Wharfedale Diamond 12.1 Review (Speaker)

[ninetylol]

12.1 vs 12.2 (bigger bass shelf)

In my opinion 12.2 measures a little bit better (you can also see the directivity error at 2khz fixed with 12.2)
Also 12.2 has bigger bass extension. 12.2 got some strange distortion at 500-600 Hz though. Else they are very smilar and really great for the price. Im especially surprised how low both of the go for their size. Also both sound fantastic.

 

[Romario]

Today, the 12.2s arrived and with initial hook up I was surprised the ease of producing the low notes. But not dialed in or eqed them yet but for €300,- the pair seems like a bargain. To be continued

 

[kaspurr84]

Today, the 12.2s arrived and with initial hook up I was surprised the ease of producing the low notes. But not dialed in or eqed them yet but for €300,- the pair seems like a bargain. To be continued

Looking forward to hearing what you think. The Diamond 12 line has quickly risen to the top of my HiFi speaker list.

 

[ninetylol]

Warning to 12.2 interests. My second pair 12.2 got HEAVY distortion in one speaker after tweeter crossover. So i guess some reviews claiming heavy distortion were not wrong after all. Pity because elsewise the speaker is fantastic

 

[Romario]

Looking forward to hearing what you think. The Diamond 12 line has quickly risen to the top of my HiFi speaker list.

It's just such a fun speaker. I'm not going to temper with eq, just toe in. This pair is fullfilling my tv duties with verve. It lacks the soundstage dept to compete with other pairs, but as I don't have the depth with tv duties ( because of the tv in the middle) it's a real joy for less critical listening. For that I use a different set-up.

 

[beagleman]

Diamond 12.2 vs Linton left:
View attachment 392031

Diamond 12.2 vs Linton right:
View attachment 392032

tldr my opinion:
Lintons are objectivly better as you can see from measurements, but they are like 5 times the size of the 12.2. Bass extension is almost the same on the 12.2 which is crazy. There are some strange resonances on the 12.2 but this is probably my terrible room accoustics. So yeah I think these 12.2 (for 300€ a pair!) are really really good. They sound very musical as do the Lintons. They do sound a bit more neutral than the Lintons though, which is a good thing, like if the Lintons and Kali IN-8v2 had a child.

This hobby drives me crazy at times......I own the 12.1 and use with a sub. Without sub really do not do bass that well but okay I guess for size.


I FINALLY got to hear the Linton and 12.2 albeit in different owners rooms. Where my confusion comes in, and yeah I get room matters of course, was that when I heard them, I did not really feel the 12.2 bass was equal to the Linton really. I thought the linton went a good bit deeper AND it had far easier dynamics with loud bass. To me the 12.2 had good for the size bass, but not good true deep bass??

Oddly enough, I found the lowly 12.1 to "maybe" have the best overall neutral and clean sound. I was planning on getting rid of mine and going to one of these larger Wharfedale models but with my sub, I feel the 12.1 kinda equals both with exception to loudness with the Lintons

NOT saying my 12.1 are actually better or anything, but wow, they are fairly close upper bass and mids and highs.

 

[beagleman]

Warning to 12.2 interests. My second pair 12.2 got HEAVY distortion in one speaker after tweeter crossover. So i guess some reviews claiming heavy distortion were not wrong after all. Pity because elsewise the speaker is fantastic

View attachment 396033

That level of distortion is far greater than what Amir or Erin measured on the 12.1 which uses same tweeter.......??

Have you contacted Wharfedale and so on?

 

[ninetylol]

That level of distortion is far greater than what Amir or Erin measured on the 12.1 which uses same tweeter.......??

Have you contacted Wharfedale and so on?View attachment 398609

i contacted my seller, but he wanted an audio recording as "proof", so i just used my right of withdrawal and sent them back.

 

[Deleted member 77012]

My second pair 12.2 got HEAVY distortion in one speaker after tweeter crossover.

Have to admit that my 12.2s have some sort of »spikey« tendency in their heights, which occurs extremely seldom – in a way that I’m far from sure that it’s really the speakers (alone) to cause that phenomenon.

Besides, I wonder, how my room-eq app (MathAudio) would be supposed to deal with it. Should I find any distortions of that sort having noticeable impact on the measuring results?

 

[ninetylol]

Have to admit that my 12.2s have some sort of »spikey« tendency in their heights, which occurs extremely seldom – in a way that I’m far from sure that it’s really the speakers (alone) to cause that phenomenon.

Besides, I wonder, how my room-eq app (MathAudio) would be supposed to deal with it. Should I find any distortions of that sort having noticeable impact on the measuring results?

Not all 12.2 seem to be affected by this. My first badge didnt have unusual distortion. From my experience and several reviews it seems to be a common problem though.

 

[Deleted member 77012]

Not all 12.2 seem to be affected by this.

Sure. I’m asking whether affected units could be revealed through unusual results when measured by room-eq apps.

 

[ninetylol]

Sure. I’m asking whether affected units could be revealed through unusual results when measured by room-eq apps.

Well Frequency response Was pretty much the same, but there was some really sharp harshness to one speaker, you could definitly hear the difference when playing the affected frequencies. Why not just use REW though?

 

[Deleted member 77012]

Well – this is what MathAudio Room-EQ measured from my 12.2s in my listening room. To me, that seems to be normal.

 

[Alexx]

Good morning, ask for information please.

I recently got the Wharfedale 12.1 speakers to replace the Polk ES15s

In the mid range I notice a slight deficiency (I understand like other owners).

Everything else is fantastic, musicality, bass, warmth etc.

I ask for advice on which speaker to replace them with, which has the same acoustic quality but with a greater mid range (not intrusive or tiring).

I rated Polk R100 - Q Acoustic Concept 20 - Elac Debut 5.3

For the low range there is no problem, I have a Cambridge Minx 201 Elettronica Compatto Marantz 612 subwoofer.
A thousand thanks.

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[Laserjock]

I like ELAC Uni-Fi 2.0 UB52.

Are you using near field?

 

[tw 2022]

Good morning, ask for information please.

I recently got the Wharfedale 12.1 speakers to replace the Polk ES15s

In the mid range I notice a slight deficiency (I understand like other owners).

Everything else is fantastic, musicality, bass, warmth etc.

I ask for advice on which speaker to replace them with, which has the same acoustic quality but with a greater mid range (not intrusive or tiring).

I rated Polk R100 - Q Acoustic Concept 20 - Elac Debut 5.3

For the low range there is no problem, I have a Cambridge Minx 201 Elettronica Compatto Marantz 612 subwoofer.
A thousand thanks.

View attachment 418401

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elac dbr 62 measure well,as do polk r200...if you can swing it ascend sierra 1 v2...or philharmonic ceramic mini...

 

[ricardomontalbahn77]

Good morning, ask for information please.

I recently got the Wharfedale 12.1 speakers to replace the Polk ES15s

In the mid range I notice a slight deficiency (I understand like other owners).

Everything else is fantastic, musicality, bass, warmth etc.

I ask for advice on which speaker to replace them with, which has the same acoustic quality but with a greater mid range (not intrusive or tiring).

I rated Polk R100 - Q Acoustic Concept 20 - Elac Debut 5.3

For the low range there is no problem, I have a Cambridge Minx 201 Elettronica Compatto Marantz 612 subwoofer.
A thousand thanks.

View attachment 418401

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Just curious: what was the issue with the Polk Es15? I have both the es15 and the 12.1 and like them both.

 

[Alexx]

@Laserjock:
I'm using them in a small room, maximum listening distance 3 meters.

@tw 2022:
For space reasons, a speaker with a 13C woofer is preferable.
The Polk R200 I read fantastic reviews!

@ricardomontalbahn77:
What I didn't like about the Polk ES15 was the "drop" in the midrange, roughly like what I heard on the Wharfedale 12.1
On both speakers I have the feeling that the voices are too distant and barely audible.

For the price Polk ES 15 is unbeatable in Italy I paid 200 euros new (Wharfeadale 370 euros ... a bit too much).

This is the only reason that pushes me to change speakers, evaluating those mentioned, even if I am increasingly motivated for Elac 5.3 or Polk R100 the Q Acosutic concept 20 have too low sensitivity to be driven well by the Marantz CR-612.

Thank you very much for your help.

 

[Willem]

You really need to do some measurements.

 

[Alexx]

@Willem:
Unfortunately impossible to do, I also have serious difficulties for any listening...I just listened to the new Elac 5.3 not bad, good mid-high range with "memory" they are more open than the Wharfedale 12.1I ask myself and you if the Polk R100 are worth the extra cost of 200 Euros compared to the Elac?Thank you very much.