakers)
Boston (some very good, some mediocre, audition first)

If you are looking at bookshelf sized speakers, you should consider adding an active sub when you can.

Also, get stands for the speakers and pull them out at least 14" from the wall if they are rear-ported.
 
Oct 3, 2002 at 7:47 AM Post #4 of 5
I wouldn't recommend the newest PSB Alphas, such as the Alpha B, with your particular receiver. The older (and out of production) PSB Alpha A/V's that everyone here has been recommending are excellent if you can find them.

The newer Alphas are too bright and harsh with relatively inexpensive solid state gear like your receiver. They're certainly less smooth than the old Alphas.

I'd actually recommend the Wharfedales. Many people don't consider the Wharfedales as "audiophile" speakers, but they have a more balanced amount of bass than many of the speakers recommended previously. You might get away without having a subwoofer if you go with the Wharfedales. Frank Van Alstine (of Audio by Van Alstine fame) believes quite strongly in the Wharfedales (even the 7.2) for people on a limited budget.
 

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