YOUR experience with Wharfedale Diamonds 225?

[NewbieAudiophileExpert]

Just bought a pair of these for a rather cheap price - what should I expect when I receive the order?

 

[Laserjock]

Wharfedale Diamond 225 loudspeaker

www.stereophile.com

Here’s a review. I have the 12.1 but no experience with the 225

 

[raindance]

Not very extended treble which tends to cast a "plasticky" sheen over cymbals, but still pleasant sounding speakers that need close wall placement. They have a tendency to have significant imbalance between left and right, which is probably fine if you have a balance control. I tried the 220's, but the tweeter is the same and it contributes very significantly to the character.

Compared to the Mission speakers in the same price range, the LX2, the Missions have a ton of bass (too much for my room), cannot be placed close to walls, and are significantly duller sounding than the Wharfedales.

I hope this helps.

 

[MaxBuck]

They have a tendency to have significant imbalance between left and right

Someone needs to explain to me how this could be.

 

[Chaconne]

Someone needs to explain to me how this could be.

...and what sample size constitutes a "tendency".

 

[raindance]

The sensitivity and/or frequency response of the tweeters doesn't match well. It's fairly typical for entry level speakers but multiple pairs of Wharfedales I've tried has had this issue and it's been measurable. I'll also say that the chances are that the speakers were in spec, but if one tweeter is a couple of dB down and one is a couple of dB up, then there's an imbalance. I'm very sensitive to a shifted soundstage, so I used a preamp with a balance control. Some people don't notice or care.

Some manufacturers have better repeatability with their components than others. Remember, this is cheap gear. Ascend Acoustics, for example, has very close channel matching in their pairs, but this is a different price point.