Wharfedale Opus, experiences anyone?
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New member Username: RavbainsPost Number: 4 Registered: Feb-07 | Hi all, I want to hear from any Wharfedale Opus owners, what they think of their speakers, and what their experience has been quality wise? My reason for asking, is that I just bought a pair of Opus 3 (in Rosewood piano finish no less) for my bedroom system, to be used with an AVi Lab Series integrated amp, a Fujitsu HD plasma screen, and a Onkyo DV-SP1000E universal audio/video player. I demoed the Opus 3 at a dealer with my AVi amp and Onkyo player, and all was well. I managed to negotiate an exceptional price on the speakers, and all seemed too good to be true. My speakers were delivered tonight, and together with the dealer who delivered them, we unboxed these huge beasts, and performed a visual inspection of the units. The piano rosewood finish was absolutely magnificent. It was late-ish (about 7:30pm), so I wanted to allow the dealer to go home and enjoy his evening, so I bid him adieu, and said I would be happy enough to connect the speakers to the amp myself. Okay so I connected the speakers and began listening. Initial impressions were that the midrange was a little harsh, quite unlike my dealer demo. I was a little worried, and thought "Oh man I hope this gets better once the speaker is broken in". I began going through a few of my favorite CDs, and was disappointed each time. On about the 4th track, I noticed that the stereo image was heavily weighted to the RHS, and this was not the case with the humble NAD 2-way bookshelves that the Opus was replacing. Also in general these huge beasts were not producing much bass, and we are talking about a total of four 10" bass drivers on the Opus, versus two 6" bass mid drivers on my old NADs. Some thing was suspicious about the lack of output with the left speaker. So I disconnected the right speaker, and instantly could tell something was seriously wrong. The speaker had no bass at all and the midrange was metallic shouty and hollow. In contrast the other speaker when listened to in isolation sounded very good exactly as it should. So tomorrow morning I will be back at the dealer, and explain the problem. I think to date my experience with this dealer has been good, so hopefully we can get the problem rectified quickly. It is a bit of a PITA, since the speakers are so big that they wont fit in my car, I will need to arrange for the dealer to come back to my home, witness the problem and then collect the faulty speakers. I am a little deflated at the moment, especially since these magnificent beasts are standing in my bedroom looking superb in rosewood piano finish, but I cannot enjoy them at all. I just wondered how my experience compares with that of other Opus owners? I guess this post is not really achieving much, I just needed to vent a little, it has been a very frustrating evening. cheers Rav |
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Gold Member Username: ArtkAlbany, Oregon USA Post Number: 4176 Registered: Feb-05 | Sorry to hear of your frustration Rav.....no I haven't owned those speakers but most of us can relate. |
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Bronze Member Username: NmytreePost Number: 81 Registered: Aug-04 | Hi Rav. I own the Wharfedale Opus 2 (for over two years ,now)and I have auditioned the Opus 3. I love my Opus 2 to pieces and would not replace them with anything. I can tell you that my Opus 2 are anything but harsh, metallic or nasty. The Opus 3 I auditioned was just as smooth, warm, musical and fatigue-free as the Opus 2. I have a few questions for you. When you auditioned them (Opus 3) at the dealers, what amplifier, Pre -Amp and other gear did he have driving and feeding the Opus 3? When you connected your speaker cables, which set of speaker terminals (on the Opus 3) are you using ( bottom set, middle set, or top set)? Are you currently attempting to Bi-Wire the Opus 3? Is your AVI Integrated Amp what can be described as a bright, clinical, very revealing amplifier in it's sound quality? Okay, let me make a few comments based on my experience with the Wharfedale Opus series and hopefully a few of my suggestions may help. 1) It is a possibility there is something physically and technically wrong with your Opus 3. The Opus Series should not sound that way. 2) I have found that Receivers and Integrated Amps are not the ideal power providers for these speakers. The Opus2 and 3 thrive on good clean power from seperate amplifiers. Furthermore, I and others have found the Opus 2 and 3 to sound it's best with amps such as the Butler TDB 2250 or 5150, McIntosh amps, Van Alstine Ultra FET Valve amps and several others. 3) If your AVI Integrated Amp can be described as a bright, clinical, very revealing amplifier in it's sound quality; then it's not a good match for the Opus 3. In my opinion, it sounds like either your Opus 3 are defective/malfunctiong; or there's something wrong with the way you have them hooked up or mated with the other gear (maybe a terrible mismatch). Also, some people have reported the Opus 3 to be sluggish and cold when first hooked up. But after a 20-50 hour break-in period, they warmn up and break-in nicely. But if these are demos, this shouldn't be a problem at all. I have to believe there's something wrong in the way they're hooked up or a bad match with your gear. The Opus 3 has a very prominent and full bass frequency. You should not be lacking any bass. How is your room acoustically speaking? What's in the bedroom? Where are the speakers positioned? |
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Bronze Member Username: NmytreePost Number: 82 Registered: Aug-04 | I also meant to say.... The Wharfedale Opus Series are a high quality speaker series. Thus, they thrive on high quality components upstream. Your source is a nice disc player, so I don't think that's the problem. I'm not familiar with your Integrated Amp, so I don't know. |
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New member Username: RavbainsPost Number: 5 Registered: Feb-07 | Art: many thanks for your consideration you are a true gent.... Hi NMyTree, without any doubt one of the pair of Opus 3 speakers that I have been delivered is seriously defective. I went back to the dealer this morning to explain the problem, and the dealer is contacting the australian distributor for IAG group to get me a replacement pair of speakers. I demo'd the Opus 3 at the dealership, with my Avi amp and Onkyo DV-SP1000E player. They sounded great, so great in fact that I decided to buy a pair. There is no incompatibility with the AVi amp, in my opinion this is a great amp, and is pretty much neutral. In fact it is one of the best amps I have ever heard, and certainly outperforms others in its price range. Thanks NMyTree for your responses, I just wanted gauge if other owners of Opus are happy with their purchase from a quality perspective. It seems that you are. So hopefully the problems I am experiencing are a rare occurance, and the dealer should provide me with a speedy resolution. kindest regards Rav |
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Gold Member Username: T_bomb25Dayton, Ohio United States Post Number: 1517 Registered: Jun-05 | Your dealer should take care of you,something definetly seems wrong with the speaker,especially considering the gear you have with it,usually harsh and Wharfedale isnt in the same sentence even with the High resolution Opus series,good luck to you! |
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Bronze Member Username: NmytreePost Number: 84 Registered: Aug-04 | Rav, would you indulge me a little by answering those two questions regarding your speaker cable connections with the Opus 3? I'm just curious. Also, I wonder if your amp inverts polarity> |
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New member Username: RavbainsPost Number: 6 Registered: Feb-07 | Hi NMyTree, my AVi lab series amplifier is non-inverting from input to output, this is stated by the manufacturer in the specifications of the amplifier. At present, I am single wiring the Opus 3, I connected to the middle terminal of the + (red) and - (black) terminals. The cable is terminated with spades at the speaker end, and the brass shorting plates are in place. I double checked that the connections are clean, tight and secure on both speakers. I am using Kimber speaker cable, i forget the model reference, but I know it is not one of the high end Kimber-Select series, nonetheless it is a respectable cable. This is how I connected the speakers initially upon delivery. Once I get a replacement pair that function correctly, it is my intention to run the speakers single wired, with a very high quality cable, and to use dedicated high quality cable jumpers to replace the brass shorting plates. My dealer has told me that the australian distributor for IAG is based in Sydney, and they have a replacement pair of rosewood-piano finish speakers in country. So luckily I don't have to wait for a shipment that is on the water to get my replacement speakers. Once I get a pair of speakers that work, I will let you know what my experience is in terms of the sonics. I was highly impressed with the speaker at the dealer demo. My opinion is that the Opus is a very good, and under-rated (by the hifi press atleast) loudspeaker. I think perhaps what has happened to me is unfortunate, and I hope to get the problem rectified very quickly. cheers Rav |
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Bronze Member Username: NmytreePost Number: 86 Registered: Aug-04 | You should be connecting the single speaker wire to the bottom terminals. Connecting to the middle or top terminals screws up the sound. While there may be a defect with your Opus 3, you really do need to use the bottom terminals. I'll bet that's why you're not getting any bass and why the other frequencies are all whacked out. B-wiring really doesn't help and in an experiment (suggested to me by another Wharfedale owner), I found the single wire run (connected to the bottom speaker terminals) sounded smoother, more balanced and fuller than the Bi-wire runs. I completely agree with getting jumper cables. I never use the brass jumper plated provided by Wharfedale with the speakers. Never. |
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New member Username: RavbainsPost Number: 7 Registered: Feb-07 | Hi NMyTree, I have noted your comments about connecting to the lower terminals -thanks. But regardless, there is a fault with one of the two speakers I have. Last night, both were connected using the middle terminal, with the brass jumper plates in place, and one speaker sounded fine, and the other terrible. (It is my hunch that, on the faulty speaker, the crossover has been incorrectly wired to the drivers inside the cabinet.) I will especially note your comments for when I get a pair of speakers that work, and I can then begin to try to hone the system to get the most out of the speakers. cheers Rav |
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New member Username: RavbainsPost Number: 8 Registered: Feb-07 | Hi NMyTree, just FYI here is a link to some info about the AVi Lab Series, IMHO its a nice amp  http://www.avihifi.co.uk/AmpReview/Amp%20Review.html cheers Rav |
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Bronze Member Username: NmytreePost Number: 87 Registered: Aug-04 | Oh don't get me wrong, Rav. I'm sure it 's quality Integrated Amp. I didn't mean to imply it is not. I was simply speaking in terms of available power and driving power. It's just my experience that Receivers and Integrated Amps don't typically provide enough power to drive speakers like the Opus 3. Which isn't to say there aren't intergrated amps or receivers that can drive them well. I just find seperates (amps and pre amps ) are much more capable of driving these speakers to their higest potential. I know of one or two Opus 2 owners who use a Receiver to drive their Opus 2 with wonderful results. But they may not be getting the higest potential from their Opus speakers. I'm not familiar with the Avi Lab amp, but from the specs, it looks like it has good power. How's the replacement process going for you, with IAG? |
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New member Username: RavbainsPost Number: 10 Registered: Feb-07 | Hi MNT, I am posting before I forget. My problem with my Opus 3 speakers has been resolved. I am somewhat embarassed to admit what the problem was. It was caused by a black greasy substance on the speaker terminals on the one loudspeaker that was misbehaving. Now all the terminals have been properly cleaned using Caig Deoxit, all is fine and the speakers are performing as they should. This issue was slightly embarassing for me, since I pushed the dealer for immediate resolution, and asked that he come to my home, to witness the problem, and pickup these rather large speakers so that he could fetch me a working replacement pair. Well the morning arrives, the dealer turns up at my house. I reconnect the speakers to my amp (since I had disconnected them in disgust at the problems I was having), and cue up a CD in the CD player. The speakers start playing, and all is well !!!!! I think the process of disconnecting and reconnecting the cables a few times, had somehow displaced the grease on the speaker terminals. Anyhow I was pretty puzzled and confused. I only fully realised what the problem was after the dealer left when I decided to use the Deoxit to properly clean the terminals in prep for some Kimber 8TC jumper cables that had arrived in the post the previous day. When I saw that the cotton buds all went completely black on the speaker that had been mis-behaving, I realised what the problem had been. All appears well, and the Opus 3 is performing to my expectations for movies and music. Just for your reference they are mated to an AVi Lab Series amp, and an Onkyo DV-SP1000E universal player. cheers Rav |
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Bronze Member Username: NmytreePost Number: 91 Registered: Aug-04 | Glad to hear it got it resolved. The Opus 3 are awesome speakers! Enjoy the music! |
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Gold Member Username: Frank_abelaBerkshire UK Post Number: 1962 Registered: Sep-04 | Rav, I know NMyTree recommends attaching the speaker cables to the bottom connectors. Personally, I find I usually get best results by going across, with the positive cable going to the high frequency positive connection and the negative cable connection going to the diagonally opposite bass frequency connection. It's worth trying, particularly with speakers that have awkward loads or multiple drivers (as in your case). Oh - and lose those brass connectors for goodness sake. Regards, Frank. |
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Bronze Member Username: RavbainsPost Number: 11 Registered: Feb-07 | Hi Frank, the brass plates are goneski, they have been replaced with very pretty looking Kimber 8TC jumpers in the clear and white insulation colours. These jumpers were ordered from Russ Andrews in the UK. Have never tried connecting the speaker cables diagonally, at the moment the cables from the amp connect to the LF terminals. cheers Rav PS I bought a 2nd hand RB1000 for my LP12, so hopefuly I can kick my LP12 project off soon. BTW I saw the prices for the new Linn Keel, and Ekos-SE I was pretty flabberghasted. |
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Gold Member Username: NuckPost Number: 6458 Registered: Dec-04 | Sticker shock, Rav? It can cause palpatations. Glad your squeaky wheel got greased...err...degreased. |
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Gold Member Username: Stu_pittIrvington, New York USA Post Number: 1648 Registered: May-05 | Long time no see Rav. Good to have you back. |
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Gold Member Username: Thx_3417Bournemouth ... Post Number: 3234 Registered: May-05 | Rav Try an active crossover and a baffle wall to extend the bass response down lower and with smoother role off. Also have you tried push the bass driver gently thou with your fingers to see if the cone is making a scratching sound? |
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Bronze Member Username: RavbainsPost Number: 12 Registered: Feb-07 | Stu: many thanks, good to be back. Cocoon: the Opus is a passive speaker, there is a passive crossover in the cabinet, as per most run of the mill speakers. To modify the Opus 3 for active operations would require skills that I do not possess. I am just glad that it is working fine now :-) Just a quick update, Opus is performing very well, they now have 100+ hours on them, since I run the IsoTek burn in disk during the weekdays, when no one is home. Out of the box mid-range was very harsh indeed. The mid-range driver is partially horn loaded, and when the speaker was new, it sounded very 'shouty', it was all too obvious that voices were coming directly from the drivers. Now with 100 hrs on them, the driver just seems to disappear, and I am hearing a sound much as I heard on demo, when I decided to buy the Opus 3. This speaker works great on movies, since it has very good bottom octave extension. I tend to notice that this really helps define the acoustic of the recorded space in movies. (I am of course only watching movies, using a stereo amp, the audio on the DVD player is set to 2-ch downmix. In fact the DV-SP1000 has dedicated downmix output RCAs.) So finally, all's well that ends well. -Rav |
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Gold Member Username: Thx_3417Bournemouth ... Post Number: 3244 Registered: May-05 | Rav No special skills needed to set active crossover units up. Just as long there performing now good mate.  |
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Gold Member Username: Thx_3417Bournemouth ... Post Number: 3245 Registered: May-05 | Just for those who don't know what they look like? Hmm very nice three would be nice at the front.  |
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Gold Member Username: NuckPost Number: 6465 Registered: Dec-04 | Thanks, Cocoon, the pic I saw had them is wood finish.Rosewood? They look fabulous, to me. Now THAT, folks, is piano black! |
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