L o u d s p e a k e r s
2
I N T RODUCTION
The Opus2 loudspeaker system is
a premium quality, large format
loudspeaker designed for exceptional
accuracy in the reproduction of
recorded music and film.
The scale of presentation and
dynamic range is beyond that
possible from conventional highfidelity loudspeakers, primarily
because of the volume of air capable
of being displaced from the drive
units; their speed of response and
agility under pressure.
Numerous new technologies have
been applied throughout the range
to ensure that Opus2 is capable of
creating a lifelike listening experience
akin to that of a live concert hall.
New Carbon-Fibre bass drivers, our
unique tri-laminate cone, three-inch
dome mid-range and a lightweight
‘copper-coated’ aluminium tweeter
voice-coil for extended and precise
high-frequency response, all
contribute towards one of the finest
loudspeakers available today.
Build and finish is nothing short of
exceptional - something you would
expect from a product of this quality yet every detail has been addressed.
The Opus2 series fit effortlessly into
the living environment with the
choice of piano or satin finishes, and
a range of real wood veneers - not
reconstituted woods used on lesser
loudspeakers. Gold-plated terminals,
cast alloy trim and accessories simply
guild the real construction which
utilises variable-density multi-layer
laminate MDF cabinets, sealed and
isolated mid-range compartment,
high-purity oxygen-free copper
cables and a simple yet perfectly
executed crossover.
D ES I G N T E C H N O L O GY
The Wharfedale design principle
has, since our foundation in 1932,
been one of simple execution and
vertical component synergy. This
principle is manifest within Opus2.
Every component, sub-assembly,
even the crossover elements are
manufactured entirely in-house to
a standard commensurate with
the product and with regard to
every other component within the
loudspeaker.
Through this vertical integration we
are able to ensure the cabinets fit
the drive units, that the operating
spectrum of the drive units work
with each other and that the whole
is much greater than the sum of the
parts - perfect synergy.
This all-embracing approach to design
pays dividends in performance.
Because the crossover can be
relatively simple, phase linearity
is preserved, meaning the drive
units move in unison - a seamless
transition from one to the other
without disconnect or interference.
Because each drive unit is operating
so comfortably within its own
specification, the presentation is
relaxed and confident; powerful
and fulfilling.
Opus2 loudspeakers have a further
feature - usually found only in the
highest quality professional recording
studios - a dome mid-range driver
capable of reproducing the entire
range of human vocal reproduction
- with a dispersion characteristic
which mimics the voice.
Through this synergy, Opus
achieves one of the most natural
presentations possible from a
moving-coil loudspeaker.
2
4
6
A PP L I C A T I O NS
The most common criticism levelled at
hi-fi companies today is that systems
are designed either for home cinema
use, or to reproduce stereo music
accurately. It is seemingly difficult
to find a system that combines
the best of both worlds without
compromise to each other. Opus2,
however, has been engineered as
a complete range with dedicated
models available for use as centre
channels and surround speakers.
Within film soundtracks, around
70% of the audio is usually directed
through the centre speaker. It is
essential therefore, that this speaker
is not only of the very highest quality,
but that it integrates seamlessly
with the front left and front right
speakers, presenting a cohesive front
soundstage.
The Opus2 centre channel speaker
utilises the same dome mid-range
and tweeter arrangement as in all the
floorstand and stand-mount models.
Aligned vertically, their dispersion
is uniform on the horizontal plane
with none of the ‘lobing’ that lesser
centre channels can be prone to.
Tonally matched and perfectly
balanced to present vocals in a
breath-takingly natural fashion, the
Opus2 centre is the result of many
years work in the field of home
cinema.
The tri-surround speakers within
the Opus2 range take the principle
of tonal matching further still,
perfectly integrated with the rest
of the series, yet with a full 180
degree dispersion aimed at fully
immersing the listener within a
complete soundfield.
The Opus2 series also includes
the new ‘AVC’ models. These
are specifically engineered to
be wall mounted for the least
intrusive installation, yet with the
same outstanding neutrality and
cleanliness as the larger models.
I NT E G R AT E D D R I V ER D E S I G N
A new studio monitor quality large
dome mid-range drive unit is used
over the crucial midband frequencies,
700 Hz – 4 kHz. A key feature of this
driver is exceptionally low distortion
over its entire working range –
typically less than 1% at a Sound
Pressure Level of 100 db at 1 metre.
The driver is mounted in a custom
matched fascia plate which provides
partial horn loading,
giving a broad angle
of dispersion at its
upper crossover
point. The fascia
plate is die
cast aluminium,
designed to place
the units as close as
possible for optimum
integration and to create a point
source effect.
The dome is driven by a large 75 mm
voice coil based on a hard aluminium
former to provide maximum rigidity
and to maintain a cool coil operating
temperature by maximising thermal
radiation. The diaphragm supporting
ring is die cast aluminium to maintain
perfect concentricity of the moving
parts during assembly. The dome
is pressure equalised by a closely
coupled underside perforated dome
baffle and a rear chamber within an
extended die cast aluminium finned
rear cover which serves as a heat sink
and breaks up internal resonances. A
powerful high flux shielded magnet
provides ample reserves of motor
force to the dome.
Th e hi g hest
frequencies are
handled by a
soft dome driver.
Extensive research
at Wharfedale has
established that properly
engineered soft domes are
a better choice than metallic
based domes, which add their
own typical character to the treble
response. The new Opus² tweeter
has been re-engineered with a fine
gauge aluminium coil to reduce the
moving mass and extend response to
beyond 45 kHz -far above audible
frequencies.
Careful attention to detail has resulted
in wide dispersion with very low
distortion again typically below 1%
at an SPL of 100 db at 1 metre. The
unit uses a fully shielded high flux
neodymium magnet, and produces a
typical SPL of 93 dB at 1 metre at an
input of one Watt. Die cast aluminium
structural parts are used throughout
and a rear cover isolates the tweeter
dome from the pressure of other
speaker components.
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10
P ER F O R M A N C E B AS S
Opus ² bass units are of two main
types. The smallest cabinets use
a triple laminated cone of glass
/carbon/ glass. Smaller cabinets
intensify reflections that can pass
back through the cone. The special
“tri-lam” construction minimises these
reflections because of its extreme
rigidity. The larger cabinets use
larger drivers and here low cone
mass is of crucial importance in
maintaining impulse response and
performance.
Our latest cone designs for the
large format models utilise our own
bi-carbon weave and laminating
processes. Carbon fibre has
immense longitudinal
strength and is used in
many structures where
high strength and
light weight are
key requisites.
The carbon
fibre bundles
are woven and
impregnated with
special bonding
resins that are
subsequently pressure
formed and heat cured. The resulting
material is exceptionally rigid and
exhibits very low levels of internal
resonance. As a consequence,
energy losses in the cone transfer
mechanism are very low. Because
our bass drivers are just that,
their cones maintain true pistonic
action over their entire designed
low frequency range. The cone is
terminated with a large half roll of
synthetic butyl rubber with superb
damping qualities.
Voice coils in high performance
loudspeakers have to withstand
extremes of mechanical stress and
heat. The lateral strength of Opus²
voice coils is very high. We use a
combination of half hard aluminium
and resin bonded glass fibre. The
ability of our voice coils to resist
deformation under extreme stress
contributes towards some of the
lowest distortion figures ever seen in
conventional drivers.
All Opus² large format speakers
are fully magnetically shielded
with additional bucking magnets
and steel covers on the bass
driver magnets. You can
operate an Opus²
speaker close to the
most magnetically
sensitive TV monitor
with no fears
over screen
inter f erence.
In so me
loudspeakers,
motional noise
can be a problem
especially in high
output bass systems. The Opus2s
high pressure injection die- cast
aluminium chassis used on our bass
drivers feature an ‘open design’
where narrow legs maximise the
open areas of the frame to all but
eliminate rear reflections. Trapped
or compressed air within the driver
unit can easily move through vents
in the voice coil, through the magnet
structure, through the spider, and
from the underside of the central cap
both through holes in the cone and
the magnet central core.
A P ER F E C T B AL A N C E
All models feature printed circuit
boards with large copper tracks
to maximize signal transfer and
component layouts designed
to eliminate inference from any
residual stray magnetic fields. The
printed circuit boards are mounted
on vibration free mountings. Most
models have two printed circuit
boards to separate the bass inductors
from those coupling the midrange
and tweeter units.
The bass inductor has a large
magnetic field when operating
which would otherwise modulate
the other inductors. All inductors
feature perfect layer winding and
large gauges of wire are used to
keep insertion loss to a minimum.
Capacitors in crossover networks
pose special problems. The Opus²
range features high grade low-loss,
low-ecr, polypropylene or reversible
electrolytic capacitors specially
selected for their outstanding audio
properties. These capacitors are
marked with the ‘Wharfedale super
audio capacitor’ logo. The internal
cables used are specially made and
assembled in our factory: 4 multiple
strand oxygen-free copper wires are
plaited into a single cable for all
internal loudspeaker connections.
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14
M EA S U R E D P ER F O R M A N C E
It is often said that a loudspeaker
is the weakest point in any audio
system and this is largely true. It
is the point at which the electrical
signal is converted into compressions
and rarefactions within the air that
our ears recognise as sound.
The mechanics of this transfer of
energy and how accurately this
occurs is a constant battle for the
loudspeaker engineer and one which
we, at Wharfedale, have lead the
field for over seventy-five years.
The measured performance of our
Opus2 system is a testament to this
success. We have engineered a
loudspeaker system that is ruler-flat
across a wide band-width and yet
remains a relatively easy load for
any good amplifier system.
Many loudspeaker engineers aim for
a sound that could be described as
‘cosy’. It is easy to listen to for short
periods and immediately impressive
in demonstration. Most notably
though from the engineer’s point of
view, it hides many kinds of small
frequency response abhorrations.
Aside from not reproducing the
original recording faithfully though,
this can be inclined to cause
longer-term listening fatigue. A
cosy respnose is nowhere near as
accurate, revealing, transparent or,
in the long term, enjoyable as a wellbalanced flat response.
Even small abhorations in the
frequency response have a profound
effect on the overall loudspeaker
balance. Peaks in the response
spectrum can mask surrounding
frequencies leading to a loss of
transparency and a ‘blurring’ of the
soundstage. Because we engineer
our own drive units and cabinets in
complete synergy to the rest of the
design process, we control every
aspect of our drivers’ performance
and can get much closer to an ideal
performance.
Opus² - 3: Frequency Response
M EA S U R E M EN T A N D A N A LY S I S :
Frequency response plots may tell
you a lot about what you might hear
from a loudspeaker when you listen to
a speaker ‘on-axis’ or straight in front
of the speaker, but do nothing to tell
you how a loudspeaker will integrate
into a real room environment.
Anomalies in the off-axis response
can cause reflections from side walls
or room objects to create unpleasant
interference effects
By analysing the ‘Polar Response’
across a wide range of frequencies,
it’s possible to design a loudspeaker
which not only has a text-book ‘onaxis’ response, but one which can
integrate superbly into the listening
environment. Whilst this is important to
the performance of a stereo speaker
system, in multi-channel or homecinema systems it is nothing short of
essential - yet so many manufacturers
overlook this key design stage.
16
Opus² -M1: Horizontal Directivity
E N G I N EE R I N G P E R F O R MA N C E
The overall measure of success of
a high-end loudspeaker system is
to design a loudspeaker that is
both accurate and natural, very low
in distortion, which covers a wide
band-width of frequencies and can
provide immense pleasure to the
listener over long periods of time.
Many of these criteria can be
designed into a system through careful
measurement and analysis, but the final
factor - the ability to provide pleasure
to the listener is a black art – a skill
developed by the master acoustician
over a lifetime of experience.
Opus2 loudspeakers meet all the prerequisites of performance – in fact
in measured tests, they outperform
all their peers and many which
cost considerably more. The final
arbiter though, the human ear, is
the most important test of all - and
all Opus2 loudspeaker models have
undergone a two-year long process
of listening and tweaking before
final approval to refine and further
refine their balance to the point
where the loudspeaker acoustically
‘vanishes’ – leaving just the music.
Only when a loudspeaker truly
represents not only the tonal
integrity and clarity of the original
performance, but also is so finely
balanced that it communicates the
genuine passion and raw emotion
of the live performance, can we be
satisfied that all the design objectives
have been fulfilled.
All Opus2 loudspeakers meet these
most stringent objectives.
S PE C I F I C AT IO N S
Opus² - M1 Opus² - M2 Opus² - 1 Opus² - 2 Opus² - 3
Transducer complement
Bass Driver Cone
Soft Dome Mid-range
Soft Dome Tweeter
Nominal impedance
Impedance variation ohms
Frequency Response +/- 3dB
LF limit -10 dB
HF limit - 10 dB
Rec.rear to wall off- set
SPL (1w @ 1m)
Distortion 20 – 600Hz 100dB @1m
600 - 50KHz
Power Handling
Continuous Programme
Recommended Amplifier Power
Max Peak SPL
Horizontal Coverage (nom.)
Vertical Coverage (nom.)
Three Three Three Four Four
170mm 200mm 200mm 200mm x 2 250mm x 2
3” 75mm textile 3” 75mm textile 3” 75mm textile
1” 25mm textile 1” 25mm textile 1” 25mm textile
6 Ohms 6 Ohms 6 Ohms
4.2 - 28 5.0 - 25 5.0 - 33 4.5 - 34 4.0 - 34
42Hz - 43
38Hz 36Hz 28Hz
45kHz 45kHz 45kHz
300mm 200mm 300mm
87dB 88dB 89dB
<3% <3% <3% <3% <3%
<1% <1% <1% <1% <1%
75W 100W 150W
40 - 150W 50 - 200W 60 - 300W
106dB 108dB
90º to 14kHz 90º to 14kHz 90º to 14kHz 90º to 14kHz 90º to 14kHz
70º to 12kHz 70º to 12kHz 70º to 12kHz 70º to 12kHz 70º to 12kHz
kHz
40Hz - 43
kHz
37Hz - 43
109
dB
3” 75mm textile 3” 75mm textile
1” 25mm textile 1” 25mm textile
6
Ohms
kHz 35Hz - 43kHz 33Hz - 43kHz
28Hz 27Hz
45kHz 45kHz
100mm 400mm
90
dB
250
W
100 - 500
115
W
dB
6
Ohms
91
dB
300
W
100 - 600
116
dB
W
18
Enclosure type: Bass/Mid
Volume: Bass / Mid
System Fb
Crossover Frequencies
Construction Material
Product Dimensions mm
Nett Weight
Ported Ported
18L / NA 27L / NA
40Hz 40Hz
650Hz , 3kHz 700 Hz , 3kHz
15 & 30mm MDF 18 & 33mm MDF 18 & 33mm MDF 18 & 33mm MDF
510 X 230 X 360 505 X 255 X 450 1005 X 260 X 410 1140 X 260 X 410 1210 X 315 X 440
12.0kg 16.4kg 28.0kg 34.5kg 40.0kg
Ported / Sealed Ported / Sealed Ported / Sealed
33L / 10L 30 / 14L 51 / 22L
35Hz 30Hz 30Hz
650Hz , 3kHz 650Hz , 3kHz 650Hz , 3kHz
18 & 34mm MDF
Transducer complement
Bass Driver Cone
Soft Dome Mid-range
Soft Dome Tweeter
Nominal impedance
Impedance variation ohms
Frequency Response +/- 3dB
LF limit -10 dB
HF limit - 10 dB
Rec.rear to wall off- set
SPL (1w @ 1m)
Distortion 20 – 600Hz 100dB @1m
600 - 50KHz
Power Handling
Continuous Programme
Recommended Amplifier Power
Max Peak SPL
Horizontal Coverage (nom.)
Vertical Coverage (nom.)
Opus² - Tri-Centre Opus² - AvS Opus² - AvC Opus² - Tri-Surround
Four Three Three Five
170mm x 2 170mm 170mm 170mm
3” 75mm textile 3” 75mm textile 3” 75mm textile
1” 25mm textile 1” 25mm textile 1” 25mm textile
6 Ohms 6 Ohms 6 Ohms
4.5 - 24 4.0 - 18 4.0 - 18 4.0 - 12
75Hz - 43kHz 45Hz - 43kHz 45Hz - 43kHz
70Hz 40Hz 40Hz
45kHz 45kHz 45kHz
100 - 400mm 0mm 0 m
89dB 88dB 88dB
20-200 <5% <3% <3% <3%
200-45k <1% <1% <1% <1%
200W 100W 100W
70 - 400W 40 - 200W 40 - 200W 40 - 200W
113dB 108dB 108dB
80º to 12kHz 90º to 14kHz 90º to 14kHz 180º to 10kHz
30º to 12kHz 70º to 14kHz 70º to 14kHz 90º to 12 Hz
3” 75 mm textile
1” 25 mm textile
6
Ohms
60hz - 43
50hz
45Hz
100mm
89d
100
110
kHz
B
W
dB
Finishes (all models)
Enclosure type: Bass/Mid
Volume: Bass / Mid
System Fb
Crossover Frequencies
Construction Material
Product Dimensions mm
Nett Weight
sealed sealed ported
25L / NA 9L / NA
60Hz 70Hz 60Hz
900Hz, 4kHz 700Hz, 4kHz
15 & 25mm MDF 15 & 25mm MDF 15mm MDF 18 & 33mm MDF
242 X 575 X 320 500 X 230 X 140 230 X 500 X 140 280 X 460 X 180
14.7kg 9.0kg 9.0kg 10.6kg
12L
/ NA
700 Hz, 3.5 kHz 650 Hz , 3 kHz
Ported / Sealed
30 / 14L
30HZ
Piano / Satin Cherry
Piano / Satin Rosewood
Piano / Satin Birds Eye
Piano Black
IAG House, Sovereign Court
Ermine Business Park
Huntingdon, Cambs
PE29 6XU
Tel: +44 (0) 1480 447700
Fax: +44 (0) 1480 431767
www.wharfedale.co.uk
O2WFD .07.2007
The information in this brochure is subject to change without notice.
All rights to the mentioned trademarks reside with their respective companies.
All rights reserved. ©2007 Wharfedale International Ltd.
Wharfedale is a member of the International Audio Group.
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