In this review, we will be comparing D330 and ES50, two Passive Floor-standing speakers from Wharfedale and Polk Audio.
Let's have a brief look at the main features
of Wharfedale D330 and Polk ES50 first before getting into our more
detailed comparison.
Wharfedale D330 Key Specs
- 3-way Design
- 1" Soft-Dome Tweeter
- 5" Midrange
- 5" Black woven Kevlar Cone Woofer
- 56-20k Hz Frequency Response
- 88 dB Sensitivity
- Impedance: 8ohms
- Power Range:25-120watts
- Weight:18.20kg
- Dimensions (H x W x D): 965.0" x 7.9" x 13.3"( 965 x 200 x 338mm )
Polk ES50 Key Specs
- 2-way Design
- 1" Soft-Dome Tweeter
- 2 x 5.25" Mica-reinforced polypropylene Woofer
- 38-40k Hz Frequency Response
- 88 dB Sensitivity
- Impedance: 8ohms
- Power Range:40-200watts
- Weight:14.50kg
- Dimensions (H x W x D): 951.0" x 7-1/2" x 11-1/16"( 951.0 x 191.0 x 281.0mm )
What size room are the Wharfedale D330 and Polk ES50 speakers good for?
The size of the room in which you are planning to use these loudspeakers is an important decision
factor. Here we have compared their suitability to various sizes of environments considering their size
and max power parameters:
| Listening Environment* |
Wharfedale D330 |
Polk ES50 |
| Near-field |
Bad |
Bad |
| Small Room |
Poor |
Poor |
| Mid-size Room |
Good |
Good |
| Large Room |
Good |
Good |
| Very Large Room |
Poor |
Poor |
(* Approximate Room sizes: Small < 100sq. ft / 9 m2,
Mid-size: 100-220 sq. ft / 9-20 m2, Large 220-400 sq. ft / 20-36 m2, Very Large: >
400 sq. ft / 36 m2.
Average Floor Height: 9" / 2.7m. Typical room sizes differ from country to country, and the actual
listening experience changes depending on floor height, room shape, surface materials, listening
position, speaker locations, etc.)
In the following sections, we will get into more detail in order to better understand how the Wharfedale D330 and Polk ES50 compare and hopefully end up with enough arguments to decide which one of these loudspeakers is the better choice for you.
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Drivers
One of the fundamental differences between these two speakers is that D330 is a 3-way design whereas the ES50 is a 2-way speaker. 3-way designs utilize a midrange driver in addition to the tweeter and woofer on 2-way designs. Designing a crossover for a 3-way speaker is a complicated process and generally increases the overall cost of the speaker.
| Driver |
Wharfedale D330 |
Polk ES50 |
|
Driver Setup
|
3-way
|
2-way
|
|
Tweeter
|
1-inch
|
1-inch
|
|
Midrange
|
1 x 5-inch |
- |
|
Woofer
|
1 x 5-inch
|
2 x 5.25-inch
|
D330 features a 1" Soft-Dome Tweeter , a 5" Midrange and 1 x 5" Black woven Kevlar Cone Woofer . On the other hand, the ES50 features a 1" Terylene High-Res Soft-Dome Tweeter and 2 x 5.25" Mica-reinforced polypropylene Woofer with a Crossover frequency at 2500Hz.
Frequency Response
D330 has a frequency range of 56-20k Hz whereas ES50 has a frequency range of 38-40k Hz. With a minimum frequency of 38Hz, the ES50 can go slightly deeper then the D330's min frequency of 40Hz.
Below graphs depict how these two speakers compare with the max, min and average values of the Min and Max Frequencies of other speakers in the Floor-standing class in our database.
Low Frequency
Floor-standing Speakers
High Frequency
Floor-standing Speakers
None of these speakers achieves full range experience which is commonly agreed as 20Hz-20kHz. In order to achieve lower lows / deeper bass, we recommend you pair these with a subwoofer. Visit our Powered Subwoofers section to find out more about the available options.
Impedance and Sensitivity
D330 and ES50 have the same Impedance of 8 ohms and their sensitivity is also same at 88 dB.
Sensitivity
Floor-standing Speakers
Power Range
Power
range is the range of input power in watts RMS that a loudspeaker is designed to handle. While using
an amplifier within this range ensures the nominal performance , inputting a power that is higher than the
max wattage can result in a damaged speaker.
D330 can handle a max power of 200 watts RMS from the amp the whereas D330 has a max power handling value of 120 watts RMS , 80 watts less than the ES50.
Keep in mind that a higher max power handling value doesn't necessarily make that a louder speaker
compared to a lower max handling speaker. Loudness or the sound level is also impacted by parameters
such as Impedance, sensitivity and system efficiencies.
Input Type and Bi-Amping / Bi-Wiring
ES50 features 5-Way post posts which make bi-amping or bi-wiring possible. D330 has a Post which doesn't feature bi-amping/bi-wiring.
Wharfedale D330's Post terminals
Cabinet Type and Port Position
Both D330 and ES50 have bottom firing ports.
Physical Specs
Size of a speaker can sometimes become an important decision factor due to space constraints or in some cases purely for esthetic reasons. In this section, we are going to compare Wharfedale D330's and Polk ES50's external dimensions. Wharfedale D330 has external dimensions of 965 x 200 x 338mm ( 38.0" x 7.9" x 13.3") whereas Polk ES50 has external dimensions of 951.0 x 191.0 x 281.0mm ( 37-7/16 x 7-1/2 x 11-1/16inch) .
Wharfedale D330 is clearly the larger of the two speakers. Its body is 9mm wider, 14mm taller and 57mm deeper than Polk ES50.
Base Surface Area Comparison
Base surface area of a loudspeaker may become a determining factor when the space in your room or desk is limited.
The base surface area of the Wharfedale D330 is approximately 676.0cm2 / 104.8inch2 and base area of the Polk ES50 is approximately 536.7cm2 / 83.2inch2. The D330 requires 26% more surface area than the ES50 which gives it a small disadvantage on placement in tight spaces.