Wharfedale Diamond 8.2 Bookshelf Loudspeakers (Black Ash, Pair)

Wharfedale Diamond 8.2 Bookshelf Loudspeakers (Black Ash, Pair)
by Wharfdale

List Price: ~~$299.99~~
Category: Speakers
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Digital Photo Product Details

Manufacturer: Wharfdale
Brand: Wharfedale
Edition: Electronics
Model: Diamond8.2Black
Color: Black Ash
Publisher: Wharfdale
Studio: Wharfdale
Music Label: Wharfdale
Product features:

Pair of 2-way, ported bookshelf speakers suitable for music, home theater, or PC use
20 to 120 watts recommended power (per channel)
6.5-inch Kevlar woofers, 1-inch silk-dome tweeter for taut bass, lucid midrange frequencies
86 dB sensitivity; 6-ohm impedance
Measures 8.4 x 14.3 x 10.2 inches (W x H x D) each

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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Wharfedale Diamond 8.2 Bookshelf Loudspeakers (Black Ash, Pair)

Customer Review: Delightful but somewhat demanding speaker...
Summary: 5 Stars

For a long time I had a very low opinion of this speaker, having only heard at a friend's house who runs them off a very cheap Pioneer 414 receiver and has them positioned quite poorly. After discussing these speakers on an Internet audio forum (ecoustics dot com) I finally decided to borrow them from my friend for a week and hooked them up to my digital Panasonic sa-xr55 and then to my NAD separates.

VOILA!!! It was really like day and night compared to how they sounded in my friend's living room. Both my Panny and NAD are light years better than his one hundred thirty dollar Pioneer, and these Diamonds blossomed. Excellent imaging, warm lush midrange (vocals), solid bass, and nice big soundstage. In short, they had the presence of an entry-level floorstander but the midrange delicacy of a fine bookshelf speaker. The tweeter was not quite as precise as my Ascend Acoustics speakers' during treble peaks at high volumes (above 90db) but the Ascends are by far the best bang-for-your-buck audiophile speakers out there.

I suspect that a lot of the poor reviews around here came from people with similarly crappy receivers who are relatively new to audio and don't understand proper speaker placement and room acoustics. See, the Diamonds are 6 ohm impedance and low 86db sensitivity so they do need more high quality current than your typical 8 ohm, +90db mass-market speakers.

Note I did not say "watts per channel" since most manufacturers today hideously overinflate their RMS numbers especially for their cheap entry level models. (Harman Kardon, Marantz, and NAD are the most honest; Sony, Onkyo, and Yamaha are the least.)

Another key point is that like most audiophile speakers, these Wharfedales are not deliberately designed to accentuate the bass and treble while rolling off the midrange (the V-shaped equalizer curve commonly found in most kids' systems) like the kind of speakers commonly found in boomboxes and mini-stereos that are aimed at kids who usually listen to rock, rap, and dance music often in compressed MP3 formats or off FM radio. Audiophile speakers are aimed more at people who listen to jazz, classical, instrumental, or vocal-dominated music which all benefit from a more neutral frequency response.

So if you're looking for speakers to blast AC/DC or Snoop Dog, I'd recommend JBL or Cerwin Vega instead. If not, these Wharfedales are an incredible steal at this price and should provide you with years of enjoyment. (You won't enjoy taking the grills on and off but very few people ever do that anyways, so relax.)

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Description of Wharfedale Diamond 8.2 Bookshelf Loudspeakers (Black Ash, Pair)

Wharfedale's bookshelf Diamond 8.2 loudspeakers are both built and priced to thrill: with their 6.5-inch Kevlar woofers and silk-dome tweeters, they offer uncommonly luscious sound for their size and market positioning, with remarkably deep bass and smooth, transparent midrange frequencies (critical for voices, acoustic instruments, and even electric guitars). They'd make a super choice for use with hi-fi systems, home theaters, or computer setups, though they're not self-powered like most PC speakers are.

The 8.2s derive some of their low-end heft from their ability to push air from their tuned, front-panel ports. Our listening revealed taut, punchy sound with dramatically smooth midrange frequencies and detailed but never excessive or harsh-sounding treble. So you'll hear all the nuance of sticks on cymbals, but the crashing won't rip your ears off. Fittingly, voices and acoustic instruments sounded especially lush and realistic owing to the 8.2s' beautiful midrange, while the bass ran surprisingly deep for speakers using only a single 6.5-inch woofer each (the rated frequency response is 45 to 20,000 Hz).

The speakers owe a lot of their clarity and openness to their textile tweeters and woven Kevlar woofers. The tweeters are 1-inch silk-dome, ferrofluid-cooled drivers powered by a strong, neodymium magnet for speed and accuracy. Kevlar is said to be self-damping, a fact that would grant the woofers high rigidity and easy movement--a terrific recipe for dynamic sound from even wimpy amplifiers. And, despite their 6-ohm rating, it doesn't take much to make these speakers sing. Anything from 20 watts-per-channel integrated amplifiers to 85 wpc surround receivers will make a good fit, though be warned that the speakers are rated for use only to 120 wpc. For optimal sound, especially if you're biwiring, we'd recommend 40 wpc or above.

An especially choice feature of the 8.2s is their two sets of gold-plated speaker terminals, which let you power each speaker's driver independently if desired, a process known as biwiring. (The speakers come with jumpers to allow standard wiring; remove the jumpers to biwire.) Whether you use separate mono-block amps for each speaker or merely use your receiver's A and B speaker outputs to power the tweeters and woofers, respectively--with set A for the tweeters, set B for the woofers--extra cable required--you'll hear a little extra clarity, openness, and even frequency extension since the amplifier is focused only on a given driver's needs at any given moment. (Think: division of labor.)

The speakers' low end is not as taut or as even as you'd find in a larger or more expensive speaker with additional drivers or more sophisticated engineering--but at this price and at this size, their performance is exceptional. We recommend placement at least one foot from any room boundary, and the closer you can get to putting 3 feet between the 8.2s and your walls, the more natural, in our experience--though the port's front-panel positioning allows closer wall placement than would a rear port.

Each of the speakers in the Diamond 8 line uses the same tweeter and cone material for perfect timbral matching, so you can use the 8.2s for either stereo or surround-sound applications, enlisting the Diamond 8.1s as surround speakers, and the Diamond Center for a center-channel speaker. --Michael Mikesell

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