Home
AudioAsylum Trader
Speaker Asylum: REVIEW: Wharfedale Pacific Pi40 Speakers by shuvam

General speaker questions for audio and home theater.

For Sale Ads

FAQ / News / Events

 

REVIEW: Wharfedale Pacific Pi40 Speakers

210.214.32.176


[ Follow Ups ] Thread:  [ Display   All   Email ] [ Speaker Asylum ]
[ Alert Moderator ]

Model: Pacific Pi40
Category: Speakers
Suggested Retail Price: $1000
Description: two-and-a-half way front-ducted floorstander, swivelling tweeter pod
Manufacturer URL: Wharfedale
Model Picture: View

Review by shuvam on September 24, 2001 at 08:57:06
IP Address: 210.214.32.176
Add Your Review
for the Pacific Pi40


These speakers are apparently Wharfedale's top of the line. They have
two mid-bass units with Kevlar cones and one silk-dome tweeter. The
tweeter is in a separate pod on top of the wooden cabinet, phase
aligned with the mid-bass elements, and can be turned for directional
alignment.

The two 6.5" mid-bass units have differently wound coils to respond
to different frequency ranges, though they look identical externally.
The midrange unit is in a separate sealed enclosure, and the unit which
handles the low frequencies is in a large chamber reaching down to the
floor, with a ducted port. I don't know what the real frequency range
of the speaker is, but the Website claims it extends to 20Hz. I doubt it,
though the bass is very good, and quite tight and clean.

This two-and-a-half-way speaker design is becoming quite popular, it
appears. The crossover remains a simple two-way design, this way. The
split of frequencies between the mid-bass units is very visible. Play
any rich music with the grille removed, and you can see the midrange
unit vibrating while the bass unit responds to its own drummer, quite
independently.

The frequency response is very uniform. Reviewers have done lab tests
of the Pi-30 (the slightly smaller brother of the Pi-40 with identical
units) and have commented about the "new generation of flat frequency
response speakers" which do not have even the expected dip in the
response curve around 3KHz, which is apparently traditional. (Don't
know what this tradition is about, I'm a novice.)

It is apparent to me that the sound is very musical, making you want to
tap your feet to the music. The bass is tight but extended, handling
the lows of Beethoven's Fifth or Ninth quite happily. The front-ducting
makes placement a little less critical than rear-ducted models. Details
are very clean, without the in-yer-face sort of slightly clinical details
that some speakers have. The midrange is really lovely. It's quite forward,
engaging, and brings guitars and vocalists into the room. Treble is very
clean too.

I have heard Wharfedale's Atlantic and Rubiance series of floorstanders,
and this one is much cleaner, sweeter, and brings out the midrange and
highs much better. The music is less muddied than in those speakers, and
the treble is cleaner, without being at all harsh. Basically, those models
seem muted and less "fun" to listen to than this one.

I have heard the Pi-10, the smallest of the Pacific range, with a two-way
construction bookshelf box with a rear duct. The drive units being
identical to the Pi-40, the tonal characteristics of the sound are
remarkably similar. But the smaller enclosure make the bass suffer a bit.
The bass is very sensitive to room placement. Too close to the walls, the
bass seems to bloat and lose tightness. The midrange and highs retain
their character, though. Of course, the Pi-10s cost half as much as the
Pi-40s. If I had to choose, I'd buy a Pi-10 over the Rubiance or the
Atlantic speakers.

I've also heard some Definitive bipolar floorstanders and one model of
Energy (another floorstander), and I didn't find them anywhere near as
good as my Pi-40s. And the only other speaker I have heard for any
length of time which was superior to the Pi-40s, was the Dunlavy SC-IV
which sells for about $10,000. Those were in a different league, and they
deserve to be. But even with them, I never got a chance to do a proper
A-to-B with my Wharfedales, because my friend (who owns them, lucky
bugger) has top-end valve electronics to drive them and lives half a
world away. It would have been very interesting to actually compare
differences.

One more floorstander which we auditioned before we settled on the Pi-40
was the Monitor Audio Bronze 3. It was less expensive, about two-thirds
the price of the Pi-40 (these are Bombay prices, very variable). The
sound of the Bronze 3 was really incredibly clean and powerful in the
midrange, with weaker bass. That "full-spectrum" feeling that the Pi-40
seems to convey was missing in the Bronze 3's. Leonard Cohen's voice
sounded even more gravelly with them, but the tabla (small hand drums)
in Indian classical music sounded laid back, plain weaker. The balance
across the full range was not there. The sound was also a little
brighter. Our dealer had recommended Monitor Audio as an alternate
brand to check out, but the Bronze 3's left us feeling they were missing
something.

Stereo soundstage imaging with the Pi-40 is not the sharpest I can
hope for. The placement of individual instruments is okay, but not
very sharp. I feel this could be a bit better. One _does_ get some
front-to-back depth in the soundstage, and a decent spread left to
right; it's just that the positions are not very sharply defined.
All in all, though, I've rarely heard any other speakers
which sound this enjoyable.

Check my review of the Cambridge Audio C500+P500 amp; that defines
the rest of the units in my signal chain.


Product Weakness: The bass could probably be found insufficient for those who like
disco and dance music, and the stereo imaging is not exactly
pin-sharp.
Product Strengths: A sweet, balanced, full sound, with deep, well defined bass
gripping midrange, and clean, smooth treble. Very engaging
and musical sound, and beautiful for prolonged listening.


Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier: Cambridge Audio P500 power amp, 60Wpc
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated): Cambridge Audio C500 control amp
Sources (CDP/Turntable): Yamaha CDX396 CD player, Nakamichi ZX-9 cassette deck
Speakers: Wharfedale Pi-40
Cables/Interconnects: homegrown cables, Gotham cable, Monster jacks
Music Used (Genre/Selections): all kinds, a lot of Indian classical
Time Period/Length of Audition: nine months
Type of Audition/Review: Product Owner




This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:
  Sonic Craft  



Topic - REVIEW: Wharfedale Pacific Pi40 Speakers - shuvam 08:57:06 09/24/01 ( 4)