The overall result of the engineering changes is to deliver a tightly focused and spacious stereo image allied to a clean and clear performance throughout the audioble bandwidth. The coherence of the midrange and treble balance provides a highly musical and natural delivery of all types of music that positively encourage exploration of any CD, LP and MP3 collection. The downside is that now I want to upgrade the rest of the home theatre speakers! I love the way the Wharfedale Diamond 10.1 sound and they are plenty good for the use I make of them (playing music in the living room and now watching movies; not too loud because I have neighbours upstairs) so I'd like to keep them and get speakers that fit with them. In terms of my expectations, the Wharfedale Diamond 12.1 speakers have provided me with the sonic surprise of the year thus far. They excite and delight sure but they also add a drop of magic to the mix that demands your attention. The discerning audiophile will also note the diamond pattern moulded into the surround of the woven Kevlar cone. This is more than just cosmetic as the pattern reduces and damps standing waves in the surround yeilding a cleaner high frequency acoustic roll-off.

Both of the Diamond 9.1's drivers have been replaced for the Diamond 10.1. The new mid/woofer has a 4.9" (125mm) cone of woven Kevlar, a nylon-filled homopolymer chassis with an oversized flange, and, in the cone surround, diamond-pattern ribs intended to smooth the acoustic rolloff. The 1" (25mm) soft-dome tweeter has a metal phase corrector and is claimed to offer smooth, clear reproduction of the high frequencies. The two reflex ports on the 10.1's rear panel (in the 9.1, they were on the front) are intended to reduce the effects of distortion. Electrical connection is via two offset pairs of terminals to allow bi-wiring and easy cable dressing. Wharfedale has a history of over 75 years of setting standards in perfecting loudspeaker performance and are renowned for having the most integrated and thorough manufacturing and quality control process in the industry. None of this would be possible without the talented sub, which anchors it all with lean, purposeful bass notes that fuse tightly to the satellites. This little bass box is a revelation, doing its job without making a song and dance about it. Rear-firing twin reflex ports: The speaker’s twin reflex ports have been moved to the rear of the cabinet, to reduce the effects of audible distortion. These ports extend the bass to below 45Hz, contributing to an impressive sense of sonic scale.The Wharfedale Diamond range speakers are a truly iconic collection. With almost three decades of critical acclaim, international awards and millions of fans worldwide, you can rest assured that a Diamond speaker will deliveruncompromised quality. compared to a lower max handling speaker. Loudness or the sound level is also impacted by parameters Aesthetically, they have a good wife-pleasing characteristic with their curved cabinets - they are quite a nice looking speaker as far as it goes. This was a factor in my choice, I must admit. What I mean by that is that a speaker or an amp or CD player is a bag full of bits. Bits of MDF, bits of metal, polymer any more. For these speakers, more than 90% of the parts are made in this one IAG factory. Even the screws are Wharefedale screws. That’s pretty rare. Most people buy most of their parts off the shelf. This is why, during the current situation, that IAG has been able to supply hifi without any serious delays. Because it owns most of the parts. Oh and IAG also make parts for other companies on the quiet as OEM – you don’t hear much about that, either. KARL Here is another review of the Wharfedale Diamond 225, and the guy doing the review has heard a LOT of speakers.

Where I do agree with Mr Fink, however, is his desire to offer young people something affordable to get them started – as he bluntly put it, “high-end is mostly for old people”. With this in mind, his design takes into consideration that small speakers will most likely be placed in bedrooms, dorms or apartments. The result is that the Diamond 12.1 doesn't need a lot of room around it. Naturally, it is best not to set it right up against a wall, but it's fine not far from it. UP CLOSE 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. Paired with another beer-money bargain, Onkyo's A-9010 (UK) integrated amplifier, the Wharfedale Diamond 12.1 really shone. Confident, composed and comely, this bookshelf design proved quite addictive. However, it was the level of musical refinement that the Diamond 12.1 presented that was the cherry on top. Sure, that might mean that the Diamond 12.1s may offer a touch less dynamic reach in upper mid terms but, quite frankly, when you hear the Wharefdales you’re not thinking about that at all. You don’t hear anything missing here at all. You only hear the added bass, the well-developed nature of the musical presentation and the extra layers of detail on offer.I mounted the Diamond 10.1s on my Celestion Si stands, which are loaded with lead shot and sand. Although Wharfedale makes no specific recommendations about listening with the speakers' grilles on or off, I slightly preferred their sound with the grilles in place. Although I heard a hair more detail without the grilles, the sound was more natural and coherent with them on. The Diamonds boast a curved cabinet, which helps to minimise unwanted internal interference, and even the surround of the Kevlar mid/bass driver has a moulded pattern to help reduce the effects of standing waves. Consequently, the Wharfedales produce a surprisingly mature sound for the money. Listen to Ellie Goulding's Starry Eyed and her dulcet tones are beautifully reproduced in a sweet-sounding and natural manner.

Blended SRBP Cone Surrounds: The new textured surround allows a large ‘vMax’ apart from providing a compliant driver gasket, which dramatically improved dynamic response. The diamond profiled surround features rim-edge stiffeners which effectively damp cone resonances. And and before we get to the sound quality section, after the Diamond 10 Series came Diamond 100, then Diamond 200, then Diamond 11 and now Diamond 12. Some have assumed that Diamond 12 is the 12 th generation of Diamond, but it’s actually the 14 th. SOUND QUALITY Wharfedale is an elder statesman of the audio world, with decades’ worth of expertise to plough into its hi-fi and home cinema kit. The latest recipient of its sonic wisdom is the DX-1 HCP, a compact 5.1 speaker system priced to lure the budget buyer – hopefully without compromising on sound quality. Following the highly successful and award winning Diamond 9 series was always going to be a difficult task. But Wharfedale engineers were determined to bring the latest Diamind right into line with the standard of performance expected from a stand mount/bookshelf speaker in 2009. Their current range includes Reva, Denton, Diamond 11 and Diamond 200 series, D300 and vintage-look Heritage speakers as well as the newer bluetooth DS-2 speakers and Vista 200 subwoofer.The airy presentation gives the subtle recording plenty of space to breath, while vocals have intimacy and texture. Low Profile Chassis: The open nature of the chassis reduces reflection from rear cone movements, allowing air to move freely through the driver, which in turn results to an overall even response with a much lower distortion. Formed from a high density, injection-moulded polymer pioneered by Wharfedale, the chassis itself provides substantial damping of ring waves.

The result is a little loudspeaker with a quoted frequency response of 65Hz-20kHz and 88dB/1w/1m sensitivity. Considering that its nominal impedance is put at a bog-standard 8 ohms, that's a good figure and means the Diamond 12.1 goes a little louder for the same amount of power than many price and/or size rivals. Maximum power handling is put at 100W RMS. THE LISTENING If you're looking to get a conservatory, pool or outdoor area set-up, we also offer a range of outdoor speakers and our custom install speaker range includes weatherproof and splashproof speakers suitable for such applications. I asked a similar question in the UK (AVForums.com) version of this forum. Having know of Wharfedale for many years, I wondered why they did not get recommended more often. The Diamond 10.1s areaward-winningand outstanding medium-sized bookshelf speakers, as much an aesthetic triumph as an acoustic one, delivering precise and dynamic full-range audio and an ideal companion to a wide range of systems. Construction Many people see IAG’s Chinese connections as a bad thing, one that affects the brand name of Wharfedale plus other brands like Audiolab and Leak (two other brands under the IAG umbrella).

Wharfedale Diamond 10.1 loudspeaker Specifications

The cabinets feel substantial and robust. Affordable they may be but Wharfedale has clearly channelledas much of the cost as possible into their construction – a foundationon which good sound quality is always built. Diamond 12.1 can handle a max power of 100 watts RMS from the amp the whereas Diamond 12.0 has a max power handling value of 60 watts RMS, 40 watts less than the Diamond 12.1. If I can compare the Diamond 12.1s to amplifier designs for a moment, the musical presentation is similar to the Audiolab 6000A and the Rega Brio-R. The latter provides a measure of bass but puts most of its efforts into the mids and treble, excelling in both while only asking the bass to underpin the mids and treble. The 6000A asks bass to be a full partner, in sonic terms, so that treble, mids and bass offer equal emphasis. Wharfedale loudspeakers are so well regarded, above all, for their sonic excellence. Build quality is impeccable and design is focused - resulting in an overall product which is coherent and capable. Wharfedale are an industry leader and consistently produce award-winning and industry-renowned loudspeaker products. Both the above speaker had THREE 8" Bass drivers. When the DJ lines were discontinue and went on close-out, they represented excellent value for people looking for party speakers.