Wharfedale Diamond 220

Product Information

Measurements are compliant with latest speaker research into what can predict the speaker preference and is standardized in CEA/CTA-2034 ANSI specifications. Likewise listening tests are performed per research that shows mono listening is much more revealing of differences between speakers than stereo or multichannel. The only other thing that we felt was missing was some form of speaker wedge that can give the high frequencies some direction rather than having them flat with your desk, this could make the high frequencies go even further in terms of value.

The British firm Wharfedale is one of the oldest names in loudspeakers. Founder GilbertBriggs began making speakers in 1932, at his home in the valley of the RiverWharfe, in an area of the beautiful Yorkshire countryside commonly known as Wharfedale. Over the years, Wharfedale has changed hands, and since 1996 has been part of the International Audio Group (IAG), which also owns Mission, Quad, and Luxman, among others. Today, like other top-notch speaker companies such as Paradigm and Focal, Wharfedale still makes its own drivers and components rather than buying them from a third party, but now builds its speakers in China rather than the UK. The design team remains in Britain. Sensitivity With a sensitivity level of only 86 dB, Wharfedale Diamond 220 is a difficult to drive speaker from Sensitivity perspective, make sure to choose an amplifier with a high output if you like listening to your music at high volume levels. You may especially have a hard time using Tube amplifiers which are traditionally very low power compared to Class A/B or Class D speakers. The bass port fires downwards into a small air gap between base of the cabinet and the plinth below It’s also worth tinkering with your amplifier’s output levels. On our auto-calibrated settings, we initially found the sound a little clinical. Going into the settings and turning the centre speaker down one decibel or so resulted in a livelier, more atmospheric sound. VerdictTake care when setting up the speakers. The design may have been intended to make them less fussy about placement, but we find they actually perform best when placed close to walls. Do this and you’ll be rewarded with a more solid, precise stereo image. Pointing them straight out seems to reduce bass slightly more and bring out the high end on the tweeter, but in a way that's not pleasing to me. I don't like what it sacrifices doing that. YMMV, it's not bad sounding, just not my preference. I wrote this for a colleague who asked about them and since I already went through the effort to write it up, may as well post here. 🙂 Therefore Diamond is one of our most successful speaker series ever. With Diamond 200 we have indeed improved drive technology, uses woven Kevlar woofers and included a new slot-loaded ported system. But it's still just a speaker, albeit an incredibly dynamic, highly affordable loudspeaker. The Diamond 200 drivers are equipped with the latest hi-technology for a wonderful texture and dynamic instrumentation. The music is more expressive and compelling than ever before. And makes the new slot-loading technology allows them to close to the wall to place, meaning they sound great, where you place them too. Taste of music listening room, vinyl discs and streaming; We are all beautifully different. So we built speakers that best suit your circumstances, not ours.

Speaker Cables without Connectors: If you are not sure about the lenght or need longer than standard cables with plugs, choose this option. However, if you are in a larger room, or are looking for speakers to suit a TV surround system, or even for a venue, then we would recommend you buy bigger speakers that include an external subwoofer. The Diamond 220’s drivers are evidence of some serious engineering at Wharfedale. The highs are covered by a 1” fabric-dome tweeter with a ferrite magnet. Although on paper that doesn’t sound impressive, what I found remarkable was the deep waveguide in which the tweeter is recessed -- a full 0.75” from the surface of the speaker. The circumferential speed bump on the waveguide looks enough like a driver surround that you might, as I did, mistake the tweeter for a midrange driver. Wharfedale says that the waveguide performs a number of functions: it controls dispersion, increases power handling, and smooths the handoff from tweeter to woofer. Their solidity and authority throughout the frequency range relies on placement near or against a rear wall: pull them out too far in the open and that sure-footedness is diluted slightly; bass notes are looser and vocals lose a bit of substance. Note: Measurements taken in the anechoic chamber at Canada's National Research Council can be found through thislink.On the rear panel, the plastic-sheathed gold-nut gold-plated biwire binding posts are staggered in a formation I’ve never seen before, with the posts aimed outward at different angles. After trying to twist my bulky Monster M1.2s cables onto the posts, to no avail, I resorted to a more flexible but discontinued Monster THX ribbon cable (similar to the non-THX Navajo in Monster’s current line).

We would recommend a subwoofer for the dance music lovers among us, this kind of music needs the extra boost an external subwoofer would bring to the table.

Most of the time it is a game of wattage, we find that these Wharfedale Diamond 220’s are perfect for any small studio setup, or even in a university dorm setup. Speaker Stands: Stands bring your bookshelf speakers to ideal height (rule of thumb is to have the tweeter level with your ear in your listening position), helps stability and acoustical isolation. New to the Wharfedale Diamond 220 is a sandwich cabinet design. Rather than the simple chipboard and MDF used by the previous Diamond 121, the new 220 uses particle board sandwiched by MDF on either side. This gives superb rigidity and damping properties, helping to further reduce the already low levels of distortion. A further benefit is the smooth MDF construction provides a cleaner surface for the veneer; meaning a smoother finish all round. The proof is as always listen to. The tweeter remains unchanged. He's still in a deep-seated waveguide, which improves the efficiency (particularly through the crossover region). We’re glad to report the Diamond 220s are much better in all respects. While still not the classiest speakers we’ve seen around this price (Q Acoustics and Monitor Audio set the standard), they’re good enough to avoid criticism.