Take the comments from Scottht with a very large grain of salt. For starters, Wharfedale is not a speaker line but a brand, with MANY different lines. Those different lines vary dramatically when it comes to sound quality. As Mwilson mentioned, the Valdus line represents an excellent value for its intended market and can be quite enjoyable, but wouldn't qualify as an "audiophile quality" speaker. But the Emerald line is a far cry above the Valdus in terms of sound quality. It's been a long time since I heard any Emeralds and I have not heard the 93's. I heard the largest of the floorstanders in that line and would have to say that I preferred their sound to that of many models in the Paradigm line at that time. That said, I should also state that I do not particularly care for the "Paradigm sound". At that time, all of their models sounded better suited to home theater than music. I have not heard any speaker from Axiom, so cannot comment.
If you enjoy the "Wharfedale sound" and a speaker upgrade is what you seek, the Pacific line or its successor (the Evo line) may be the place to look, as they are a significant improvement over the Emeralds. I have not heard any Evo, but I own Pacific Pi-40's and Pi-30's and have no complaints. If you haven't the room for floorstanders, consider the Diamond line. I have not heard them, but a friend uses them in his office and claims that the glowing reviews from 'What Hi-fi' are correct. As a brand, Wharfedale isn't the last name in speaker performance, but the value for the $ factor is very high.
As far as the $ question is concerned, that's nearly impossible to answer. Many people have spent far more on speakers that I think do not sound as good. For example, I have a friend with very expensive bookshelf speakers. I could never be happy with the limited range of a bookshelf speaker and will gladly sacrifice a little clarity in the midrange to get a few extra Hz on the low end from a full size speaker. He disagrees, preferring the sweetest mids possible at the sacrifice of low end. Do his mids sound better than mine...yes, but I've got bass he can't produce. He likes his speakers more than he likes mine and I like mine more than his. So who spent what on better speakers? There is just too much subjectivity involved. As Scottht points out, one man's trash is another's treasure. All that really matters is what sounds good to you. I would suggest listening to as many brands and models as possible. A trip to a decent hi-fi shop is time well spent, even if you have to travel to do it. Good luck...
