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Wharfedale Diamond 12 Owner's Thread

robot34

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It is easier for a headphone to achieve lower bass than loud speaker, especially for in-ears/air tight. Diamond 12.0 is the smallest model that reach only 65-70 Hz. So, I'm not surprised that you switch to hifiman he400se headphones for those music genres. It would be a better comparison if you add a good subwoofer or compare it with Diamond 12.2.
It's not bad though, I still enjoy some Kanye West on the 12.0 the bass is still good.
Worried about using a subwoofer or 12.2 because I live in an apartment so don't want to disturb neighbours.
 

crappypanther

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Probably many of you know that Crutchfield has SpeakerCompare online listening tool. There you can listen to any music or sound through the equalization of different speakers. I listened to different ones, and indeed, all the sound differences between them correspond exactly to the spinoramas from ASR, (Erin, Napilopez). I decided to use EQ matching technology in order to see the difference between Elac Debut Reference DBR62 and Diamond 12.2. It means that this equalization (picture below) must be applied to Elacs in order to get Diamons. Voxengo Curve EQ was used for this purpose.
curve.jpg

Now we can add this correction to the existing Elac's graph to get the Diamonds 12.2 frequency response. I don't like to draw on the computer, so I did it on paper. You can be sure of the accuracy of my transfer, I spent a lot of time on this and was very meticulous and attentive. Because I wanted to get the most accurate result. So here it is:
12.2.jpg

This is a very good graph with unevenness from a straight line +/- 2db in between 100hz - 17khz. The only slight problem for my personal taste is the weakened 100Hz range. But this is not a problem if you use the equalizer. Especially for such a ridiculous price tag. Therefore, as soon as I finished drawing the graph, I ordered them.
 

Triliza

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The second image is the spinorama for 12.2 if I understand correctly. Here is the one for 12.1:

Wharfedale Diamond 12.1 Measurements Frequency Response Bookshelf Speaker.png


They are very similar, I asked the designer of these speakers (Karl-Heinz Fink) on the 12.1 thread how similar the 12.2 are to 12.1 and his answer was that they are similar. 12.1 seems to have more bass based on the two spinoramas, which shouldn't be the case, otherwise they seems indeed very similar.
 

regan

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Probably many of you know that Crutchfield has SpeakerCompare online listening tool. There you can listen to any music or sound through the equalization of different speakers. I listened to different ones, and indeed, all the sound differences between them correspond exactly to the spinoramas from ASR, (Erin, Napilopez). I decided to use EQ matching technology in order to see the difference between Elac Debut Reference DBR62 and Diamond 12.2. It means that this equalization (picture below) must be applied to Elacs in order to get Diamons. Voxengo Curve EQ was used for this purpose.
View attachment 218485
Now we can add this correction to the existing Elac's graph to get the Diamonds 12.2 frequency response. I don't like to draw on the computer, so I did it on paper. You can be sure of the accuracy of my transfer, I spent a lot of time on this and was very meticulous and attentive. Because I wanted to get the most accurate result. So here it is:
View attachment 218492
This is a very good graph with unevenness from a straight line +/- 2db in between 100hz - 17khz. The only slight problem for my personal taste is the weakened 100Hz range. But this is not a problem if you use the equalizer. Especially for such a ridiculous price tag. Therefore, as soon as I finished drawing the graph, I ordered them.
That looks great
Do you think the 12.3 and 12.4 tower speakers measure the same as 12.2 but with improved bass?
 

edwardh

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Im considering diamond 12.0 for nearfield desk use. My desk is around 70x30inch and speakers will be placed about 10inches from wall. Do you guys feel that the drivers for diamond 12.0 integrate well at a very close range listening?
 

Triliza

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Im considering diamond 12.0 for nearfield desk use. My desk is around 70x30inch and speakers will be placed about 10inches from wall. Do you guys feel that the drivers for diamond 12.0 integrate well at a very close range listening?
I remember reading at this Genelec's guide the following:

When the distance to the monitor is too short, summing of sound from multiple drivers is not happening as designed, and this affects the flatness of the frequency response. A flatter and more stable frequency response is obtained by a larger distance.

I'd assume this is true, what that means for 12.0 or other bookshelf speakers for nearfield use I don't know. What's sure is that studio monitors are made for nearfield use, and you won't need an amp too, so dunno, personally I'd give it some thought. I haven't seen any measurements for Wharfedale active speakers, but if they are same quality as their passive speakers, they will be just fine.
 

nn_in

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In my case, the A07 is the worst amp I have compared to my DA9 and PA5. Ok for 80 bucks, not even close to the DA9 and PA5 in terms of clarity and how they just amplify and send the signal out.
Any folks using Topping PA5 with Diamond 12.2 can share their thoughts on this combo.
 
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kaopad999

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Diamond 12.0 + AIYIMA D03 on a large desktop here.
Bought based on this and another ASR thread.
No amp hiss whatsoever.
Very pleased !
are you happy with the D03? i was reading a review today thatsaid the bass rolls offf very early around 80hz with this amp.
Not sure how much truth there is in that?
 

Keerati

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I have tried Diamond 12.2 with SMSL DO100 & PA5, SMSL AO100 & DO100, SU6 & DA6, Loxjie A30, TEMPOTEC SONATA HD PRO & Aiyima A07. I would say there is no significant difference. The difference in those amp are in bass roll-off (~1 dB), high frequency (~0.7 dB), and THD+N, which hardly audible for normal listening volume in a quiet room.

For bass < 100 Hz, our ear-brain are not so sensitive in that range, and room mode plays much more significant role (+- 5dB). For high frequency, there is not much music content there and for 15k Hz the drop is just ~0.3 dB, which is hardly audible.

You might think that I'm hard core objectivist, but my own experience tells me just that. I just recently see Erin's video on Wharfedale 12.1 and he said that it is a laid back speaker, which is why I felt that Wharfedale Diamond 12 sound softer than ELAC DBR62. I probably like its laid back sound.
 

hamb

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are you happy with the D03? i was reading a review today thatsaid the bass rolls offf very early around 80hz with this amp.
Not sure how much truth there is in that?
I actually turned the low end down a little.
It's certainly present, even on these small Diamonds.
 

Palladium

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I have a pair of Diamond 8.2s bought used for 70 USD powered by our trusty Aiyima A07. They sound better than my old LSR305s in my terrible L-shaped living room.

I also auditioned the Linton 85s (albeit in a small cramped room), and I don't feel they offer that much extra at 18 times the asking price over the 8.2s at my usual ~70 dB listening levels.
 
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Mal

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... I wish I was able to EQ it a bit and smooth out some small issues (a small ~260Hz peak for example, I assume it is a room issue) but not able to since my setup is controlled through my TV...
What about using a Schitt Loki mini+? How did you do the measurements to find the peak?
 

mvnchies

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What about using a Schitt Loki mini+? How did you do the measurements to find the peak?
I have since replaced the system with Genelec speakers - but, I used the MiniDSP Umik-1 in my laptop to measure it. I borrowed the microphone from a friend.

Schiit Loki would probably work okay, I didn't really consider it since it seemed to be too broad band but I didn't look much closer into it.
 

Mal

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Anyone compared Wharfedale Diamond 12.0 to Wharfedale Diamond 9.0?
 
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