Topic: Wharfedale Diamond 9 Series

[chatstix]

What did you get, black or birch?  The birch looks nice to me.

sir, we have no choice here at the moment since it's only black that's available here. but my wife said that she likes the black color more since it looks sexy and sophisticated and i agree with her ( i had a maple floorstanders before). but my first choice of color was the rosewood vinyl.

I just noticed its anechoic sensitivity is 86db/1watt/1meter.  You must have a really powerful amp to make it sing its best.  What amp are you using? 

on the manual it's sensitivity rating is 88db (2.83V, 1M) <-- i really have no idea what it means or how to translate this in layman's term. on their brochure, it list the 9.5 as 88db sensitivity: 1W @ 1m. i'm using harman-kardon avr 230 and i noticed that it can drive the 9.5 easily as compared to the 86db floorstanders i have before.

I find it odd that the center speaker is not yet available.  I think they have 3 models for center, starting at 100 pounds.

the only series 9 diamond center available here is the cs version, also available only in black. selling price here is P4,800.00.

[av_phile1]

mga sirs... gaano b dpat kalakas pg break-in period itong mga speaker n ito? im using hk-130. & gaano po katagal ang break-in period. tnX!

I wouldn't want to question some wisdom often presented for speaker break-in.  In some of the forums I've visited, this is considered another snake oil.  It's possible there is some break-in considering that speakers are electro-mechanical devices; and any mechanical device can benefit from some break-in.  But I think the improvements are incremental, not dramatic as some would say.  A good speaker at the start is a good speaker all the way and a lousy one is just that.  NO break-in will ever make a lousy speaker out of the box sound better. The fact is, if the sound of new speakers impressed you as being better than your old, chances are they are indeed better.  If not, the break-in period will only make you more accustomed to the sound of the speaker.  I had a officemate who wasn't particularly impressed with his new speakers, except that it had nice reviews, good specs and  a lot more expensive than his old.  After six months of alleged break-in, he said he is now satisfied with them.  Since he still has his old speakers stashed in another room, I dared him to re-install his old speakers to compare.  That weekend, he did.  And it dawned on him that his old speakers were indeed much better.  The break-in period apparently made him simply accustomed to the new speakers.  The break-in period never made them any better.

That's ofcourse another experiential story in this hobby.  Not valid for everyone, for sure.  

[av_phile1]

sir, we have no choice here at the moment since it's only black that's available here. but my wife said that she likes the black color more since it looks sexy and sophisticated and i agree with her ( i had a maple floorstanders before). but my first choice of color was the rosewood vinyl.



on the manual it's sensitivity rating is 88db (2.83V, 1M) <-- i really have no idea what it means or how to translate this in layman's term. on their brochure, it list the 9.5 as 88db sensitivity: 1W @ 1m. i'm using harman-kardon avr 230 and i noticed that it can drive the 9.5 easily as compared to the 86db floorstanders i have before. 


the only series 9 diamond center available here is the cs version, also available only in black. selling price here is P4,800.00.

Well, black is a sophisticated color.  And quite useful.  They actually aid in making the speakers seem to disappear in a dark room.    I too have both black (front) and beige(back) of the same model. 

The website I visited had it rated at 86db.  But that's not a matter to quibble over.  Your HK is a most competent receiver to drive an 88db load.  2.83volts RMS is essentially the voltage that can deliver 1 watt across an 8-ohm load.  That's their measuring standard for speaker sensitivity.   You may want to check out the thread on Power vs Decibels for a more thorough discussion.  Suffice it to say that 88db is loud enough as 60db is the level of person-to-person conversation. And I would guess that the 9.5's 6-ohm rating somehow compensates for this low sensitivity as it should deliver slightly more watts for the same input. And the HK is a high-current gear known to deliver more current at loads lower than 8 ohms. 

Are you planning to get this center as well?  I think the CS is mid-priced among their center speakers.  The CM might be a better match to your 9.5.

[kimpao]

yeah, panibagong strain ata ito eh. hehehe.  pero umnom na ako ng serum, would last 1 year before maapektuhan ulit ng sars 

Walastik ka talaga Chatstix!  Congrats sir!....... Pakinig naman niyan. 

[chatstix]

Are you planning to get this center as well?  I think the CS is mid-priced among their center speakers.  The CM might be a better match to your 9.5.

sir, the cm version is what i'll be buying. unfortunately, only the cs version is available here at the moment.

[H a n $]

Walastik ka talaga Chatstix!  Congrats sir!....... Pakinig naman niyan. 

DOM kimpao,

So ano kukunin natin? 

[kimpao]

sir, the cm version is what i'll be buying. unfortunately, only the cs version is available here at the moment.

try listening in style at shang for other models of the 9 series or you can try the shop in shang which sells those B&W speakers (forgot the name). 

[kimpao]

DOM kimpao,

So ano kukunin natin? 

Tadsulok, KOya. 

[chatstix]

Walastik ka talaga Chatstix!  Congrats sir!....... Pakinig naman niyan. 

sir, medyo mahihirapan ako sa request nyo. nakalagay kasi sa room namin ni esmi ang setup and medyo sagrado kay misis on who can come inside our room. maybe if you could suggest a place on a weekend na malapit sa amin eh i could bring them speakers, gusto ko din matuto from u gurus on how to evaluate the sound and performance of speakers and much more about audio.

[kimpao]

Schedule mo lang sir at sama sama ka rin sa mga session. 

[chatstix]

ok sir. just pm me the schedule of ur next sessions, and if i find it within my tolerable distance  from my home    then i'll join and bring the 9.5's.

[H a n $]

maybe if you could suggest a place on a weekend na malapit sa amin eh i could bring them speakers, gusto ko din matuto from u gurus on how to evaluate the sound and performance of speakers and much more about audio.

Sir gusto mo ba magka SARS?? sama ka minsan  

[akyatbundok]

ok yan sir chatstix, nabigyan mo ng diamond si misis.

[kimpao]

Sir gusto mo ba magka SARS?? sama ka minsan 

KOya, wag mo naman takutin. 

[H a n $]

KOya, wag mo naman takutin. 

Oooopps di naman just a warning ..

[wanderlust]

walastix, sang araw lang ako mawala e ang saya saya n dito! fiesta na ba at my naka diamond 9 na e.

congrats sir chatixs, sana makasama ka ang in one of the sessions.......... sayang ang SARS.

hehehe.

[av_phile1]

More than 300,000 members.  And only one owns a Diamond 9 so far.  May the tribe grow before the year ends. 

[H a n $]

More than 300,000 members.  And only one owns a Diamond 9 so far.  May the tribe grow before the year ends. 

Wish wish too bro.. 

[odyopayl]

That's ofcourse another experiential story in this hobby.  Not valid for everyone, for sure. 

Hahahaha! That's Audio politics Sir!!! Ako no comment!

[audioslave]

haba agad ng thread na toh. 

basta yata bago... maganda!! 

[iceman90a]

di naman - pero pag bago, interesting

[H a n $]

di naman - pero pag bago, interesting

Pag bago - Interesting lalo na kung affordable..

[aHobbit]

sir, we have no choice here at the moment since it's only black that's available here. but my wife said that she likes the black color more since it looks sexy and sophisticated and i agree with her ( i had a maple floorstanders before). but my first choice of color was the rosewood vinyl.

Wala ba lavander si diamond 9? 

[aHobbit]

I wouldn't want to question some wisdom often presented for speaker break-in.  In some of the forums I've visited, this is considered another snake oil.  It's possible there is some break-in considering that speakers are electro-mechanical devices; and any mechanical device can benefit from some break-in.  But I think the improvements are incremental, not dramatic as some would say.  A good speaker at the start is a good speaker all the way and a lousy one is just that.  NO break-in will ever make a lousy speaker out of the box sound better. The fact is, if the sound of new speakers impressed you as being better than your old, chances are they are indeed better.  If not, the break-in period will only make you more accustomed to the sound of the speaker.  I had a officemate who wasn't particularly impressed with his new speakers, except that it had nice reviews, good specs and  a lot more expensive than his old.  After six months of alleged break-in, he said he is now satisfied with them.  Since he still has his old speakers stashed in another room, I dared him to re-install his old speakers to compare.  That weekend, he did.  And it dawned on him that his old speakers were indeed much better.  The break-in period apparently made him simply accustomed to the new speakers.  The break-in period never made them any better.

That's ofcourse another experiential story in this hobby.  Not valid for everyone, for sure.  

Sir, sa GC, break-in kaagad yan! 

[JojoD818]

Sir, sa GC, break-in kaagad yan! 

There is one very effective way of doing it bro. Play your speakers like you stole them! 

[JojoD818]

Now I'll first get some things out of the way. Special thanks to SpeactarAV for allowing a home audition of this wonderful speakers, thanks to Hans for transporting them and to Akyat for hosting the session. Wonderful people!

There were two models used, the 9.2 and the 9.4, unfortunately I was kinda late and was only able to listen to the floorstander for only a couple of songs, therefore I cannot give any accurate description of the 9.4. But I was able to inspect the units and it looks that the construction is really solid and those wonderful gold plated bi-wireable binding posts are very good in grasping bare wires and banana plugs.

But then again, the 9.2 is a different story, I was able to listen to it for at least 4 hours, and with several amps too. Now, it may seem to look like a sliced version of the 9.4, the 9.2 was impressive, the amount of highs was balanced, the mids are clear and like others say, crisp. For me the mids are in a way open and brings the song artist right in the middle of your room. A very surprising amount of bass is also packed in this model, for a bookshelf, I wasn't expecting such bass, but the sofa was shaking.  Bi-wiring these bookshelfs also elevated the sound.

For me, the 9.2 is an impressive bookshelf, trully a cost-effective choice indeed.



I won't go too much in the technicals of the setup but some of the gears used were:

AMX PP EL34 Tube Amp (Jetok)
Consonance M99 Tube Amp (Audioslave)
Tube Hybrid Gainclone Amp (Punk_kid)

AMX Tube Preamp with Phono (Kimpao)

I don't know the models of the cdp but they were Yamaha, Sony and Sansui cdp present. Also, Akyat's Technics SL-1200 was used as a source.

Again, thanks to Mr. SpectraAV for the trust. 

[j_albert22]

tama ka jo nakakamangha ika nga at very reasonable price pa sa halagang 7K (mali akala natin na 7plus  7 flat lang pala)
tube friendly pa di mahirap i drive ..............malamang hot cake na naman itong speaker na ito kaya c Kuya HANS muntik nang hindi ibinaba sa kotse hehehehe kaso takot lang kay..........................lam nyo na yon di alam kc kung pano ipapaliwanag hehehehe .........................kuya pis tayoooooooooo

btw thank uli sa SPECTRA sana may uulitin pang iba 

pahabol thank din sa nag dala nang 8.3  kay BGA



isa pa maraming napahanga itong speaker na ito malamang meron sa mga nag punta kina akyat ang bibili nito this week lang kaya sa mga baguhan kung gusto nyo mapakinggan hehehe punta lang kayo sa SPECTRA park square    sipsip no    >:Dhehehehe

[Control]

Ang bilis ng review ni Sir Jojo  ...

I would just like to add a little more technical specs with the shootout..Cables used were XLO, XLO Pro (Master Hans) and Analysis Plus (Sir Iceman)..Now you might be curious why I am saying this but as I have observed during the session, I have found out that speaker cables really make a difference...

Going back to the review, there were two new wharfedale speakers (Thanks to Spectra) namely 9.2 (bookshelf) and 9.4 (floorstander). 9.4 was the first to be auditioned and as hours went by, the sound slowly came out pretty good though bass was still a little boomy but I guess this is normal for it needs a little more break-in. In comparison with 8.3 what I have noticed about 9.4 are the binding posts position (sana medyo nakalubog din sya tulad nung dun sa 8.3 ewan ko pero ganito kasi yata ang design ng series 9) but this was overcomed by the new looks of the binding posts. The grill and the appearance also improved in 9.4 (nagmuha na syang sexy). For overall review on 9.4, I give it a 4 out of 5 stars.

After the 9.3 audition, 9.2 (bookshelf) was connected to the setup and after an hour or two the sound came out impressively..good balance of highs, mids, and lows..bass was not boomy. For a bookshelf to be this good is a steal considering its price. This could be the new front speakers you are looking for. I give 9.2 a 5 out of 5 stars.

Watch-out ayan na ang SARS... 

[kid]

eto naman ang masasabi ko sa mga diamond 9 na pinakinggan namin:

For the 9.4, ang poooooogi na enclosure/design ..... but unfortunately hindi siya ganun ka impressive, boomy din yung bass nya para sa akin, sa laki ng sala ni akyat naging boomy pa siya

As for the 9.2, di ko akalain na meron pala siyang tinatagong talento pag dating sa performance, saludo ko sa tunog nya, well balanced sound at matindi din yung bass output nya lalo na nung naka bi-wire ng XLO speaker wires.

Conclusion:

I still love my 8.3 

Salamat din pala sa SpectraAV for trusting us to home audition the speakers.... at salamat din sa mga nagdala ng gears, para ko na rin narinig yung buong setup ko .

[JojoD818]

It just flashed in the left side of my brain regarding the boominess of the 9.4....... hindi kaya ganun tumunog yun dahil kailangan pang lagyan ng buhangin, semento, pebbles, marble tiles, etc. sa loob? Dba may tweak na nilalagyan ng sandbag sa loob yun speakers?

 

Pero ganda talaga 9.2 hehehe