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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

Hobbyist, Audiophile, plays with a bass guitar

Alternative

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

only thing is would be nice with front power switch instead of back really for the price who cares!

engineer producer film and audio production

40+ years semi-pro accordionist/steel guitarist

Trance, jazz, latin, country, electronic

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.

Bass cut off switch is useless to me.

Impossible to modify to my particular tastes...inadequate bass for even a small room.

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

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.

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.

Veteran hobbyist studio musician,keyboardist and audiophile

various genres

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

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.

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

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.

Never had them serviced.

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

Active Musician

Electronica