Well I should be able to speak to this ‘difference’ in a couple weeks or so cause I bought a set.

I got to talking on the phone with a fella who has a set and he told me they are a very detailed speaker. He was also telling me that a buddy of his has a set of Wilson speakers and he brings his CD’s over to his house to listen to them as he prefers the Opus over his Wilsons. I have no idea what a Wilson speaker goes for, or anything about them but they’re apparently some pretty spendy speakers.

So much that you won't be able to find prices online! Think 5 figures.

Used Wilsons are sometimes on sale at Audiogon for five figures. They have quite a reputation. That is high praise indeed for Opus to be compared to Wilson speakers. Let us know what you think.

mdrew, you will definitely hear a difference between your Axiom's and the Wharfedale's. Your friend choosing the sound of his Wharfedale's over the Wilson's does not surprise me as everyone I know who has heard them say they are very overrated speakers. Looking forward to hearing what you like/dislike about them.

The Opus 2’s showed up yesterday. I’m still doing some back to back listening with them and the M80’s trying to figure out what the differences are. In a blind test I honestly don’t think I could pick a winner. While both are different in their own respects, they both sound so damn good that if ‘sound’ was the only factor involved, I’d have one heck of a time decided which to take home. Well I’ve got both, so I don’t have to make that choice…..LOL.

I frequently see where Axiom speakers are referred to as “bargain speakers” and that you get a lot of speaker for the price. While this is true, I think folks get too hung up on that. The simple fact is, they are great speakers that can compete with all the big dogs and come out winners most of the time. Here’s just one more attest to that. The Opus 2’s have a list price anywhere between $5500 and $3000 (US $). I know, what’s a list price when it has a range? Reason being, is that there are not that many dealers who carry this line from Wharfedale and those that do carry it, charge whatever the hell they want to charge. The lowest ‘list' price I was able to find was $2999.

Without going into a long rambling description that no one would be able to understand, I’ll just some up my impressions.

The M80’s aren’t really any more ‘detailed’ as the Opus, but different. The M80’s just seam to be ‘sharper’ or maybe ‘metallic’ is the word I’m looking for. Don’t really know how else to call it. The Opus highs are very detailed as well, but they don’t seam to cut as deep. At high volumes (over 95 db’s) the M80’s start to hurt me some. I’ve had the Opus over 100 db’s without that same feeling of pain.

My favorite thing about the M80’s is their mid range. What can I say about that???? It’s perfect. I’ve heard all the Paradigm series (including their ref’s), I’ve heard B&W’s 600, 700 and Nautilus speakers and I prefer the M80’s mid’s over all of them. The Opus 2’s are every bit as good as the M80’s. I’m having a hell of time trying to figure out what might be different, and am coming up with nothing. They are both excellent.

The low end bass between the two is where the biggest difference is. The M80’s get on down there and are quite deceiving for their size. On paper they also look very impressive. The Opus 2’s have more. Lot’s more. Not to say better, but just more. I’ve been running the M80’s with the Rotel’s tone control on L1 for the past year because well, I just like it there. The L1 setting adds 1.5 db to the LF’s. I like the Opus 2’s with the 1070 set to flat (so far, but I think I like it on the H1 setting). The H1 setting adds a bit of treble and I couldn't stand the M80's with it at this position. I must have a preference for highly detailed speakers....?

Both speakers play louder than any sane individual would ever want them to play. The M80’s will go louder though. Don’t know how much that is, but they are definitely more efficient. Where before I’d have the M80’s playing with the volume control knob about 10 o’clock most of the time, with the Opus 2’s, It’s closer to 12 o’clock. Playing around with the volume and seeing ‘how high can they go’, I’ve had the knob further toward max than ever before with the M80’s.

The Opus 2’s come with their own impedance and frequency response graphs for each speaker. They are built as pairs and tested to ensure that they are identical. I don’t know what to look for with these things, but I know a lot of you do. Here’s a pic of one of them.



Here's a couple more pics. The piano finish is quite impressive. The pictures suck compared to seeing these things up close. I need to re-finish my hardwood floors, but now it's like a slap in the face. I REALLY need to re-finish them now.......

Those are some beautiful speakers, Wow. Great room also, congrats on the purchase.

Those are some nice looking speakers, Mike. Happy listening!

Wow! Mike those are truly impressive!!! congrats and thanks for the write-up.

I'm leaning toward the "british" sound for my music only system.

The pics really don’t do them any justice. They make me pause every time I walk in the room. I suspect the rosewood are stunning. To bad I couldn’t get a set…..oh well, the high gloss EP 600 should go well with them when I get around to ordering one.

The more I listen to these things, the more I like them (and I already liked them allot). Still don’t really have a preference between the Opus and M80’s though. Sometimes I just get the itch to hear a CD on the M80’s, so I take it to that system and sit for a spell.

I’ve come to the conclusion that the Opus’s do have a lower treble output than the M80’s. I used to leave the tone controls on the Rotel pre / pro at the L1 positions ( + 1.5 db LF ). I would never, never set it to the H1 positions ( +3 db HF ) because it was simply too much treble. I find that I like the Opus’s set to the H1 position. They are quite detailed, but just a bit ‘smoother’. I ‘think’ I prefer this, but there are times when I miss the sharpness of the M80’s treble. Other than that, it’s quite difficult to tell much a difference. Well I take that back…..the Opus’s have more low end bass. The mids are damn near identical.

This is just one more attest to how good the M80’s sound. I think folks see what they cost and come to the conclusion that they couldn’t possibly compete with more expensive speakers. That assumption couldn’t be further from the truth.

Those are some very nice looking speakers Mike, I really, really like the black gloss finish ... very classy looking IMO. Thanks for sharing your honest opinions regarding the two brands of speakers. Coming from you, I know I can take the information to the bank.

Have fun with 'em brother!