Topic: Wharfedale Diamond 9 Series

[LETOR]

Letor

wharf and rotel?  para yatang magkaibang league na yun bro.  

You're right, but it doesn't mean that when you have a pricey amplifier you'll have to pair it with a pricey speaker. Pricey speakers doesn't always guarantee a good match with the amplifier.  Properly matched amp + speakers promises a good sounding audio system.  The price of the speaker does not tell how it sounds.  Another important factor is personal perception and taste of what a good sound is.

I do agree with av_phile on his comment in this issue.

Actually my audio only set-up is an 8.1 wharf and a plain stereo Rotel Amplifier and a CD player. To back the low frequency defficiency of the bookshelf speaker, I added powered sub to handle lower notes. Since the rotel has a high damping factor, it has no problem driving the 8.1 speakers in whatever resulting impedance of the speaker at different audio frequency. And I believe that sonically they are matched.

Lately I have read in a hi-fi magazine comparison of tandem - wharf & rotel beat the sound of marantz paired with a match speaker system of the same company.  This confirms my perception that they are sonically matched.

     
 

[slayer]

LETOR,

You hit it right!  Rotel and Wharf is a match. 

[LETOR]

LETOR,

You hit it right!  Rotel and Wharf is a match. 

hindi pala ako nag iisa....

thanks slayer

[jcob]

IMHO, For HT wharfedale has a very high price/performance ratio.

For Audio, I've yet to hear an amp that will make my 8.3 sing (really sing).

cheers...

[garee]

Rotel and Wharf is a match. 

that is for audio.
how about HT? any recommendation on what receiver will be best match with this wharf?

matching, matching  

[slayer]

Yammy and HK as i've experienced.

[kimpao]

how about HT? any recommendation on what receiver will be best match with this wharf?

matching, matching   

for HT, my take would be for either HK or Yammy.  I myself use a wharf/yammy system for ht. Try to steer away from denons as i had a very bad experence with such combi. 

[james16]

Audtion is the best....

[H a n $]

Agree that Diamonds 8 and 9 is kinda rolled off but for me MATCHING it with a good SS amp (with power) or Tube amp will give other brand run for there money.

A friend owned a 8.3 and Yamaha (surplus) amp and he complain that his 8.3 is kinda bright ..  just today got wanderlust 8.3 and paired it with a Denon Integrated amp ( Surplus ) and did not notice the shortcoming of its highs and mids.. na brightan pa ako konti.

7 to 10 Guys home auditioned 9.2 and 9.4 out of the box sounded very very awful but after 3 to 4 hours of listening and hook up with Sir Audioslave Consonance M99 we didn't notice its shortcoming and not ngo ngo yun sound.. hehehehe

Guys ito pala review in Sir audioslave of his m99.. btw we used Diamond 9.2 and 9.4 

I'm not an avid fan of tube-equipped gears until I auditioned the Consonance m99plus integrated tube amp. Tube amps are misconceived as expensive pieces of equipment and are available only to a privileged and moneyed audiophiles. Inasmuch as this amp had been mass-produced in China, they are reasonably priced to afford tube newbies like me to explore and experience the wonderfully magical sound of tubes. Thus, owning this competitively priced tube amp, sporting the Consonance brand, adds pride of ownership and brings tube quality sound within the budget of almost every music lover.

My sudden swing of preference and growing interest to tube amps was the result of my latest conclusion that CD sound can never approximate the analog sound of the resurrected vinyls. Be that as it may, a tube amp can nonetheless, give life to the clinical and harsh sound of most CD players, which can often sound smoother and more musical when played through a tube amplifier. This premise goes without saying that tube amps are the better amps if compared to solid state amps but since my musical preference is now leaning towards the quieter genre and more relaxing music, it necessarily follows that I have to follow the route that would put me closer to the music. Gone are the days when I crave for the slam-bang and kick-ass bass of a solid state amp. Now, my aural experience begins when I listen to the more soothing sound of tubes that occasionally brings shivers to the bone and spine-tingling sensation when playing some of my favorite CD tracks.

The m99plus features 4 Shuguang 6P3P output tubes (which can be replaced by 6L6s, KT-66s and 5881s), 2 Shuguang 6N8P driver tubes (which can be replaced by 6SN7s and VT-231s), 2 Electro-Harmonix 12AX7EH pre-amp tubes configured in a SRPP circuitry, 3 toroidal transformers, 3 gold plated line inputs, large high quality gold plated 5-way speaker binding posts in 8 ohms and 4 ohms tap, all housed in a massive metal chassis with wooded side panels, weighing almost 18 Kgs. The m99plus is a solid-state rectified amp and equipped with a solidly-built remote control allowing you to adjust the volume.

After almost 1 month of breaking-in, the transformers may have already settled down and are now bringing out the best sound they can get. The bass is fuller, the mids warmer and sweeter but the highs needs further extension and relatively rolled-off without much air. I went to the boondocks to test my amp with the new Wharfedales Diamond 9.2 and 9.4 which were loaned on home audition by Spectra Audio Video to hans adriene. Using a turn table as the source, the amp can easily cope up with fast beat music playing some tracks from the album of the Queen and The Cure without muddling the sound and faithfully bringing out each instrumentation with clarity and detail. Playing around with 6sn7s and 12ax7s spare tubes of some fellow members, we tried tube rolling different tubes to get a combination that would give a better sound. First, we tried changing the stock Shuguang 6N8P driver tubes to Sylvania 6SN7GTB. Remarkably, the amp began to breathe with so much atmosphere and seemingly unrestricted airiness. The soundstage simply became so expansive with dramatic improvement in the high frequency extension. Then we plugged RCA 6SN7GTBs and still obtained a similarly desirable sound than that offered by the stock Chinese tubes but the Sylvania 6SN7GTBs have smoother highs and better soundstage. We did try replacing the Electro-Harmonix 12ax7s with Telefunken 12ax7s and retained the RCA 6SN7GTBs as driver tubes - the result was, I guessed, the most optimal sound the m99+ can muster. Changing the RCA 6SN7GTBs with Sylvania 6SN7GTBs at the driver stage and retaining the Telefunkens on the linestage is a bit overkill and would somewhat give a hint of sibilance playing some Jeena Lodwick tracks. All these tubes were tried with the new Wharfedale Diamond 9.2 speakers bi-wired to the amp using XLO ER-14 and XLO PRO650F.

The amp became more imposing when hooked to kimpao's AMX tube pre-amp tweaked by no less than the emerging tweak master - JojoD. The m99+ with an active tube pre-amp is a tough act to follow as they jointly stirred up so much bloom and ambience. Even fingertip-friction sounds of the guitars can be heard with similar likeness. The sonic improvement conveyed by the pre-amp is like getting the singer closer to the audience, thus, bringing more life to the music.

With better tubes plugged to a good amp like m99+, the Wharfedale Diamond 9.2s suddenly became an instant hit among the listeners. In fact, the 9.2s are preferred over the 9.4s by many since the floorstander would sound boxy and sometimes boomy. One lesson learned is that - spending so much on speakers is not at all necessary as long as you have a good tube amp like the m99+.

Associated Equipment:

Yamaha CD Player
Technics Turn Table
AMX ConTodo MkII Pre-amp
XLO Pro650F
XLO ER14
DIY silver wire interconnects
Wharfedale Diamond 9.2s and 9.4s

Kaya MATCHING talaga 

[saltuhin]

I cant help but react to the things that are being put in this thread but if you consider the PRICE of these speakers you can honestly say that you get what you paid for. Before I was able to choose these speakers, I auditioned Kef and AE Evo, both were better sounding speakers, but both were also 4x and twice more expensive.It just figures that you cant expect the best performance from such low priced gear but it gets the job done.

[slayer]

Kiko MATCHING,

Ikaw pala nakakuha ng 8.3 ni wanderlust.  Pang ilang Wharfedale mo na yan ha! 

Kuya Bodgie

Agree that Diamonds 8 and 9 is kinda rolled off but for me MATCHING it with a good SS amp (with power) or Tube amp will give other brand run for there money.

A friend owned a 8.3 and Yamaha (surplus) amp and he complain that his 8.3 is kinda bright ..  just today got wanderlust 8.3 and paired it with a Denon Integrated amp ( Surplus ) and did not notice the shortcoming of its highs and mids.. na brightan pa ako konti.

7 to 10 Guys home auditioned 9.2 and 9.4 out of the box sounded very very awful but after 3 to 4 hours of listening and hook up with Sir Audioslave Consonance M99 we didn't notice its shortcoming and not ngo ngo yun sound.. hehehehe

Guys ito pala review in Sir audioslave of his m99.. btw we used Diamond 9.2 and 9.4 


Kaya MATCHING talaga 

[H a n $]

Kiko MATCHING,

Ikaw pala nakakuha ng 8.3 ni wanderlust.  Pang ilang Wharfedale mo na yan ha! 

Kuya Bodgie

3rd na ito pre..

[kid]

I'm also a Diamond 8 user. Yesterday, i tried bi-wiring my 8.3 using the lucent (silver wire) in the HIGH input and XLO ER-14 in the LOW input of the speaker. The sound became more appreciable.... bumuo yung sound nya...... i can say that the highs were extended..... Hindi nakakapagod pakinggan tunog ng system ko ngayon kasi MATCH na silang lahat

Fish to ALL

[aeioun]

sir hans,

you got pm..

[mYKi]

I would have to agree that Rotel and Wharfedale would be a good combination. Maybe a Rotel RA-02 and RCD-02 will bring out the best in Wharfedale.

Marantz is a bit laid back and warm sounding so it will even emphasize the lacking top-end of the Diamonds.

I wouldn't recommend it with an inexpensive Pioneer since this is what I had before. It sounded bright and lacked dynamics.

Also, a friend of mine says that Wharfedale still manufactures speakers at their U.K. factory as well as in China. The ones that we have locally are the ones from China. But the ones made in U.K. are for Europe and probably the U.S. Does anyone have info on this or better yet, a link to an article? It is possible that there is a difference in sound and build quality between the 2 factories.

[bumblebee]

Also, a friend of mine says that Wharfedale still manufactures speakers at their U.K. factory as well as in China. The ones that we have locally are the ones from China. But the ones made in U.K. are for Europe and probably the U.S. Does anyone have info on this or better yet, a link to an article? It is possible that there is a difference in sound and build quality between the 2 factories.

sir, the diamonds being sold by amazon and other online shops are internally wired w/ monster cable. me sticker (?) sa likod that says so.

yung dito yata wala? tama po ba ako?

[kid]

Im also intrigue in those UK manufactured Wharfedale speakers as they've been awarded as Speaker of Year 2004. Has anyone you know owns this kind of speaker and maybe we can compare with China made ones?

[av_phile1]

You can always change the internal wires.  That's what many discover after using expensive van den hull, XLO and other branded cables between their amps and speakers.  The last leg between the voice coil and the terminals inside the speaker cabinet is just your hardware variety 14gauge wire, totally nullifying whatever benefits they get from those branded cables. 

[av_phile1]

Im also intrigue in those UK manufactured Wharfedale speakers as they've been awarded as Speaker of Year 2004. Has anyone you know owns this kind of speaker and maybe we can compare with China made ones?

Those offshore manufacturing and assembly plants of many British and American brands are often supervized by expats and with quality control standards that are no less strict as from those made in the homelands.  Even most of the parts come from their homelands.  They only take advantage of the low labor and overhead costs in China.  So you have much lower SRPs for the markets around China.  The quality is said to be the same. 

I too would be interested if someone can get his hands on two identical models, one made in UK and the other in China, for a comparative review. 

[wanderlust]

Hay................. ang isda nga naman ika nga nila nahuhuli sa sariling bibig.  Tama pala yung bubwit ko.   Ahehehehehe.....

bakit sir ala naman akong tinatago e. hehehe.

i plead: not guilty your honor.

[aHobbit]

Bros,

1.) Audition condition
3.) MATCHING (with empahsis)

Its all about MATCHING.

This is the rule of thumb - system (performance) matching.    Not price matching, since price, in these internet age, does not necessarily translates into performance. Low price can be obtained by efficient and low cost production, driven by high demand (economies of scale). Wharfedale is not a typical china business. And I think wharfedale is quite successful in this regard in their manufacturing strategy. Not that they shortchanged us in the Asian region.

The whole sound system is not speakers alone, nor is it amplifier alone, etc.   The whole system is the synergy (matching) of the whole sound chain.

Reputable review center (such as what hi-fi) can be credible at a certain extent and not totally useless. Perhaps they always hit the right synergy or has the right amplifier.  

Thus, speakers (like wharf can not be faulted alone, the whole of the system chain can be  . But since, speakers has been tagged by some system builders as the first choice in the chain (you start your audio by choosing your speakers first), it follows that you have to find the right amp for the chosen speaker. If this route is to be taken, then it follows it is the amp which can be faulted (not match)   . Probably your age can be faulted also - as in avphile1 case!  . We the elderlies   should pick the brighter speakers  !

Some amps made ngongo out of wharf. Many amps made a trash of a certain B&W model (due to its very low impedance at ecrtain bass frequency) also. I learned this also with wharf. My 8.3 is not sounding as before when it was hooked to 630 - have not changed internal wiring yet (dont see a need for that)   - only driver amp.

My next attempt is aimed at x-over. From the initial observation of the x-over, it seems a 2.75ohm resistor is in series before the tweeter    - limiting the power going into the tweeter - an estimated 25% blocked power to the tweeter. I will try to short and find out how it will affect the speaker performance.   :'(

Still 8.3 can beat even the most expensive speakers beyond its price range.    This has been proven before. You only need the right amp for it.

[wanderlust]

Bili na ng Diamond 9.4 tapos 4 years break-in period ulit! Ahehehehe...

kaya nga ayaw ko na sir e, nakakapagod yong puro break in, by the time broken in na sawa ka na sa speaker. hehehehe. 

antay-antay na alng ako sa buy n sell for a broken-in 9.4   

[ADM202E]

Any reviews  or owners of 9.3? I saw this at Spectra. Malaki pala and maganda ang dating, have'nt  audition though. Any review please.

Im planning to dispose my 8.1. Attention 8.1 buyers.........hehehe 6months old palang po ito.......

[kimpao]

This is the rule of thumb - system (performance) matching.    Not price matching, since price, in these internet age, does not necessarily translates into performance. Low price can be obtained by efficient and low cost production, driven by high demand (economies of scale). Wharfedale is not a typical china business. And I think wharfedale is quite successful in this regard in their manufacturing strategy. Not that they shortchanged us in the Asian region.

The whole sound system is not speakers alone, nor is it amplifier alone, etc.  The whole system is the synergy (matching) of the whole sound chain.

Reputable review center (such as what hi-fi) can be credible at a certain extent and not totally useless. Perhaps they always hit the right synergy or has the right amplifier. 

Thus, speakers (like wharf can not be faulted alone, the whole of the system chain can be  . But since, speakers has been tagged by some system builders as the first choice in the chain (you start your audio by choosing your speakers first), it follows that you have to find the right amp for the chosen speaker. If this route is to be taken, then it follows it is the amp which can be faulted (not match)  . Probably your age can be faulted also - as in avphile1 case!  . We the elderlies  should pick the brighter speakers  !

Some amps made ngongo out of wharf. Many amps made a trash of a certain B&W model (due to its very low impedance at ecrtain bass frequency) also. I learned this also with wharf. My 8.3 is not sounding as before when it was hooked to 630 - have not changed internal wiring yet (dont see a need for that)  - only driver amp.

My next attempt is aimed at x-over. From the initial observation of the x-over, it seems a 2.75ohm resistor is in series before the tweeter    - limiting the power going into the tweeter - an estimated 25% blocked power to the tweeter. I will try to short and find out how it will affect the speaker performance.   :'(

Still 8.3 can beat even the most expensive speakers beyond its price range.    This has been proven before. You only need the right amp for it.

I very well agree with you on this, sir. 

[wanderlust]

i have observed here that the amps most commonly used together with the wharfes are avr, with lo if not limited power ratings. this has been my case to when i was still using a yammy (100 wpc daw) for my previuos whafes.... for HT i have no qualms but on audio there are a lot of things to be pouty about.

things changed when i got myself a much more powerful amp (170 wpc), a sansui, and had once again a chance to use a wharfe (8.3 to be exact) power plus sufficient break-in period equates to a much more ejoyable listening experience.... minus all the things i thought wharfe is incapable of before.

my take, part of the matching process is the power of the amp as well. 

[H a n $]

Guys,

I notice with power hungry speaker like Wharfedale a high current or high powered amp will do the trick just like Dynaudio or even Sonus Faber you need good amp to drive them.

Paano kaya kung Sonus speaker mo tapos di high powered amp?? hehehehe..

Matching talaga!!

[H a n $]

sir hans,

you got pm..

Replied to your pm sir.

[garee]

is this a good match for yammy?
fronts - 9.2
surrounds - 8.1
center - 8 or 9 center?

[av_phile1]

My next attempt is aimed at x-over. From the initial observation of the x-over, it seems a 2.75ohm resistor is in series before the tweeter    - limiting the power going into the tweeter - an estimated 25% blocked power to the tweeter. I will try to short and find out how it will affect the speaker performance.   :'(

That resistor in series with the tweeter must have been put there, as in many other crossover networks I've seen, to act as a voltage divider to make a flat frequency response overall as per spectographic analysis, especially if the tweeter has greater sensitivity than the woofer.   Also might be there to tame a peaking at the crossover point, assuming the tweet has a non-linear response in that area.   Taking it out will certainly increase the tweeter's response, making it brighter.  But if the resistor was there to limit the voltage, taking it out might fry the tweeter at loud volumes, especially if the tweeters have small magnets, indicating lower power handling.    But, that shouldn't deter any effort at tweaking.  Just a cautionary thought.

[wanderlust]

generally sir, and only for HT, a yammy is a good much with any wharfe models, specially the 8 series (proven and tested na)