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Wharfedale Diamond 12 Owner's Thread

mvnchies

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Jan 17, 2019
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I just wanted to give a small update on my setup...
Found a good deal on a Monoprice 8" subwoofer (I know I know, cheap sub probably quite bad... :D) and did some measurements with my conference microphone to try to dial it in- it worked surprisingly well.
was unable to find a way to get a high-pass filter for the Wharfedales with my amp/DAC (Loxjie A30) but I measured it to get a very smooth transition from the little woofer to the mains.

so, Loxjie A30 + Wharfedale Diamond 12.0 + Monoprice 8" subwoofer is where I landed! total cost at about €600 with cables.
I am very pleased with the setup, even if 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.
the rest was surprisingly smooth at my sweet spot (in REW I used 1/12 smoothing, so no cheating I think) even if my mic seems to cut out at around 8kHz.

important thing is, it sounds nice, I spent much less than I had expected to do, and it measures quite nice even in my janky living room.
 

ZööZ

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Got the 12.2 today and hooked them up with my ****** 16 or so years old sony stereo as I don't own anything else that has amplifiers and yyyyeeeahhh it is obvious from the get go that these are good speakers...
I just threw them on stands that I have ready for my surround setup (just heard today that I'll propably have to wait until the end of march before I'll be getting my x3700h :facepalm: as there are some availability issues) and put them where I could fit them, between my subs and walls. Toed them in by eye and pressed play from my phone (connected through aux in).
Feeling like they're really going to be wasted as height channels o_O
 

mvnchies

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Got the 12.2 today and hooked them up with my ****** 16 or so years old sony stereo as I don't own anything else that has amplifiers and yyyyeeeahhh it is obvious from the get go that these are good speakers...
I just threw them on stands that I have ready for my surround setup (just heard today that I'll propably have to wait until the end of march before I'll be getting my x3700h :facepalm: as there are some availability issues) and put them where I could fit them, between my subs and walls. Toed them in by eye and pressed play from my phone (connected through aux in).
Feeling like they're really going to be wasted as height channels o_O

if the 12.1 are anything to go by for the 12.2, I think so too, or they're just great value as height channels! :D
 
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MarkWinston

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Got the 12.2 today and hooked them up with my ****** 16 or so years old sony stereo as I don't own anything else that has amplifiers and yyyyeeeahhh it is obvious from the get go that these are good speakers...
I just threw them on stands that I have ready for my surround setup (just heard today that I'll propably have to wait until the end of march before I'll be getting my x3700h :facepalm: as there are some availability issues) and put them where I could fit them, between my subs and walls. Toed them in by eye and pressed play from my phone (connected through aux in).
Feeling like they're really going to be wasted as height channels o_O
They are too good to be height channels... lol!
 

Magixuser

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Got my Diamond 12.3 and 12.C. Vocals and mids are very clear. Initially wanted to add a WH-10 subwoofer but the 12.3 have enough bass that I cancelled the purchase. I am using the Crystal 4.1 for surround because i think the 12.1 is too much for a surround speakers. To add, I bought an acoustic foam to slightly tilt my center speakers towards my ear level.
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Baron

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one more review of 12.2
 

Hiten

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Thanks for sharing 12.2 link. Can we safely say it has more extension than 12.1 measured here. Peaks and valley is making it little difficult to understand but review does say the peak at 50hz is of .port
 

thewas

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Can we safely say it has more extension than 12.1 measured here
Not safely from as those measurements as they are not anechoic and thus cannot be compared to the ASR NFS ones, but given the manufacturer specs of both (50 Hz vs 65 Hz) it should.
 

mccartymind

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Got the Diamond 12.2 a month back and fell in love with them, I now listening to almost everything on them and starting to neglect my other costlier speakers. To my ears, they sound so smooth yet do not lack clarity. Mids produced by the 12s are exactly to my taste, forward, crystal clear with body and sweet sounding. Its just what I want from a speaker. There is not one thing I dont like about these, and I have owned and own quite a few speakers including the Diamond 225, Q.A 3030i, Dali Oberon 3, Polk Reserve R100 (wished I had the R200 though), the orginal KEF LS50, JBL Studio 590, l and Wharfedale Crystal 4.3, 4.1 and 4c to name a few.

Any Diamond 12 owners here be it the 12.0, 12.1, 12.2, 12,3 or 12.4? What are you pairing them up with and how is it working out for you? Positioning and placement?Any measurements you have taken personally or come across any measurements in other forums you wished to share? Any mods done to improve the speakers? Would be great to hear anything and everything from the owners!
Just bought the 3030i. Had for only a couple days. Used to have BW 685 S2 and got bored with those. I need to spend a lot more but right now I can’t so I’m trying out different affordable options. I have my eye on the Diamond 225 and the Oberon 3. Your response to the 12.2 has me curious. How did you find the 12.2 compared to the Oberon 3? I still need to run these 3030i in more but I think they lack some instrument separation and may be slightly too laid back. But I don’t want bright. Anyway, any thoughts you could share on what you didn’t like about 3030i in comparison and how the Oberon 3 fit into the mix. I also like what people say about the 225. I am playing through a Rotel A12.
 
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Hi guys!
In a small room of about 13 x 10 ft, which would be a better choice - the 12.1 or the 12.2?
Will be placing speakers 10-12 inches from front wall (to back of speaker). Listening distance is about 6.5 ft.
Thinking the 12.2 might be overkill.
 

mvnchies

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Hi guys!
In a small room of about 13 x 10 ft, which would be a better choice - the 12.1 or the 12.2?
Will be placing speakers 10-12 inches from front wall (to back of speaker). Listening distance is about 6.5 ft.
Thinking the 12.2 might be overkill.
will you use a subwoofer with them? I suspect 12.2 will have better bass extension which would be nice if no subwoofer is planned. I think as long as you distance them from a rear wall enough it should be good... but,
I was only able to have my 12.1 about 20cm and it wasn't enough, but 30cm definitely was good.

hope that is of some help. I have a very non-ideal setup, my speakers are on a flat TV bench on angular stands.
 
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will you use a subwoofer with them? I suspect 12.2 will have better bass extension which would be nice if no subwoofer is planned. I think as long as you distance them from a rear wall enough it should be good... but,
I was only able to have my 12.1 about 20cm and it wasn't enough, but 30cm definitely was good.

hope that is of some help. I have a very non-ideal setup, my speakers are on a flat TV bench on angular stands.
Thanks!
I'd prefer not to use a sub but I might try one down the road and see how that goes.
I think the 12.1 might just be enough for my room, still kinda wary of the backfiring port.

Although I'm not even sure i'll go Wharfedale in the end as I'm exploring other brands as well.
 

jmillar

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Oct 1, 2020
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A small piece of magic for 500 bucks. Or 350 in the case of the 12.1. Close your eyes and get ready for the speaker to disappear. Now that you know they measure well, lay back and enjoy the music. :)
The 12.2 are worth the increment, after listening comparisons.
 

jmillar

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Yeah, these sneaky buggers at Wharfedale changed a few things quietly, the V1 as we call it had foam surrounds, the V2 has rubber surround and Wharfedale stated "it has no major sonic differences". The V1 also had some sort of a cup behind the tweeter, that cup isnt on the V2. God knows what else they changed.
Was that when Fink stepped in?
 

Icipher84

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Dec 31, 2021
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Hi guys, looking for some guidance for my desktop setup.

Currently:
-KEF C15 speakers (gifted from my brother, said he bought them in the late 80s)
-Soundrise PRO-9 stands
-REL tZero mkIII
-SMSL AO200 amp
-Orchard Audio Pecanpi DAC/Streamer

Do you think the 12.0 or 12.1 would be better for nearfield listening?
 
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MarkWinston

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Hi guys, looking for some guidance for my desktop setup.

Currently:
-KEF C15 speakers (gifted from my brother, said he bought them in the late 80s)
-Soundrise PRO-9 stands
-REL tZero mkIII
-SMSL AO200 amp
-Orchard Audio Pecanpi DAC/Streamer

Do you think the 12.0 or 12.1 would be better for nearfield listening?

12.0 if you dont have space between the wall and the speakers
 

Crosstalk

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Dec 13, 2021
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Hi guys, looking for some guidance for my desktop setup.

Currently:
-KEF C15 speakers (gifted from my brother, said he bought them in the late 80s)
-Soundrise PRO-9 stands
-REL tZero mkIII
-SMSL AO200 amp
-Orchard Audio Pecanpi DAC/Streamer

Do you think the 12.0 or 12.1 would be better for nearfield listening?
Smaller speakers are better for near field listening if m not wrong.
 
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