Wharfedale Diamond 12.1 Review (Speaker)

[MAB]

As some might remember in my recent review of them I liked them a lot but also criticised mainly their elevated treble for my room and taste which I could easily correct with EQ though.

Looking at them and my measurements I thought this might be a rare case were the usually audiophoolian biwiring terminals might be helpful which was confirmed by my listening and future measurements.

So I added on each side a 2.2 Ohm 10 Watt MOX resistor before the tweeter terminal instead of the "golden bridge" as such a value usually drops the tweeter level around 2 dB on typical tweeters, such MOX resistors are typically used in good quality crossovers:

View attachment 363026

Before doing any measurement I listened to many songs from different eras and genres and noticed that now the tonality seemed fine for me, my room and taste for a much larger percentage of recording than before. Now the 12.1 sounded more like a typical good British tuning and older Dynaudios, a tuning where you just listen to records and forget thinking about tech. To verify the change I also switched from one original to one "modified" loudspeaker listening to pink noise.

Additionally I did some quick measurements, first a kind of listening window spatial average with the moving microphone method and no gating at approximately one meter distance from the front baffle:

View attachment 363027

As it can be seen the original has a bit elevated treble while with the mod its more a "british" with a tad subdued treble and presence region.

I also did an MMM comparison with both L+R loudspeakers original and modified at my listening position compared to the Harman experienced listeners curve which works quite well in my room:

View attachment 363028

Concluding this so simple and cheap mod works surprisingly well in my room and makes me enjoy the Wharfedale Diamond 12.1 even without any EQ which is rather the exception. It might be interesting to give it a try also for other owners if they also prefer a more British voicing and if someone like a tad more treble they can try also 1 or 1.5 Ohm instead.

Great idea!
I need to stop complaining about bi-wire/bi-amp terminals!

 

[Benji L]

As some might remember in my recent review of them I liked them a lot but also criticised mainly their elevated treble for my room and taste which I could easily correct with EQ though.

Looking at them and my measurements I thought this might be a rare case were the usually audiophoolian biwiring terminals might be helpful which was confirmed by my listening and future measurements.

So I added on each side a 2.2 Ohm 10 Watt MOX resistor before the tweeter terminal instead of the "golden bridge" as such a value usually drops the tweeter level around 2 dB on typical tweeters, such MOX resistors are typically used in good quality crossovers:

View attachment 363026

Before doing any measurement I listened to many songs from different eras and genres and noticed that now the tonality seemed fine for me, my room and taste for a much larger percentage of recording than before. Now the 12.1 sounded more like a typical good British tuning and older Dynaudios, a tuning where you just listen to records and forget thinking about tech. To verify the change I also switched from one original to one "modified" loudspeaker listening to pink noise.

Additionally I did some quick measurements, first a kind of listening window spatial average with the moving microphone method and no gating at approximately one meter distance from the front baffle:

View attachment 363027

As it can be seen the original has a bit elevated treble while with the mod its more a "british" with a tad subdued treble and presence region.

I also did an MMM comparison with both L+R loudspeakers original and modified at my listening position compared to the Harman experienced listeners curve which works quite well in my room:

View attachment 363028

Concluding this so simple and cheap mod works surprisingly well in my room and makes me enjoy the Wharfedale Diamond 12.1 even without any EQ which is rather the exception. It might be interesting to give it a try also for other owners if they also prefer a more British voicing and if someone like a tad more treble they can try also 1 or 1.5 Ohm instead.

Why only a 10 watt resistor? Would a 20 or 25 watt resistor be better for these speakers?

 

[thewas]

Why only a 10 watt resistor? Would a 20 or 25 watt resistor be better for these speakers?

Of course a larger wouldn't harm, but such is a typical value for usual hifi loudspeakers as in average the power that goes to the tweeter is quite low. https://www.soundimports.eu/en/crossover-components/resistors/

 

[Penelinfi]

Why only a 10 watt resistor? Would a 20 or 25 watt resistor be better for these speakers?

Internally they probably use 5W or 10W resistors. Yes, you can heat up the resistors a lot if you thrash the speakers, but by then you're also most likely blowing up the woofers or tweeters .
This outboard resistor would be much better cooled too

 

[Benji L]

As some might remember in my recent review of them I liked them a lot but also criticised mainly their elevated treble for my room and taste which I could easily correct with EQ though.

Looking at them and my measurements I thought this might be a rare case were the usually audiophoolian biwiring terminals might be helpful which was confirmed by my listening and future measurements.

So I added on each side a 2.2 Ohm 10 Watt MOX resistor before the tweeter terminal instead of the "golden bridge" as such a value usually drops the tweeter level around 2 dB on typical tweeters, such MOX resistors are typically used in good quality crossovers:

View attachment 363026

Before doing any measurement I listened to many songs from different eras and genres and noticed that now the tonality seemed fine for me, my room and taste for a much larger percentage of recording than before. Now the 12.1 sounded more like a typical good British tuning and older Dynaudios, a tuning where you just listen to records and forget thinking about tech. To verify the change I also switched from one original to one "modified" loudspeaker listening to pink noise.

Additionally I did some quick measurements, first a kind of listening window spatial average with the moving microphone method and no gating at approximately one meter distance from the front baffle:

View attachment 363027

As it can be seen the original has a bit elevated treble while with the mod its more a "british" with a tad subdued treble and presence region.

I also did an MMM comparison with both L+R loudspeakers original and modified at my listening position compared to the Harman experienced listeners curve which works quite well in my room:

View attachment 363028

Concluding this so simple and cheap mod works surprisingly well in my room and makes me enjoy the Wharfedale Diamond 12.1 even without any EQ which is rather the exception. It might be interesting to give it a try also for other owners if they also prefer a more British voicing and if someone like a tad more treble they can try also 1 or 1.5 Ohm instead.

I tried 1.5 ohm resistors but settled on 1 ohm resistors to soften the treble. Listening 3m away with carpeted floors. Has anyone tried port bungs with these speakers?

 

[DSJR]

I tried 1.5 ohm resistors but settled on 1 ohm resistors to soften the treble. Listening 3m away with carpeted floors. Has anyone tried port bungs with these speakers?

Play some rell recorded male speech! Does the bass region of the speech frequency range have a boomy 'chesty' feel to it? Once noted, almost always heard in many speakers and my Diamond 7.2SE's have this 'feature' as a way of beefing up the low end, rather than cutting it off stone dead as I remember the tiny B&W CM1's doing. there's a UK eBay supplier of foam bungs with removable centers and my solution for these speakers (on a desktop near the wall behind them) was to use said bungs while keeping the inner 'holes' open. This 'dried out' the low bass a good bit so making the speakers sound the size they are, but the positive was a more natural lower midrange 'tone' on speech (I use this rig for radio as well as some music).

I don't know the 12.1 but have heard its predecessor (210?) a few times. Bass seems fine in fairness on this model. Track used was 'Time Tunnel' by Boris Blank. The sequencer does have 'notes' rather than a rhythmic bloat

 

[Benji L]

Play some rell recorded male speech! Does the bass region of the speech frequency range have a boomy 'chesty' feel to it? Once noted, almost always heard in many speakers and my Diamond 7.2SE's have this 'feature' as a way of beefing up the low end, rather than cutting it off stone dead as I remember the tiny B&W CM1's doing. there's a UK eBay supplier of foam bungs with removable centers and my solution for these speakers (on a desktop near the wall behind them) was to use said bungs while keeping the inner 'holes' open. This 'dried out' the low bass a good bit so making the speakers sound the size they are, but the positive was a more natural lower midrange 'tone' on speech (I use this rig for radio as well as some music).

I don't know the 12.1 but have heard its predecessor (210?) a few times. Bass seems fine in fairness on this model. Track used was 'Time Tunnel' by Boris Blank. The sequencer does have 'notes' rather than a rhythmic bloat

Thanks for the advice. I will try a few different types of foam to see which works best.

 

[Mike_Trueman]

As some might remember in my recent review of them I liked them a lot but also criticised mainly their elevated treble for my room and taste which I could easily correct with EQ though.

Looking at them and my measurements I thought this might be a rare case were the usually audiophoolian biwiring terminals might be helpful which was confirmed by my listening and future measurements.

So I added on each side a 2.2 Ohm 10 Watt MOX resistor before the tweeter terminal instead of the "golden bridge" as such a value usually drops the tweeter level around 2 dB on typical tweeters, such MOX resistors are typically used in good quality crossovers:

View attachment 363026

Before doing any measurement I listened to many songs from different eras and genres and noticed that now the tonality seemed fine for me, my room and taste for a much larger percentage of recording than before. Now the 12.1 sounded more like a typical good British tuning and older Dynaudios, a tuning where you just listen to records and forget thinking about tech. To verify the change I also switched from one original to one "modified" loudspeaker listening to pink noise.

Additionally I did some quick measurements, first a kind of listening window spatial average with the moving microphone method and no gating at approximately one meter distance from the front baffle:

View attachment 363027

As it can be seen the original has a bit elevated treble while with the mod its more a "british" with a tad subdued treble and presence region.

I also did an MMM comparison with both L+R loudspeakers original and modified at my listening position compared to the Harman experienced listeners curve which works quite well in my room:

View attachment 363028

Concluding this so simple and cheap mod works surprisingly well in my room and makes me enjoy the Wharfedale Diamond 12.1 even without any EQ which is rather the exception. It might be interesting to give it a try also for other owners if they also prefer a more British voicing and if someone like a tad more treble they can try also 1 or 1.5 Ohm instead.

Is this the correct one? Jantzen Audio 002-0427 | 2,2 Ω | 10 W | 5% | Mox Resistor
I use this store mostly to buy audio components: https://www.soundimports.eu/nl/jantzen-audio-002-0427.html

 

[Mike_Trueman]

As some might remember in my recent review of them I liked them a lot but also criticised mainly their elevated treble for my room and taste which I could easily correct with EQ though.

Looking at them and my measurements I thought this might be a rare case were the usually audiophoolian biwiring terminals might be helpful which was confirmed by my listening and future measurements.

So I added on each side a 2.2 Ohm 10 Watt MOX resistor before the tweeter terminal instead of the "golden bridge" as such a value usually drops the tweeter level around 2 dB on typical tweeters, such MOX resistors are typically used in good quality crossovers:

View attachment 363026

Before doing any measurement I listened to many songs from different eras and genres and noticed that now the tonality seemed fine for me, my room and taste for a much larger percentage of recording than before. Now the 12.1 sounded more like a typical good British tuning and older Dynaudios, a tuning where you just listen to records and forget thinking about tech. To verify the change I also switched from one original to one "modified" loudspeaker listening to pink noise.

Additionally I did some quick measurements, first a kind of listening window spatial average with the moving microphone method and no gating at approximately one meter distance from the front baffle:

View attachment 363027

As it can be seen the original has a bit elevated treble while with the mod its more a "british" with a tad subdued treble and presence region.

I also did an MMM comparison with both L+R loudspeakers original and modified at my listening position compared to the Harman experienced listeners curve which works quite well in my room:

View attachment 363028

Concluding this so simple and cheap mod works surprisingly well in my room and makes me enjoy the Wharfedale Diamond 12.1 even without any EQ which is rather the exception. It might be interesting to give it a try also for other owners if they also prefer a more British voicing and if someone like a tad more treble they can try also 1 or 1.5 Ohm instead.

I would try to do this also but i am new to this
If i change my treble on my amp does it also change the sound from my woofer? With this mod it only change the sound of the tweeter?
Are these good ones?

 

[Yorkshire Mouth]

You can always just use EQ, if you wish.

 

[DSJR]

I'd suggest that adding a series resistor won't 'change the sound' of the tweeter, just reduce it in level a bit

 

[Deleted member 15767]

I got a set of these yesterday for my Dad's dining room system... The Dali Lektor speakers he had developed a fault and they were sent back to Richer Sounds under their 6 year warranty and they said they couldn't be fixed; so the Wharfedale's were picked up instead

Connected to his Marantz PM6006 amp and Pro-ject TT; they sound superb! Better than the Dali's, mids are much more detailed and the bass is tauter but not as fluffy - we tested them with Bonzo Dog, Zoot Money, Jethro Tull and some other tracks from my phone using an Anker Bluetooth transmitter...

Very impressed; for c£200 I don't know how you could better them TBH

 

[Penelinfi]

I'd suggest that adding a series resistor won't 'change the sound' of the tweeter, just reduce it in level a bit

Not always the case. The impedance variation of the tweeter or crossover can react differently across frequencies. Sometimes you'll get a reduction in upper treble but the crossover region doesn't drop as much. Usually this gets worse with much higher resistor values and as such you'd need to do a proper L-pad.
Perhaps modern tweeters with their much lower resonance are affected less.

And as measured with this particular speaker or works well. Which is good, no need to open the speaker

 

[thewas]

I would try to do this also but i am new to this
If i change my treble on my amp does it also change the sound from my woofer? With this mod it only change the sound of the tweeter?
Are these good ones?
View attachment 368986

Yes, you can use any of these and this will only attenuate the tweeter a bit without affecting the behaviour of the midwoofer. Am looking forward your impressions, do you currently find the highs a bit too intense?

 

[DSJR]

Not always the case. The impedance variation of the tweeter or crossover can react differently across frequencies. Sometimes you'll get a reduction in upper treble but the crossover region doesn't drop as much. Usually this gets worse with much higher resistor values and as such you'd need to do a proper L-pad.
Perhaps modern tweeters with their much lower resonance are affected less.

And as measured with this particular speaker or works well. Which is good, no need to open the speaker

Point taken, but in little speakers like this and as done here, a simple series resistor seems to be enough to duck the level down just enough. My old Spendor BC2s had replacement bass units (same type from a later model) but not quite the same sensitivity. I needed 3.3 ohms in series and 82 or so ohms across the tweeters to bring them more or less into line using a known good reference. said Spendors had a slightly scopped upper mid-lower top compared to the evergreen and much loved BC1 and these later drivers weren't quite so awol at the top of the range as earlier ones were, hence the need to pad the HF1300 tweeters down.

(Off topic completely, but these BC2's are an object lesson in how directivity has improved so much in modern speakers generally as the mid-top integration changes as one moves around far more than the (kind of descended) Harbeths do )

 

[MAB]

I would try to do this also but i am new to this
If i change my treble on my amp does it also change the sound from my woofer? With this mod it only change the sound of the tweeter?
Are these good ones?
View attachment 368986

Any of those will do. I would get the Jantzen because it is cheap! These resistors are one of the simplest components ever, just a long length of high-resistance wire wrapped around an insulator. Mundorf is no better, it should not be a struggle to make such a simple thing cost-effectively!

Rather than spend on the expensive, might be good to get a few values slightly higher and lower than 2.2 Ohm to see what level of attenuation might work for you. I lower value R will have less attenuation, higher R will attenuate more. 2.2 Ohm does look like a good value to start with since it will have moderate but noticeable reduction in output.

 

[Robbo99999]

As some might remember in my recent review of them I liked them a lot but also criticised mainly their elevated treble for my room and taste which I could easily correct with EQ though.

Looking at them and my measurements I thought this might be a rare case were the usually audiophoolian biwiring terminals might be helpful which was confirmed by my listening and future measurements.

So I added on each side a 2.2 Ohm 10 Watt MOX resistor before the tweeter terminal instead of the "golden bridge" as such a value usually drops the tweeter level around 2 dB on typical tweeters, such MOX resistors are typically used in good quality crossovers:

View attachment 363026

Before doing any measurement I listened to many songs from different eras and genres and noticed that now the tonality seemed fine for me, my room and taste for a much larger percentage of recording than before. Now the 12.1 sounded more like a typical good British tuning and older Dynaudios, a tuning where you just listen to records and forget thinking about tech. To verify the change I also switched from one original to one "modified" loudspeaker listening to pink noise.

Additionally I did some quick measurements, first a kind of listening window spatial average with the moving microphone method and no gating at approximately one meter distance from the front baffle:

View attachment 363027

As it can be seen the original has a bit elevated treble while with the mod its more a "british" with a tad subdued treble and presence region.

I also did an MMM comparison with both L+R loudspeakers original and modified at my listening position compared to the Harman experienced listeners curve which works quite well in my room:

View attachment 363028

Concluding this so simple and cheap mod works surprisingly well in my room and makes me enjoy the Wharfedale Diamond 12.1 even without any EQ which is rather the exception. It might be interesting to give it a try also for other owners if they also prefer a more British voicing and if someone like a tad more treble they can try also 1 or 1.5 Ohm instead.

Nice mod, simple!

 

[IndieSynth]

Is there any benefit to this mod over using eq to achieve the same?

 

[thewas]

Is there any benefit to this mod over using eq to achieve the same?

From sound (quality) point of view not (with EQ someone can correct even more individually), the benefit is for people who don't have a PEQ option in their system.

 

[witwald]

If i change my treble on my amp does it also change the sound from my woofer? With this mod it only change the sound of the tweeter?

If you change the treble control on your amp, it will change only the tweeter's sound. The point at which the treble control often kicks in is about 1kHz on most amplifiers; that's sometimes referred to as the turnover frequency. It means that any significant frequency-response modification effect starts at about 2kHz or so. See the diagram below to gain some further insights as to the types of changes you could expect.

However, unlike the resistor approach, which introduces a level-reducing shelf into the tweeter's response, the treble control introduces a more gradual frequency-dependent cut (or boost), until its region of peak action is reached.

If you provide a small boost with the bass control in conjunction with a small treble cut with the treble control, you will achieve an approximation to the tilt control that is provided on QUAD amplifiers. Depending on your combination of loudspeakers and room acoustics, the sonic results may even be preferable to those achieved by simply adding a resistor to cut the tweeter's treble response.

When making these types of changes and assessing their sonic effects, you might like to use pink noise as a signal source. This is a constant signal that is likely to help you maintain your bearings. Of course, listening to a few music tracks that you prefer can also be helpful to gauge whether the subjective effects of the changes are to your liking.