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Epos LS3 or Wharfedale Diamond 9.1?

Both these monitors come well-regarded by the rags and represent good value for the money. I will be using in my HT, very little music use and that when on the treadmill, so pace and punch are more important, I suppose, than subtlety. But brightness is still a no-no, although I don't think either of these would be that. Using a JVC F10 receiver.
Not a big deal as purchases go, but wondering if anyone can point out weaknesses or relative strengths.

On an aside, anyone tried the Diamond 8 DFS surround?
kck
armstrod
610 posts
 
I haven't heard the Wharfedales, but I compared the ELS3s, Axiom M3tis, and Ascend CBM-170s, and I bought the ELS3s. The Axioms were much brighter than the Epos, and the Ascends were a little too laid back for me.

The kicker is I'm using a tube preamp. If you're using all solid state, like your receiver, it's possible that any titanium tweeter, like the Axiom and Epos have, might seem a little bright. As usual, synergy is the key.
kck OP
184 posts
 
Thanks Armstrod. I *am* using a receiver, but it does not suffer from brightness; in fact, some users have claimed it has a tube-like sound in the top end, which I do not dispute. (JVC F10). Am also using a BG Radia (Z1?) center speaker with a ribbon tweeter and it sounds just fine with the JVC, even cranked up. In fact it replaced a Rocket Onix RSC200, partly because of its overwhelming size, but also because I felt I was missing some detail. The BG has me set for the center, very nice indeed. As you can see, I don't mind mix'n'match of my speakers.

One thing that does concern me about the Epos is the 4 ohm impedance, although the JVC is rated for 6 ohms and does not do badly in the impedance aspect.

Hope to hear more from others as well.
rar1's avatar
rar1
1,766 posts
 
If my choices were only between the EPOS ELS3 and the Wharfedale Diamond 9.1, I would choose the Diamond 9.1 with no hesitation.

I owned the EPOS ELS3 and found them to sound somewhat boxy and congested in the upper bass. I also felt that the EPOS could not be driven all that loud before breaking up. I used them with solid state components ... a vintage Marantz 2240 receiver; an Audiosource power amp; a Music Hall CD 25 cd player; and a JVC 602 DVD player. I had the Diamond 8.1's in the same set-up and the differences were fairly noticeable. The sound was very clear and open and the Diamonds worked well in a variety of placements. The 9.1's offer improved sound, especially in the bass department ... a real step above both the Diamond 8.1 and the EPOS ELS3.

If you are open to other options, I would audition the NHT SB2's. These are the small monitors that I ultimately went with and have kept. I prefer how these speakers sound with both solid state and tube components ... very musical sounding.

Regards, Rich
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