Wharfedale Diamond 12.1 Review (Speaker)

[Yorkshire Mouth]

Just ordered from Richer Sounds.

£250 minus 10% discount (code ‘SPEAKER10’), so £225.

 

[Yorkshire Mouth]

Unfortunately, whilst me new stands and these speakers both arrived this morning, I’ve been able to do nothing other than unbox, as the screws and fittings were missing from the stands.

I’ve called the company, and they should be here tomorrow.

They do look quite lovely in their ‘pearl walnut’ finish, though.

 

[Svet Angelov]

Unfortunately, whilst me new stands and these speakers both arrived this morning, I’ve been able to do nothing other than unbox, as the screws and fittings were missing from the stands.

I’ve called the company, and they should be here tomorrow.

They do look quite lovely in their ‘pearl walnut’ finish, though.

you can't go wrong with the entire 12.x series IMO. Happy listening!

 

[Laserjock]

Just ordered from Richer Sounds.

£250 minus 10% discount (code ‘SPEAKER10’), so £225.

12.1 ?

 

[Yorkshire Mouth]

12.1 ?

Yes.

Pearl Walnut.

 

[Yorkshire Mouth]

I’ve now got them in the stands and up and running.

Wow!

I’m currently playing with a bit of EQ.

I’m not experiencing any of the HF issues that @thewas had, but it’s early days. I’ll post more later.

Just one more thing, the build and look is top drawer. SWMBO is currently in the Norwegian fjords (that’s not a euphemism), but I’m not as apprehensive as to her reaction on her return as I sometimes am when I get new kit. She’ll like these. Or at least be prepared to put up with them.

 

[Yorkshire Mouth]

A quick update.

After a week of listening, I'm absolutely in love with these speakers.

I had been toying with the Revel M16s (and even M106s), which I'd initially considered out of budget - but then a change in my finances kicked in, and opened up further possibilities.

What I intend to do is to keep these for a few months to start with, before seeing if I can audition the Revels, and see how I get on.

I've also done a little bit of experimenting with EQ, and I'll write more about that later, when I get more time.

Notwithstanding the above, and for now, I'd say these are a pair of speakers I believe I could very easily live with forever.

EDIT: By the way, I was correct. SWMBO doesn't mind the look of 'em.

 

[Mr.Christiee]

How does the smaller 4" Wharfedale 12.0 compare to these?

 

[Mr.Christiee]

Wharfedale 12.1 vs KEF Q150?

 

[MOONnSUN]

While not an "official" review with measurements and data, I do have both the 12.1's and the 12.0's (of which I literally just finished setting up in my guest bedroom).
The 12.1's are a pretty standard sized bookshelf speaker with a 5.25" woofer. The 12.0's are definitely smaller. I originally used them as surround speakers, so I hadn't given them a fair listen by themselves until today. They sound very similar to the 12.1's and despite their smaller cabinet and woofer, they have a surprising amount of bass. Now they don't go super deep, but it also doesn't sound/feel like they are missing anything when just listening to music. Before today I didn't think they were worth keeping, but for a smaller room like a bedroom, these really impressed me. While we don't have measurements, I suspect it would be very similar to the 12.1, but with more rolloff in the bass region. I can recommend them for the right space/situation, and I imagine they would pair well with a modest sub.

I'm just now realizing that you replied.

Thank you so much for your information.

 

[Yorkshire Mouth]

Wharfedale 12.1 vs KEF Q150?

I’ve not compared the two myself.

However, I’d refer you to thewas’ comments earlier in this thread (post 290). He favourably compares the 12.1s, maybe a little too much treble on occasion, but preferable on others. Easily EQ’d out in any case.

And that’s the 150’s bigger sibling, costing 4 x more than the 12.1s, and 3 x more than the vanilla 150s.

 

[ricardomontalbahn77]

I have the 12.1. Compared against Kef q150, it is close but the Wharfedales sounds slightly better to my ears especially with voices. Voices shine. What I do notice though is that the 12.1 do not appreciate being pushed to high volumes. The Kefs show similar behaviour as well but not to the same extent. At normal listening levels (60-70 dB) both speakers are excellent. There is a softness/higher compliance to the woofer/surround that I notice on the 12.1 compared to speakers such as my monitor audios and the kefs which is interesting.

 

[Subway2400]

Hi,

In search of new desktop speaker to replace a pair of Edifier R1700BT, I began doing reseaches about their potential successors. A few years ago my desktop system was a pair of Monitor Audio Bronze BX2 fed with a Yamaha A-S500, this combo was very satisfying, but I was forced to switch to a smaller desktop system. Thanks to the Diamond 12.1 review performed by amirm and the following discussions, I bought a pair of their little sibblings, the Diamond 12.0, in a hope to eventually get back to a true desktop hi-fi system.

The first pair I received, despite being brand new, had defects from the factory. Both woofer cones had visible marks around the dust cap where the voice coil is soldered to the flexible wires coming from the speaker terminals. I also measured big differences between the two speakers, as if one of the woofers had a low pass set way too low, the frequency response having a progressive dip starting at 1000 Hz, down to -12dB at 3300 Hz while the other speaker was flat ! I've got them replaced a few days ago, the new pair being free of any defect.

The speakers are powered by a little Fosi V3 amplifier (that I also bought thanks to amirm review), which is directly plugged into my motherboard output (fed by a Realtek ALC1220-VB). I run them with a 90 Hz highpass filter, a 8" subwoofer taking care of the bass, and a calibration, all this being done with Equalizer APO, to compensate for the room influence. I'm pretty happy with the output of my motherboard, there is no hearable background noise when the computer is idling or web browsing. When putting the GPU under stress, noise this is kept at a minimum and barely audible even when testing the Fosi gain at its maximum.

I've got to say that I'm pleased with the end result. I feel that desktop listening is a kind of magnifying lens for a speaker : it emphasizes any flaw or any quality a speaker could have, and I can't say I'm finding any speaker-related flaw with these! These Diamond 12.0 reveal many details, sound has a kind of pleasing sparkle (without being bright) and goods dynamics. Soundstage is very coherent, has several levels of depth, and gives a kind of "holographic" impression. Voices are particularly good, they have a very wide palette of expression. These speakers have no sound on their own, they just play what you throw at them without trying to put any "house sound" on it. I'm using them with a slight downard slope to compensate for close listening. I'm often surprised by the volume I tend to listen to them, you can turn the volume up "without noticing". Despite having a small desk in a suboptimal position, being stuck between two walls, I can sense that these speakers are very capable.

I did try them without a subwoofer, I made a preset that allows them to play full range with somme additionnal bass EQ and a 45 Hz high pass filter and have been listening to them without the subwoofer for a whole day. Taking profit of the room gain, they are able to output enough bass down to 50Hz and with enough quality at a decent desktop listening volume. A subwoofer definitely is advisable, but they are convincing on their own.

The build quality (defective pair put aside ...), particularly at this price point, is stellar. The speaker cabinet is extremely neutral, the knocking test produces a very matte and muffled sound. The finish is really great, the lacquered front is beautiful and the black vinyl sides have a nice texture on them. Before returning the defective pair I had a look inside, I took some photos which are attached to this post.

Right now I'm enjoying them, they are little gems for desktop use, while being more compact and prettier than active monitoring speakers.

Thanks to @amirm for the review, @Karl-Heinz Fink and Peter Comeau for bringing such speakers to life, and to the ASR community !

 

[Yorkshire Mouth]

Hi,

In search of new desktop speaker to replace a pair of Edifier R1700BT, I began doing reseaches about their potential successors. A few years ago my desktop system was a pair of Monitor Audio Bronze BX2 fed with a Yamaha A-S500, this combo was very satisfying, but I was forced to switch to a smaller desktop system. Thanks to the Diamond 12.1 review performed by amirm and the following discussions, I bought a pair of their little sibblings, the Diamond 12.0, in a hope to eventually get back to a true desktop hi-fi system.

The first pair I received, despite being brand new, had defects from the factory. Both woofer cones had visible marks around the dust cap where the voice coil is soldered to the flexible wires coming from the speaker terminals. I also measured big differences between the two speakers, as if one of the woofers had a low pass set way too low, the frequency response having a progressive dip starting at 1000 Hz, down to -12dB at 3300 Hz while the other speaker was flat ! I've got them replaced a few days ago, the new pair being free of any defect.

The speakers are powered by a little Fosi V3 amplifier (that I also bought thanks to amirm review), which is directly plugged into my motherboard output (fed by a Realtek ALC1220-VB). I run them with a 90 Hz highpass filter, a 8" subwoofer taking care of the bass, and a calibration, all this being done with Equalizer APO, to compensate for the room influence. I'm pretty happy with the output of my motherboard, there is no hearable background noise when the computer is idling or web browsing. When putting the GPU under stress, noise this is kept at a minimum and barely audible even when testing the Fosi gain at its maximum.

I've got to say that I'm pleased with the end result. I feel that desktop listening is a kind of magnifying lens for a speaker : it emphasizes any flaw or any quality a speaker could have, and I can't say I'm finding any speaker-related flaw with these! These Diamond 12.0 reveal many details, sound has a kind of pleasing sparkle (without being bright) and goods dynamics. Soundstage is very coherent, has several levels of depth, and gives a kind of "holographic" impression. Voices are particularly good, they have a very wide palette of expression. These speakers have no sound on their own, they just play what you throw at them without trying to put any "house sound" on it. I'm using them with a slight downard slope to compensate for close listening. I'm often surprised by the volume I tend to listen to them, you can turn the volume up "without noticing". Despite having a small desk in a suboptimal position, being stuck between two walls, I can sense that these speakers are very capable.

I did try them without a subwoofer, I made a preset that allows them to play full range with somme additionnal bass EQ and a 45 Hz high pass filter and have been listening to them without the subwoofer for a whole day. Taking profit of the room gain, they are able to output enough bass down to 50Hz and with enough quality at a decent desktop listening volume. A subwoofer definitely is advisable, but they are convincing on their own.

The build quality (defective pair put aside ...), particularly at this price point, is stellar. The speaker cabinet is extremely neutral, the knocking test produces a very matte and muffled sound. The finish is really great, the lacquered front is beautiful and the black vinyl sides have a nice texture on them. Before returning the defective pair I had a look inside, I took some photos which are attached to this post.

Right now I'm enjoying them, they are little gems for desktop use, while being more compact and prettier than active monitoring speakers.

Thanks to @amirm for the review, @Karl-Heinz Fink and Peter Comeau for bringing such speakers to life, and to the ASR community !

View attachment 381322View attachment 381323View attachment 381324View attachment 381344View attachment 381345View attachment 381346View attachment 381347View attachment 381348View attachment 381349

Thanks for that. 12.0s or 12.1s?

 

[Subway2400]

These are the Diamond 12.0. I do not have enough space for the 12.1, unfortunately.

 

[Musicofchance]

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?

 

[Musicofchance]

Would this do the job?
Cheers

 

[Timmy]

Owning a pair of 12.2 since April, I could swear that to me their sound has improved quite a lot during that time. I can’t believe that improvement could only be due to my »ears get accustomed« to it.

 

[Benji L]

Would this do the job?
Cheers

They should be fine to try. Sorry for the delayed reply.

 

[Dumu]

Owning a pair of 12.2 since April, I could swear that to me their sound has improved quite a lot during that time. I can’t believe that improvement could only be due to my »ears get accustomed« to it.

I own 12.1's and 12.3's and these are the only speakers I have ever noticed break-in behavior. On 12.3's the change was pretty subtle, after few hours of listening at low volumes I had to add resistors to bring the treble down, but have since removed then and now the speakers are really neutral.
On the 12.1's the change was massive. I had the speakers placed very close to wall and still the bass was just right. I then tested my preamp for hpf and played 40hz sine wave and after that the bass got a stupid high boost and I had to bring it down alot with eq and placement.
Nowadays both speakers sound exactly the same and I couldn't differentiate them in a blind test.