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Submitted by
Albert Tan
a Audio EnthusiastDate Reviewed: April 24, 2009
Bottom Line: I have diamond 8.1 bookshelf speaker for my 2nd system in my bed room with Marantz PM4001 and Marantz CD5001. I have been using it for more than 1 year and I found this small speaker has little warmth sounds, decent details.
Any integrated amplifier with rms power from 30wpc to 75wpc can easily drive this speaker. I did used my old Marantz PM7000 (95wpc) to drive this speaker, but it don't sounds good (Too heavy), I think the power 95wpc (Actual power is more than 95wpc) was over loaded.
For a price of SGD200.00/pair, it is cheap and value for money, not a high end stuff but I was fully statisfied with their basic performance.
Used product for: More than 1 year
Duration Product Used: Audio Enthusiast
Product model year: 2002
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Submitted by
paul carlsen
a AudioPhileDate Reviewed: August 20, 2008
Bottom Line: i have been using the 8.1's for critical listening during mixing and mastering, and i could not be happier..they are many orders of magnitude better than anything in their price-range.. i have repped many lines of pro monitors (no names here).. this product must scare the hell out of them..
Used product for: More than 1 year
Duration Product Used: AudioPhile
Product model year: 2005
Price Paid:
$230.00
Purchased At: banannas at large
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Submitted by
AHF1156
a AudioPhileDate Reviewed: May 17, 2005
Bottom Line: If you want a great sounding speaker on a budget, buy these - I can't imagine a better sounding speaker for the money.
I have tried pretty much every speaker under $500us over the past few years. I am somewhat obsessed about getting the best sound for the money. There are several value champs in the under $200 category like the Paradigm Atom and Titan, some of the Polk Models, NHT, PSB, etc but nothing can knock the 8.1 off its pedestal for sound quality.
I will get to the sound but lets talk about the only weakness first. I specifically use the term best sound for the money and not best speaker because of one, negative, factor - The grills are terrible quality. What were the designers thinking? They are flimsy and attach poorly. I actually blew the grills off the speakers at medium volume. Good testimony to the speakers, bad for the grills.
The grills however look ok and will stay on most of the time if not touched. In fact if you like the look of the yellow woofer, take them off all together as the rest of the construction is not a problem
Now for the sound. Trust me the grill issue is worth overcoming/ignoring. These speakers sound amazing for their size and price. You get wide open soundstage, accuracy, and some good clean bass not normally seen in this price bracket. I also have the Wharfedale Diamond 9.1's and the bass response extension is the only advantage of the 9.1's (Plus the grills are better!)
Comparing specifically to the Paradigm Atom, these speakers beat them on all fronts, especially the soundstage and clarity. Versus the Polks, no comparison to their lower line except to the RTi4 but the 8.1's have significant better presence and warmth.
So trust me, if sound quality is your priority and you want $500 sound for $100, disregard the grill quality and go for these.
Used product for: 1 to 3 months
Duration Product Used: AudioPhile
Product model year: 2004
Price Paid:
$100.00
Purchased At: Online Retailer
Overall Rating: Value Rating:
Submitted by
shahrukhd
a Audio EnthusiastDate Reviewed: March 7, 2005
Bottom Line: These babies are awesome. And I'm talking about the sound from a brand new pair that hadn't yet been broken in. Very easy to set up and sound pretty good even with a single run of cable.
OK, there isn't as much bass extension as I would have liked but for the price I paid, they're absolutely fantastic. The highs are delicate, the imaging deep and the soundstage really wide. I'm no "AudioPhile" yet, but I swear I thought Julio Iglesias was performing right in front of me one night. Such is the magic of the Wharfies.
I've powered the Diamonds with a Marantz receiver. SR4400. It sounds really sweet with the Diamonds. Maybe I'll add a subwoofer for those extra thumps pretty soon, but for now, they're doin great by themselves.
A great buy for anyone on a tight budget and small listening area.
Used product for: 3 Months to 1 year
Duration Product Used: Audio Enthusiast
Overall Rating: Value Rating:
Submitted by
tigmund2000
a AudioPhileDate Reviewed: February 24, 2005
Bottom Line: I first became aware of these speakers through reading a glowing review by UK hi fi writer Ken Kessler. On the basis of what I had read I decided to buy them as a cheap solution to finding small speakers for my relatively small listeng room (12ft x 12ft). I have now owned these speakers for more than two years and my respect for what they can do continues to grow.
Over the years I have owned and listened to a wide range of speakers over the years, including models by Spendor and Quad, so I think I have an appreciation of what a good speaker sounds like.
I have used the wharfedales with a variety of amps and have learned that in order to get the very best from the wharfedales they really do require to be powered by decent amplification. At first I used an Arcam alpha 7se cd player and a marantz pm66 se with qed silver aniversary cable and qed interconnect. The sound was horrible: thin harsh and unmusical. I have also tried them with a nad 3020 which was better, but still not good. The addition of a little subwoofer from richer sounds helped to fill out the bottom end and smooth the sound a little. Next amp to be tried was a 1960's Rogers Hg 88 valve amp: a small improvement over the Nad. Next was a Rogers Cadet III valve amp: now things were begining to sound good. The final part in the evolution of my system has been a quad 44/405 combo. I have discarded the sub and also discarded the bridging plates on the speaker terminals of wharfedales and replaced them with short lengths of qed 79 strand cable. Now I have finally reached a point at which I feel stunned by what these speakers can do, they are truly amazing, wonderfully musical performers, with scale, unbelievable bass, and superb imaging. I do not think I can significantly improve on their performance without spending serious money.
Used product for: More than 1 year
Duration Product Used: AudioPhile
Product model year: 2003
Price Paid:
$70.00
Purchased At: Comet
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