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.
| Key Specs | Wharfedale D330 | Polk ES50 |
|---|
| Design | 3-way | 2-way |
|---|
| Tweeter | 1" Soft-Dome | 1" Soft-Dome |
|---|
| Midrange | 5" | — |
|---|
| Woofer | 5" Black woven Kevlar Cone | 2 x 5.25" Mica-reinforced polypropylene |
|---|
| Frequency response | 56-20k Hz | 38-40k Hz |
|---|
| Sensitivity | 88 dB | 88 dB |
|---|
| Impedance | 8 ohms | 8 ohms |
|---|
| Power range | 25-120 watts | 40-200 watts |
|---|
| Weight | 18.20kg / 40lbs | 14.50kg / 31.9lbs |
|---|
| Dimensions (H x W x D) | 38" x 7.9" x 13.3"
965 x 200 x 338mm | 37-7/16" 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.)
The sections below take each area in turn: drivers, frequency response, physical size and what you get in the box.
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through our links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
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.
Wharfedale D330Polk ES50
TweeterMidrangeWoofer
Front view, drawn to scale - cabinets and drivers share one scale, so sizes are directly comparable. Hover a driver for its size.
| 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 significantly deeper on the low side and provide stronger bass compared to the D330's min frequency of 56Hz.
The graph below depicts how these two speakers compare with the max, min and average Low Frequency values of other speakers in the Floor-standing class in our database.
Low Frequency
Floor-standing Speakers
Neither pair reaches down to 20Hz, the usual definition of full-range, which is normal for speakers of this size. If you want the bottom octave for movies or bass-heavy music, add a subwoofer to whichever you choose. 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. Staying
within that range gives nominal performance; driving the speaker beyond its maximum wattage can damage it.
ES50 can handle a max power of 200 watts RMS, whereas D330 has a max power handling value of 120 watts RMS, 80 watts less than the ES50.
Note that higher power handling does not make a speaker louder: that depends mainly on
sensitivity and impedance. The calculator below shows how loud each of these actually plays
on a real amplifier.
Which plays louder on your amplifier?
Starting with a popular amplifier — change it to the one you own, or any you are
considering, and watch both numbers move.
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
The size of a speaker can sometimes be 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.
Weight Comparison The weight of a loudspeaker can become an important factor if you need to move and reposition the unit often. Weight of a speaker can also "sometimes" be an indicator of the rigidity of the enclosure and the quality of the internal components used. The Wharfedale D330 weighs 18.20kg / 40lbs and the Polk ES50 weighs 14.50kg / 31.9lbs. This makes the D330 26% heavier than the ES50.
Here is a comparison of how D330 and ES50's weights compare with the average, max and min weights in Passive Floor-standing class.
Weight
All Floor-standing Speakers
What's in the Box of Polk ES50?
Here are the items that come with the ES50:
- Floorstanding loudspeaker
- Grille (attached)
- 4 Feet (pre-installed)
- Owners Manual
- Online Product Registration
 Driver Setup |
3-way
vs
2-way
|
Have a dedicated mid-range driver |
 Price per pair* |
598USD
vs
698USD
|
costs less (*prices may change depending on the seller, location and time) |
 Max Input Power |
200 watts
vs
120 watts
|
Handle more power from your amplifier |
 Woofer Size |
5.25 inches
vs
5 inches
|
Larger woofer |
|
Number of Woofers |
2
vs
1
|
More woofers |
|
Low Frequency Response |
38 Hz
vs
56 Hz
|
Generates deeper bass |
 High Frequency Response |
40k Hz
vs
20k Hz
|
Generates higher frequency |
 Bi-Amping and Bi-Wiring |
Yes
vs
No
|
Allows bi-amping and bi-wiring connections |
 Height |
951mm
vs
965mm
|
Easier to fit in smaller spaces |
 Base Surface Area |
536cm2
vs
676cm2
|
Takes less floor space |
| General |
Wharfedale D330 |
Polk Audio Signature Elite ES50 |
| Brand |
Wharfedale |
Polk Audio |
| Speaker Type |
Floor-standing speaker |
Floor-standing speaker |
| Power Range |
25-120 watts |
40-200 watts |
| Sensitivity |
88 dB |
88 dB |
| Impedance |
8 ohms |
8 ohms |
| Impedance |
4.1 ohms |
n/a |
| Frequency Response |
56-20k Hz |
38-40k Hz |
Drivers |
|
|
| Woofer Quantity |
1 |
2 |
| Woofer Size |
5" |
5.25" |
| Woofer Composition |
Black woven Kevlar Cone |
Mica-reinforced polypropylene |
| Woofer Surround Material |
Foamed Polyether |
Butyl rubber |
| Tweeter Size |
1" |
1" |
| Tweeter Type |
Soft-Dome |
Soft-Dome |
| Aimable Tweeter |
No |
No |
| Midrange Driver |
5" |
No |
| Crossover Frequency |
n/a |
2500Hz |
| Firing Direction |
bottom |
bottom |
Physical Specs |
|
|
| Height |
965.0mm (38") |
951.0mm (37.4") |
| Width |
200.0mm (7.9") |
191.0mm (7.5") |
| Depth |
338.0mm (13.3") |
281.0mm (11.1") |
| Weight |
18.20kg (40lbs) |
14.50kg (31.9lbs) |
| Enclosure |
Bass Reflex |
Bass Reflex |
| Finish |
MDF/Wood-grain vinyl |
MDF, Wood-grain vinyl |
| Available Colors |
Rosewood, Black, White, Walnut |
Black |
| Grille |
Yes |
Yes |
| Moisture Resistancy |
No |
No |
Connections |
|
|
| Biamp Inputs |
No |
Yes |
Other |
|
|
| Parts Warranty |
5 Years |
5 Years |
| Labor Warranty |
5 Years |
5 Years |
A generation apart: Polk ES50 is the newer design, against a 2014 model. Newer is not automatically better, but the older one is more likely to be discounted or near run-out.
| Area | Better | Why |
|---|
| Bass |
B |
Polk ES50 digs deeper - 38Hz against 56Hz. |
| Amplifier needs |
evenly matched |
Similar sensitivity (88dB vs 88dB) - both want much the same power. |
| Headroom |
B |
Polk ES50 takes more power (200W vs 120W) - more in hand in a big room. |
| Size |
depends |
Polk ES50 is easier to place; Wharfedale D330 is bigger, which usually goes with fuller bass. Your room decides. |
| Expandability |
B |
Polk ES50: bi-amping. Polk ES50 sits in a wider range (12 models), so a matched surround system is easier later. |
| Price |
A |
Wharfedale D330 is cheaper - $598 against $698, about 14% less. |
A Wharfedale D330
B Polk ES50
depends neither is better in the abstract - it turns on your room, placement or how you will use them.
Only specs published for both speakers are judged; anything missing on either side is left out rather than guessed.
Which should you choose?
Polk ES50 leads across most of the measured areas for a fairly modest premium, which makes it the easier pick if the budget stretches. Wharfedale D330 is the one to take if it does not. If a subwoofer is in your plans, the bass gap largely stops mattering - you would be crossing over above 56Hz anyway, which makes the cheaper Wharfedale D330 much easier to justify.
And remember what a spec sheet cannot show: how each looks in your room and whether the finish suits it, what dealer support and warranty are like where you live, and how they actually sound to you. If you can hear them first - ideally with your own music - that will tell you more than any number above.