For Wharfedale, the products are designed in the UK in Huntingdon, Wharfedale’s traditional home. So Peter Comeau, the director of acoustic design, and an ex-writer for the same print magazine that I still write for, HiFI World is based in the UK. Push the volume really high andit strains slightly, yet you’d have tobe some sort of masochist to listenat the level I’m talking about. Keepit sane and the Wharfedale array remains smooth as silk. The speaker itself has a sensitivity of 88db but only needs an amplifier of around 20W to get going. Spanning 312 x 180 x 250mm, it weighs in at 6.8kg each. Partly that’s because it’s been going since 1932, when Gilbert Briggs built his first design in his basement in Ilkley in Yorkshire, England. A market town by the river Wharfe, a part of the world generally known to this day, as The Dales. Wharfedale being just one of those. In fact, I seriously considered living in Wharfedale at one time – the perfect place for an audiophile to dwell, eh?

Diamond 12.1 can handle a max power of 100 watts RMS from the amp the whereas Diamond 12.0 has a max power handling value of 60 watts RMS, 40 watts less than the Diamond 12.1. While you can't argue with the level of control and transparency on offer, it has to be said that the 10.1s don't quite match the leading rivals for excitement. Wharfedale has also tried to enter other markets. For example, you can buy Wharfedale brand PA equipment. For a while they tried to enter the DJ market with the Valdus and Xarus speaker lines. These were high-powered high-output speakers, that were a bit less refined, but very attractively priced. Perfect for Amateur or small venue DJs. Blended SRBP Cone Surrounds: The new textured surround allows a large ‘vMax’ apart from providing a compliant driver gasket, which dramatically improved dynamic response. The diamond profiled surround features rim-edge stiffeners which effectively damp cone resonances. However, these walls have been made stronger through a superior method of bonding and curving the panels, increasing rigidity and, aided by internal bracing, reducing the audible effects of panel resonance.The Diamond 10.1 are definitely worth their price, but they come with little or no discount. Now several member have bought Diamond 10 series speakers, and not a single one is complaining that he paid too much. They are all very satisifed with what they got for what they paid. As for the Diamond 12 Series’ treble unit? It has a 25mm dome made from a woven polyester film with a high gloss coating. The front plate is flat and exposes the dome as much as possible. If I can compare the Diamond 12.1s to amplifier designs for a moment, the musical presentation is similar to the Audiolab 6000A and the Rega Brio-R. The latter provides a measure of bass but puts most of its efforts into the mids and treble, excelling in both while only asking the bass to underpin the mids and treble. The 6000A asks bass to be a full partner, in sonic terms, so that treble, mids and bass offer equal emphasis. Diamond 10 Series, Wharfedale has again raised the bar for affordable, high performance loudspeakers The result is a little loudspeaker with a quoted frequency response of 65Hz-20kHz and 88dB/1w/1m sensitivity. Considering that its nominal impedance is put at a bog-standard 8 ohms, that's a good figure and means the Diamond 12.1 goes a little louder for the same amount of power than many price and/or size rivals. Maximum power handling is put at 100W RMS. THE LISTENING

Low Profile Chassis: The open nature of the chassis reduces reflection from rear cone movements, allowing air to move freely through the driver, which in turn results to an overall even response with a much lower distortion. Formed from a high density, injection-moulded polymer pioneered by Wharfedale, the chassis itself provides substantial damping of ring waves. The treble unit and mid/bass driver handover is done via a crossover network using an acoustic LKR 24dB topology; this includes air-core inductors of the type claimed to be more commonly found in high-end designs. The Wharfedale Diamond 10.1 speaker's twin reflex ports have been moved to the rear of the cabinet, to reduce the effects of audible distortion. These ports extend the bass to below 45Hz, contributing to an impressive sense of sonic scale. Over the soft-dome tweeter is a metal diffusion grid which, as well as protecting the dome when the speaker is being used without its grille, also irons out high-frequency perturbations right up to 30kHz, delivering a smoother response and crystal-clear treble detailing. The Wharfedale Diamond 12.1 speakers did surprise me. Before this review, I wondered if they could handle the competition. I wondered if they could keep up with the rest. Well, they’ve certainly put that question to bed and how! The Diamond 12.1 speakers provide a balanced and neutral sound but the way they integrate bass into a suite of detailed upper frequencies while maintaining all of the insight and information you might expect and want adds a touch of genius to the overall design. A flavour of Fink, you might say…Both of the Diamond 9.1's drivers have been replaced for the Diamond 10.1. The new mid/woofer has a 4.9" (125mm) cone of woven Kevlar, a nylon-filled homopolymer chassis with an oversized flange, and, in the cone surround, diamond-pattern ribs intended to smooth the acoustic rolloff. The 1" (25mm) soft-dome tweeter has a metal phase corrector and is claimed to offer smooth, clear reproduction of the high frequencies. The two reflex ports on the 10.1's rear panel (in the 9.1, they were on the front) are intended to reduce the effects of distortion. Electrical connection is via two offset pairs of terminals to allow bi-wiring and easy cable dressing. Wharfedale has a 1.5m square foot dedicated manufacturing operation where every product and process occurs in-house resulting in the design of loudspeakers that form an acoustic engineer’s dream. Instead of using commercial components from a catalogue as many other ‘hi-fi’ manufacturers do, Wharfedale build each component from ground-up to attain harmony in audio reproduction and balance. So who is it then? Well, if you’re a fan of Q Acoustic designs or you have heard designs like the 3020i and 3030i and liked those then you will also be expressing admiration for the designer, German-based Karl Heinz Fink. Karl was effectively the launch designer for the Q Acoustic brand but left Q Acoustic around two years ago, give or take. Karl, who also runs his own high-end design company called Fink Team for his own branded speakers, has been working with Wharfedale of late and is the brains behind the Diamond 12 series. Paired with another beer-money bargain, Onkyo's A-9010 (UK) integrated amplifier, the Wharfedale Diamond 12.1 really shone. Confident, composed and comely, this bookshelf design proved quite addictive. However, it was the level of musical refinement that the Diamond 12.1 presented that was the cherry on top. Following the highly successful and award winning Diamond 9 series was always going to be a difficult task. But Wharfedale engineers were determined to bring the latest Diamind right into line with the standard of performance expected from a stand mount/bookshelf speaker in 2009.

Consequently, the Wharfedales produce a surprisingly mature sound for the money. Listen to Ellie Goulding's Starry Eyed and her dulcet tones are beautifully reproduced in a sweet-sounding and natural manner.The cabinets feel substantial and robust. Affordable they may be but Wharfedale has clearly channelledas much of the cost as possible into their construction – a foundationon which good sound quality is always built. Treble guitar notes hit with clarity and some hints of brightness to higher frequencies are soon removed after the speakers are given time to run in. Valdus-Big and massive, really good if you want loud speakers that aren't very detailed but can play at ludicrous decibel levels but without clipping. Wharfedale launches Diamond 10 Series with the Wharfedale Diamond 10.1 - the latest evolution of Wharfedale's classic high-performance, high-value 'bookshelf' loudspeaker The Wharfedale Diamond range speakers are a truly iconic collection. With almost three decades of critical acclaim, international awards and millions of fans worldwide, you can rest assured that a Diamond speaker will deliveruncompromised quality.

Improvements to the mid/bass drive unit: To make the most of the stronger cabinet, the main drive unit chassis has been enhanced with a massive flange that is secured using six screws, thus improving its stability. A diamond pattern has also been moulded into the surround of the Kevlar cone; this is more than just cosmetic as the pattern reduces and damps standing waves in the surround, yielding a cleaner high-frequency acoustic roll-off and enhancing the ability of the mid/bass unit and tweeter to work as a cohesive whole. A redesigned tweeter produces cleaner and smoother high frequencies thanks to the extra diffuser grille while the mid-bass driver gives natural sound at all volumes. The magnetic grille ports means there are no unsightly peg holes exposed when the grille is removed. Performance This enable the relatively simple crossover to yield a phase perfect integration to the treble unit throughout the whle crossover region, creating a soundstage which is free from the speakers and allowing the drive units to work as a cohesive whole. What we have here from the Diamond 12.1s is a speaker design that infuses the soundstage with a suite of relatively rich bass frequencies that carefully snuggle up to the mids and treble without imposing or dominating or swamping the same. So the detail remains, the delicacy in the treble is there, the detail from the mids too but now you have a rich presentation because the bass adds an additional dimension to the music as a whole. For almost 30 years, Wharfedale's famous Diamond speakers have served as the classic entry point to true high-fidelity sound, their exceptional value for money earning dozens of awards around the globe. Now, with the introduction of the all-new

Wharfedale Diamond 10.1 Speakers (Pair) - Walnut

I once owned a full 5.0 set of Diamond 9's anchored by the flagship 9.6's up front. These were very well designed, built and sounding speakers for the money. They had a warm, lush sound and very musical. When I upgraded, a friend liked them so much he bought the LCR's from me. So now I get to enjoy them whenever I am over at his place listening to his rig. I kept the Diamond 9.2's by the way as currently use them as my surrounds. They blend in great with my Viennas. Finally another acquaintance has the TOTL Opus 2-2's and these sound incredible in his system being powered by a Mac amp. Equally for low frequency analysis twin reflec ports extend bass to below 45 Hz and have been re-positioned on the rear of the cabinet to reduce the effects of audible distortion.