Wharfedale Diamond 220 Budget Speaker Review

[MrOtto]

I was planning to switch from Edifier S2000 Pro to these Diamond 220 for my "living room, TV, casual listening setup" , but found another offer on the Diamond 225, which has 6.5" woofer. Hoping Diamond 225 are comparable in measured quality to Diamond 220, but with a little more volume, room filling and bass capability. Feels like a better upgrade having 6.5" woofer to the 5.5" on S2000 Pro and 5" on Diamond 220.

 

[mattzildjian]

So where would you recommend crossing these over to a subwoofer ? I was thinking maybe 80-100 hz ? I notioced Amir saying there was a slight boominess, anyway to eliminate this with a different crossover point ?

Did you figure out a sweet spot for a sub crossover? I notice on the frequency response that the 220's are already losing a lot of power by 100hz.

SVS matching tool recommends 80hz though.

 

[Bsmooth]

I keep going back and forth between 80-90hz, although I think I prefer 90hz actually.

 

[mattzildjian]

I keep going back and forth between 80-90hz, although I think I prefer 90hz actually.

I should mention SVS actually recommend crossing over at 100hz if you are using an AV receiver, however if you are blending the full range with the sub they recommend 80hz 12db/octave slope.

 

[Bsmooth]

Good thing is I actually plan on an SVS sub at some point, so thats good to know. Right now I'm planning a Voxel build, as soon as I figure out the box size. I think I'll go with the Slot port If I can. Going to use this with my Audioengine A5+ speakers in my bedroom.

 

[Den]

I have wharfedale 225 in a not optimal position in corners. Bass being abit too much sometimes. It is safe to put a foam in the bass port or should I get the 220 instead who might have less bass than 225?
Thanks in advance.

 

[djsolidsnake86]

220 vs 12.2, what choose?

 

[djsolidsnake86]

between 220 and 12.2 what choose? who sound better?

 

[Peib]

between 220 and 12.2 what choose? who sound better?

i have the 220 and they sound good for me

 

[amanieux]

between 220 and 12.2 what choose? who sound better?

12.2 https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...d-220-budget-speaker-review.16752/post-856015

 

[posvibes]

I'd love to see a speaker such as this go up against a LS3/5a in a blind test comparison and see how the preferences turned out.

 

[Willem]

Actually, I own both but never properly compared them. I replaced the (later 11 Ohm) LS3/5a's with the far better Harbeth P3ESRs and the LS35a's are about to be sold since I have not used them for a while. The Diamond 220s were bought quite recently for almost nothing to be used in our garden annex. The Wharfedales are remarkably good for a budget speaker, and lack any harshness. They are light on bass, but the bass that there is is clean.

 

[posvibes]

This might sound a bit weird but in my opinion most of the charm and a great deal of the audiophile bonafides of the LS3/5a resides in the BBC dip and the ability for the listener to listen beyond it. That said I have never heard a genuine version of that speaker but a few clones that supposedly come close to it.

If the Harbeth is far better but retains something of the LS3/5a intrinsic to its nature or as some say it's "magic" can you identify what that particular ingredient is that may not be evident in the Wharfedale for example?

 

[Willem]

The LS35/a is warm and well integrated in near field, with a pretty decent reproduction of the human voice. Contrary to the views of audiophools, the later 11 Ohm is actually more accurate than the earlier 15 Ohm (that will be completely out of spec by now anyway).
The P3ESR is far less coloured without any funny peaks or dips, and has rather deeper bass. My main speakers are Quad 2805 electrostats, and the Harbeths are pretty close in neutrality. Unlike the LS3/5a's the Harbeths can handle quite a bit of power, and can be played pretty loudly. Since they lack the mid bass bump, they are also much easier to integrate with subwoofers. I did so very successfully, and the result was massively impressive.
The difference between the little Wharfedales and the Harbeths is quite large, with much greater transparency for the Harbeths. But let us be fair: the Diamonds cost les than 10% of the Harbeths.

 

[MFRiley1160]

Very curious how these compare to the 225s.

 

[Willem]

My question would be if the 16 cm woofer integrates as well with the tweeter as does the 13 cm woofer. With earlier generations of Diamonds this was sometimes a problem.

 

[TheBatsEar]

I have wharfedale 225 in a not optimal position in corners. Bass being abit too much sometimes. It is safe to put a foam in the bass port or should I get the 220 instead who might have less bass than 225?

Putting foam in is not a problem at all. Check the box, maybe they even added some premade foam plugs in there somewhere.
Another option is to turn down bass on the amplifier or in the source (depends of course).

 

[TheBatsEar]

This might sound a bit weird but in my opinion most of the charm and a great deal of the audiophile bonafides of the LS3/5a resides in the BBC dip and the ability for the listener to listen beyond it.

If that's the case, would it be possible to emulate that dip using EQ? And if yes, how? Where would that dip have to be?

Asking for a friend.