Wharfedale Diamond 12.1 Review: But Is It Really That Good?
The Diamond series by British brand Wharfedale was first launched in 1981. At the time, these speakers represented a significant breakthrough. They incorporated the latest technology and materials into a very compact design, all at a reasonable price. These early Diamond models were instrumental in making high-quality Hi-Fi sound more affordable and practical, as they didn’t demand a large footprint in a room.
Check Out: Wharfedale Elysian 4 Review
Since then, Wharfedale has continuously improved the Diamond line. For generations, countless music lovers and audiophiles have begun their Hi-Fi journey with a pair of Diamond speakers. Today, the Diamond 12 series is in stores, marking 12 generations of this iconic speaker line over 42 years. I recently had the opportunity to test the Wharfedale Diamond 12.1 bookshelf speakers.
Drivers, Crossover, and Cabinet Design
The Wharfedale Diamond line traditionally offers a full range of models, including floor-standing and bookshelf speakers of various sizes, as well as center channel speakers for home theater. The Diamond 12.1 is a medium-sized bookshelf model. Its 5-inch mid/bass driver makes it versatile enough for a home theater, a 2.1 system with a subwoofer, or as a standalone stereo pair in a small room.
Interestingly, it was this very format, a compact yet self-sufficient two-way bookshelf speaker, that captivated audiences with the original Wharfedale Diamond in the early eighties. And it turns out this isn’t the only nod to the series’ origins.
In this twelfth generation, the designers have moved away from Kevlar, which served as the mid/bass cone material and was a hallmark of the Diamond series for over two decades. They have returned to polypropylene, the very material where the series’ history began. To be precise, the new material is a composite called Klarity™, consisting of polypropylene fortified with mica. This specific filler significantly improves the cone’s stiffness-to-weight ratio.
The cone is further reinforced with stiffening ribs, and the outer rubber surround is designed to allow for maximum excursion without loading the cone’s edges, even during intense passages. By making the cone light and resistant to deformation, the developers improved the driver’s linearity and transient response, while also reducing unwanted coloration.
The mid/bass driver’s “motor” system also received significant attention. An aluminum Faraday ring was integrated into the magnetic system to equalize inductance, and the voice coil is wound on a fiberglass bobbin impregnated with epoxy resin. This type of frame is stronger than the Kapton or paper typically used in budget-series speakers. While fiberglass is usually reserved for more expensive designs, Wharfedale engineers decided its inclusion would make a significant positive contribution to the sound.
The tweeter features a standard 25 mm soft dome, crafted from a polyester fabric with a special coating to smooth out and extend the frequency response. To minimize the effects of air compression behind the dome, a ventilated magnetic system is used. The tweeter’s faceplate forms a shallow waveguide, which helps prevent reflections from the front baffle without negatively impacting the sound’s overall dispersion. The drivers are blended using a high-order Linkwitz-Riley crossover with a steep slope of 24 dB/octave, which should prevent congestion or harshness around the 2.6 kHz crossover point. The crossover design exclusively uses air-core inductors, a feature often found in high-end models, to achieve a faster, cleaner low-frequency response.
The cabinet design is surprisingly thorough for this price point; these small-looking speakers are quite heavy. The reason is their dual-layer wall construction. The adhesive used to bond the layers was even selected for its resonance-damping properties. But the engineers didn’t stop there. To eliminate cabinet resonances, they installed internal bracing, with placement optimized using computer simulation. By making the cabinet acoustically inert, Wharfedale’s engineers have minimized the distortion and cabinet “talk” that often plague budget speakers.
Aesthetic and Build Quality: Modern Face, Classic Touches
Before discussing how these technological innovations affect the sound, let me share my impressions of the physical product. The overall design follows modern trends, with a clean facade paired with a wood-effect finish on the main cabinet. The quality of craftsmanship and the fit of the parts are flawless. The nature of the “wood” finish is clear; the attractive vinyl wrap doesn’t try to imitate real wood in texture or pattern, presenting an honest and clean look.
Large flanges around the drivers give the speakers a solid, substantial appearance. This is enhanced by the thick front baffle, which is mounted with a slight offset from the main cabinet, and a clean front face, free of visible screws or grille mounting holes. In short, the Diamond 12.1 looks more expensive than it is.
While the front has a modern design, the back panel is installed in a more old-fashioned way and is finished in the same color as the front. This may have been done to emphasize the thickness of the cabinet walls, but from a design perspective, the result is somewhat eclectic: high-tech in the front, old-school in the back.
However, the speaker terminal block deserves special attention. This is a signature Wharfedale design I first encountered on the Denton 80th Anniversary model. Beyond its striking appearance and rugged metal housing, this terminal block is exceptionally practical for connecting bare wire or spade-terminated cables. The layout makes tightening the terminals far more convenient than standard posts positioned just millimeters apart.
Hi-tech and old school
Before moving on to how all the above-mentioned technological innovations affected the sound, I will share the results of an external examination, which must be accompanied by a photo. The design of the building as a whole corresponds to modern trends – a plain facade with a “wood-like” finish of the rest of the body.
The quality of workmanship and fitting of parts does not cause any complaints, just as the origin of the “wooden” finish is beyond doubt – everything is absolutely honest here. A pretty vinyl film does not pretend to be authentic in terms of pattern and texture.
Large speaker flanges give the appearance of solidity. The thick front panel, installed with a “gap” relative to the main part of the body, and the cleanest front part without screws and holes for mounting the grill, contribute to the same. In a word, Wharfedale Diamond 12.1 looks more expensive than it costs.
With a modern design of the facade, the developers decided to install the back wall of the column in the old-fashioned way and even used the same color as the front panel for its decoration. Probably, in this way, they wanted to show the thickness of the walls, but from the point of view of design, it turned out to be eclectic: high-tech in the front, and old school in the back.
However, much more attention should be paid to the terminal block. This is a signature Warfedale design that I first saw on the Denton 80th Anniversary retro model (not to be confused with the Denton 85th now on sale).
In addition to its eye-catching appearance and rugged metal housing, this terminal block is particularly good at connecting bare, bare, or spade cables. With this arrangement of the terminals, it is much more convenient to twist them than the standard ones, which are a few millimeters apart.
Preparatory procedures
Before I started listening, I spent some time looking for the best position. Wharfedale Diamond 12.1 scatters the sound quite evenly, and with the task of background sound or when working as rear channels, they will prove worthy. However, by pointing the tweeters at the listener and using high stands or sloping pedestals so that the mid/bass driver is a little closer to the listener, more precise spatialization and a more solid sound in the lower range can be achieved.
With this approach, the Diamond 12.1 immediately ceases to seem like unobtrusive background acoustics and manifests itself as serious mini-monitors. Due to the realistic transmission of the upper harmonics, Diamond 12.1 reproduces the middle bass quite effectively, but the sound pressure and density at the bottom is far from always enough, so to complete the experience, you either need to connect a subwoofer or reduce the distance to the speakers, as I did during the testing process.
Sound Impressions:
Over a very long “Kevlar” period, I have already become accustomed to the fact that the Wharfedale Diamond is an acoustic that plays rock perfectly, so the listening began with the classic examples of this genre. And the “twelfths” immediately pleasantly pleased with the rhythm and energy of sound. The scene was drawn with surprising voluminous and accuracy. The only thing missing was the scale, due to the lack of lower bass.
We were pleasantly surprised that, without some extraordinary resolution that goes far beyond the price range, Wharfedale Diamond 12.1 sounds very transparent and retains intelligibility even at difficult moments. So, for example, the chorus of children’s voices in “Another Brick In The Wall pt.2” does not stray into an unintelligible mess. Each voice is drawn and just as located in space.
Further, as I pored over a selection of classic rock, I became more and more convinced that the Diamond 12.1 handled it very well. As a result, I moved to other genres with some apprehension. But the sound of modern improvisational music of the free jazz and free rock styles began to break the pattern that had developed over the decades.
Complex polyphony was practiced as confidently as simple melodies, and multi-layered rhythmic patterns were reproduced flawlessly. In addition, the rate of fire and the accuracy of the response of the speakers to sharp bursts of the signal appeared in all their glory. As a result, the metal also sounded decent, which is an excellent result considering the price category.
These shelf speakers showed themselves to be very interesting on acoustic music, vocals, and jazz. The transparent, open, and bright sound of the Diamond 12.1 has not a drop of harshness or excessive brightness. The recordings, which contain very vicious and annoying sibilants, sounded quite comfortable. And, by the way, compression artifacts when trying to listen to Internet radio also did not come to the fore and did not irritate. From these observations, only one conclusion can be drawn: someone worked very competently with the frequency response.
On any musical material, Wharfedale Diamond 12.1 showed a clean, transparent, and well-balanced sound, devoid of annoying accents. The stage and volume were felt to the extent that they were written in the recording, without artificially inflating the sound image. And in general, the columns were very accurate and pedantic.
The fact that the Wharfedale Diamond 12.1 belongs to the entry-level models reveals only the absence of subtle nuances and richness of timbres when listening to audiophile recordings, and on simpler music, it is not always possible to determine which price category this model belongs to.
Conclusion:
The creators of the 12th generation Diamond line were extremely competent in the implementation of literally every structural element, combining traditional budget solutions with materials and components typical of higher-segment acoustics.
Thanks to this approach, Wharfedale Diamond 12.1 embodies an excellent combination of price, sound quality, and compactness. Like back in the eighties.
Pros
Dynamic, accurate, and well-balanced sound
Spacious and well-defined soundstage
Smooth, non-fatiguing presentation
Excellent build quality for the price
Cons
absent (including cost)
