Wharfedale DP8.1A Diamond Pro Active Monitor (5 in.)

1/4 in. unbalanced input. Volume level. Carefully tailored bass filter switch.

Overall User Ratings

Overall:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Features:
* * * * * * * . . . 7 out of 10
Quality:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Value:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
I Want It:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Sound:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Ease of Use:
* * * * * * . . . . 6 out of 10
Support:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10

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"Wharfedale studio monitors are great"

Overall:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Features:
* * * * * * * . . . 7 out of 10
Quality:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
Value:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
I Want It:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Sound:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
Ease of Use:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
Support:
* * * * * * * . . . 7 out of 10
 
 
 
zZounds has verified that this customer bought this product from us.
Feature:
The controls are basic. It has volume, power, bassfilter, and two inputs on back. I do wish it came with a few response controls (for room loading and/or other placement variables), but that is just nitpicking at this price since it's the sound that matters most and it's very nuetral as is.

Quality:
Feels solid finish is sweet, the grained metallic veneer would look great on a countertop. All the corners look perfectly joined, everything seems to fit like a glove. Only thing that bugs me is the grills, they need to either rest on a rubberized part of the faceplate or have some kind of decoupler on them, they do feel a bit flimsy. I'd take them off for critical listening to reduce the effects of what their resonance and defraction might add.

Value:
Great price / performance ratio. Very hard to find such good soundquality for near this price anywhere.

Desirability:
Quaint little mini-monitors, I assume most people would love their looks (my tastes are a bit odd as far as what most people preffer from speakers). They fit nicely on a regular desk.

Sound:
The sound keeps up quite well to my stereo's $1200/pr bookshelf speakers. Quite surprisingly accurate, I wouldn't say they are equivalent since they do have less detail and can't play as low but for around 1/5th the price and self powered they are wonderful. I look forward to eventually buying another one of Wharfdale's products. Sounds a ton better then my old pr of B&W 602 series 2's which were over twice as much.

Ease of Use:
Bought an external USB interface to use as a pre-amp for them. I have more questions about how to get the most out of the usb interface then I'll ever have about these speakers.

Support:
the LED on the left speaker didn't work from day one but the speaker sounds great so haven't bothered to use it.

Overall:
If I do eventually upgrade from these it'll probably be 3- 5 yrs from now and mostly only to judge either speaker designs I build or if I do decide to do minimilist recordings for fun or profit. They are great for the price and have very few features but they earn their keep with quality sound.

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"Excellent monitors truly inmo are best in the 450.00 under class especially with the 5inch woofer class"

Overall:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Features:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
Quality:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Value:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
I Want It:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Sound:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
 
 
 
Feature:
only thing is would be nice with front power switch instead of back really for the price who cares!

Sound:
These Wharfs are great as a second set of mixing monitors or for a smaller studio setup. I found them actually helping me with some mixes I did on my 824 mackies. Very precise and I have tried many other budget minded speakers under 400 and must say these are tops..Ill be buying two more sets for 6.1 surround mixing for sound tracks

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"Best in the field..."

Overall:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
Features:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
Quality:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
Value:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
I Want It:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Sound:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
Support:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
 
 
 
zZounds has verified that this customer bought this product from us.
Feature:
I liked the addition of protective grilles for the speakers. I keep them on when not in use and take them off when mixing or listening.

Quality:
The product is well made, cosmetically very clean and sleek. No blemishes, loose parts, etc. Perfect shape.

Value:
Seems comparable to others in price range. I owned the Samson Resolv 50a which are ten dollars cheaper. I think the Wharfedales sound cleaner and are much more stylish. The Samson's use cheap rubber logo stickers that come off easily.

Desirability:
Very nice to look at. Kevlar driver, sleek allen head bolts, cool blue on light, nicely crafted pieces.

Sound:
Nice flat frequency response. Great imaging and bass response as well.

Support:
Never had them serviced.

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"Exceptional build quality & sleek appearance,but sound quality is disappointing to the experienced ear."

Overall:
* * * . . . . . . . 3 out of 10
Features:
* * * . . . . . . . 3 out of 10
Quality:
* * * * * . . . . . 5 out of 10
Value:
* * * . . . . . . . 3 out of 10
I Want It:
* * * * * . . . . . 5 out of 10
Sound:
* * * . . . . . . . 3 out of 10
Ease of Use:
* * * . . . . . . . 3 out of 10
 
 
 
zZounds has verified that this customer bought this product from us.
Feature:
Bass cut off switch is useless to me.

Quality:
Build quality is solid & amp is very clean & cosmetically,they are very sharp looking.

Value:
There are not too many better choices out there at this price point,but they ARE out there, if you take the time & effort to shop around.

Desirability:
Like I had said,they're built well & they're stylish looking cosmetically,but they're all flash in thier looks & spec sheets,as they've focused too much on flash,instead of sound quality. I have sold my pair of 8.1's & I'll never consider Wharfedale again.

Sound:
I had owned the 8.1's years ago,at a time when I was less experienced with studio monitors,so thier sound was decent to me at that time....as time went on & I put these speakers through thier paces in my studio,& home theatre and eventually comparing them to similarly priced monitors...I found them to be very weak & boxy in terms of bass response and the mid range was too bright & forward sounding. The absolute best advice I could give newcomers into the studio realm,would be to save yourself $60 & buy the M-Audio BX5a's,or save your money & look into a pair of Event ALP5's.

Ease of Use:
Impossible to modify to my particular tastes...inadequate bass for even a small room.

Overall:
At the time I purchased it,I had researched it online heavily,as I did not have the oppurtunity to demo them,because there was not a single retailer I could find that displayed them in thier showroom. Wharfedale's website was very informative & thier spec sheet was impressive-particularly with regard to low frequency response,but thier LF figure on paper, turned out to be inaudible in person.

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