Bro Bejiboys


Wharfedale win Best Buy Loudspeaker below £150

REVIEWS:

Diamond 8.1 First Test - What Hi-Fi? (April 2001, July 2001)
"These latest generation Diamonds are real star performers - certainly good enough to scare the established competition"
"These speakers produce a staggeringly good performance for the money"

Diamond 8.1 Gramophone(October 2001)
"Listening to the Diamond 8.1s, it's hard to find oneself repeating a mantra under one's breath. It goes '£120. £120? £120!', and is said with a rising degree of disbelief and no little glee, so good do these little speakers sound"
"Instantly set the level to which its rivals must now aspire."

Hi-Fi News (October 2001)
"Off-axis performance is one of this masterpiece's special party tricks."
"The 8.1 makes such good use of free space that you'll swear you were listening to a dipole made by QUAD"

"The image floated in front of me: truly holographic, utterly vivid"

"the 8.1s continued to astonish with a soundstage so wide and deep that one listener thought he was hearing the massive Apogee Scintillas sitting behind the diamonds...What almost 'sounded like £10,000 per pair' was the stage width, depth and image placement within the sound stage"

Wharfedale Diamond 8's
8.1
8.2
8.3
center
specifications

Marsman

There's currently one home theater set-up at Tech Central at the Makati Cinema Square featuring the Diamond 8 series speakers.  Saw them yesterday.  Try to look for Amiel.

Great sound for budget speakers

Its cheap and good looking. The only problem I noticed is the tweeter. I find it so weak.  I returned it and got a different brand. Just my 1 cent.

levi, thanks for the info. my friend will audition it later in the afternoon.

gaol, meron syang black cloth cover for all speakers. I'm using the Diamond 8.2s, Diamond Center and Diamond V for my setup.

ah okay. thanks mynameiswalts!

GAOL

Reposting

Hello,  To present owners of wharfedales
 Contemplating on getting a wharfedale  speaker brand for my HT.
 I own a great sounding Wharfedale large bookshelf with a sealed enclosure (1995 model)  and I am thinking of just
adding a wharfedale center and surrounds plus a sub.
 What is a good Wharfedale model series?

Opal?  Valdus? Atlantic?  It seems that there are dozens of new Wharfedales around.  
How can I check for speaker sound matching with my old one?  Dala ko yung old wharfedale ko sa tindahan?
Or better yet, buy the whole wharfedale set pag di nag match ang sound?

Or should I get a mission brand?  Problem is that it might not match my old pair.

TY

Its cheap and good looking. The only problem I noticed is the tweeter. I find it so weak.  I returned it and got a different brand. Just my 1 cent.

I agree with your assessment of the tweeter not being as crispy and detailed as other tweeters like the B&W.  But I think this is a good match for budget entry-level components with prices similar to Wharfedale, because most budget stuff tend to be grainy, harsh, and cold feeling.  The warmth and maybe even the little bit darker sound of the Wharfedale will tend to offset the shortcomings of some budget gear, but at the expense of some detail.  Then again, when prices are as cheap as Wharfedales there are always compromises, and the Diamond 8 series is as good as it gets.  Personally, I prioritize smoothness, warmth and lack of grain over clarity and crispness.  It's just a matter of preference, and clarity afficionados are better off using other gear like B&W which are very good detailed speakers.

I am in agreement with Whathifi's assessment of the 8.3s as having a little thickness  in the lower mid region.  To me this gives a little bit of a chesty sound ins ome recordings, but then again the weak tweeter of the Wharfedale gets rid of sibilance, which is a common fault for a lot of budget gear.

In short, I agree the tweeter is weak but to me it is a good thing.

Jovi

Hello,
  Almost bought the diamond 8 bec. of the nice reviews.

 Anyway, Over acting ang reviews ng hi fi mags since when I heard it, di naman masyadong maganda.  no detail in the higs when U listen to music.   Uses fabric tweeter instead of a metal.  Cheap casing with flimsy grille.
 
 Mura kasi kaya siguro it won 5 stars. When compared to similarly priced items such as Yamaha, sony, kewood etc.
The wharfs will be the best.  But among real hi fi brands like missions, b&W, energy etc.... it is a loser.

Always take into account that the US price is $200 and UK 120 pounds for the cheapest which is the 8.1.  So even the reviews hail it as a good speaker at the $200 (P10,000) price range.  And since they sell for P4,500 here, then it is a no-brainer that they are good for the price.  Dai-ichis are roughly the same price.

I do agree with the cheap casing and flimsy grill but for serious listening you don't use the grill.  I also agree with the lack of detail.  In short, the Wharefedale Diamonds are not expected to compete with much more expensive speakers.  I heard them side-by-side with my Dynaudio Audience 40 (P20,000 smallest, cheapest speaker in their line), and ang layo talaga.  Dynaudio by a mile.

I did hear the B&W DM303 and it was pretty good, but as for Mission, their m72 was ear-bleed for me.  Highs were way too bright and too sibilant and the bass was too boomy and out of control.  I'd pick the Wharfedale Diamonds over the Mission M7 series any day, although the Missions have much much better aesthetics and a better build quality.

Jovi

Bought the diamond 8

made in China.

for those of you who are deciding between the B&W dm303 and the wharf diamond series speakers, you might want to factor this in when deciding on which to get:

"(the DM303 is) the only example in our group of speakers by British brands that's actually built in Britain, at B&W's plant in Bradford, although the main driver is bought in from a Far Eastern source."

-www.hifichoice.co.uk

in other words while final assembly of the dm303 is done in britain, its main component is actually made somewhere here in Asia. my guess is its either malaysia or china.

yun lang po!

thanks

To Japjag:

   Do not attempt to get a diamond 8 to your HK2000.  A diamond 8 has a low sensitivity and with your HK's low
power, it will sound really weak.  Siguro yung powered subs mo lang ang magbibigay ng punch into your sound.
   I attest to that since I own a HK avr4000 and tried a diamond 8 set.   Using an  Infinity speaker with a 91dB sensitivity, the acceptable listening level on dvd was about -20 decibels against a -8 using a wharfedale diamond 8.
   The Diamond 8 sounds ok for the price,  but needs careful amp matching.

    This wharfedale 8 set sounds perfect in an NAD reciever but sounds bad with japanese recievers.  
    In my experience, the HK is better matched to a JBL or an Infinity speaker.

    Don't be tempted with the Diamond 8's low price or high rating.  Match it with your reciever.  But if you think it is the best, then go ahead.

     

TY  

To Japjag:

   Do not attempt to get a diamond 8 to your HK2000.  A diamond 8 has a low sensitivity and with your HK's low
power, it will sound really weak.  Siguro yung powered subs mo lang ang magbibigay ng punch into your sound.
   I attest to that since I own a HK avr4000 and tried a diamond 8 set.   Using an  Infinity speaker with a 91dB sensitivity, the acceptable listening level on dvd was about -20 decibels against a -8 using a wharfedale diamond 8.
   The Diamond 8 sounds ok for the price,  but needs careful amp matching.

    This wharfedale 8 set sounds perfect in an NAD reciever but sounds bad with japanese recievers.  
    In my experience, the HK is better matched to a JBL or an Infinity speaker.

    Don't be tempted with the Diamond 8's low price or high rating.  Match it with your reciever.  But if you think it is the best, then go ahead.

     

TY  

I have Diamond 8s also.  They didn't sound good for music with the Yamaha RXV-430 for music.  The Yammies are rated at 65 watts.  However, they really started singing n two-channel stereo playing music with my NAD C340 Integrated amp which is actually only rated at 50 watts.  Its kind of odd I know.  But the NAD had much better control and musicality. I'll be using the Yamaha for HT anyway so sound isn't a big issue for me.

Jovi

To japjag:
   good choice.   The nad and rotel are very good uk designed amps.   I own an NAD 701 and 705 with a 25w and 50w rating and it sounds best with any speaker.  Even a Diamond 8.1 sounds loud. but if i hook it up with my H/k 4000 with a 60w rating, ang pangit. with no bass and body in the music.  
  NADs rating with their amps are low but if you compare it with other brands, it sounds louder and better.
  If I can just afford an NAD av reciever.  (P85,000???)   probably?

 

yeah rotels have a nice av receiver too

Reposting for Shine,


   which is better?

  Wharfedale 8.4 or Yamaha NS7390?