Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Stereo M22's v. Wharfedale Diamond 8.2's

Can anyone offer am opinion as to which bookshelf speaker above is better? I know the M22's have somewhat limited bass and are not bi-wireable. I do not intend to buy a sub anytime soon. Both speakers are at similar price points but the 8.2's have deeper bass and can be bi-wired. Cones are also Kevlar v. aluminum. The 8.2's are rated at 6 ohms. My Yamaha integrated amp is rated at 70 wpc and .08 thd into 8 ohms. The listening room is fairly large at 16 x 18 x 9'. Main use is stereo, rock, blues, new age, classical and medium volume. Thanks for your advice!

First of all... (link please, Ken?) bi-wiring is unnecessary.

And if you don't intend on adding a sub... look to the M3s - they stand up very well (maybe too well when backed into a corner) in the bass department on their own.

Bren R.

Hi Dave, welcome.

Too many stats!! Really, the only way to tell is to listen.

While doing a search here on Wharfedale might turn up something useful, this is the Axiom board, so we're highly likely to tell you how wonderful the M22 and M3 (and other Axiom models) are.

I don't know upon what basis you can conclude that the Wharfedales have "deeper bass". WHile the product brochure I pulled up rated them to 45Hz, it did NOT say under what tolerances. They might be down -10db at that frequency for all I know.

It is unlikely that the impedance will be an issue with your Yammy, so don't worry about the Ohms difference.

People who have them LOVE the M22's.

Obligatory link.

Thank you, I appreciate your advice and candor. As you might guess, I live in Vermont where I cannot audition either set of speakers, therefore I'll be buying sight and sound unseen. Thanks to Axiom's great customer service dept (thanks Brent) most concerns are erased. Still I'd love to hear from someone who knows about the Wharfedales 8.2s.

In response to kcarlile's obligatory link, here's an optional link - from the same website the excellent Secrets of Home Theater reviews:

Interconnect Shoot Out!

http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volume_7_4/audio-cable-shootout-part-1-12-2000.html

And one of MY faves:

"Tony Faulkner—engineer of about a third of the best-sounding orchestral recordings of the last twenty years—used the Black-and-Decker equivalent [14ga. outdoor extension cord] to hook up his Quad 989s at the recent Heathrow Show in England—“They are made from good, thick copper wire, look nice and sound good to me”—and that the designer of what is by provable standards one of the half dozen or so most accurate loudspeakers ever made uses and recommends it all the time."

Bren R.

He's entitled to his opinion. Why don't you try the Mapleshade Golden Double Helix speaker wires from Mapleshade on a 30 day trial and report back?

In reply to:

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Why don't you try the Mapleshade Golden Double Helix speaker wires from Mapleshade on a 30 day trial and report back?

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I seriously considered it... a listening day with Chesseroo, SidVicious, and any of the techs and engineers I work with to finally put an end to this, but then in work the real world variables:

- since Mapleshade is an unknown - whether or not I will get a full refund (minus return shipping) is always a concern
- regardless of our findings, someone in the designer cable camp will find a "flaw" in the experiment ("Oh, well, I'm sure if you used xxx amp with yyy CD player, like I do, you'd hear a difference")
- If someone really wants to try to make a convert of me and to prove that their cable will sound better (and not just different - I'll agree cables will sound different without a doubt, I believe that a ball of 32ga wire will sound different than a short run of 12ga. copper), let them do it on their dime

Again, I point to the fact that both in television studios (which I've been in a whole lot) and on movie sets/sound stages (which I have less experience on), there are no exotic cables used - if those mastering the sound are somehow miserably crushing the audio they're putting out, how would I somehow gain back the lost fidelity as an end-user by using $500 interconnects?

Bren R.

I think Alan Loft will vouch for Pierre Sprey, return the cables within 30 days and you'll get your money back.

I think it would be great for you and Chess and Sid to do the test. If you hear no difference, fine. I predict you will hear a difference, and one you like.

Be brave.