Wharfedale DIAMOND 12.0
Just Okay
Sound Quality
75/100
Build Quality
77/100
Value for Money
85/100
Compact yet thoughtfully engineered, the DIAMOND 12.0 pairs a 4-inch mid/bass driver with a wide-dispersion textile tweeter and rear reflex loading for smaller listening spaces. StereoNET United Kingdom highlights its sophisticated crossover and resonance-controlled cabinet, making this an intriguing stand-mount built to keep driver output clean and unfussy.
Pros
Varying-thickness cabinet panels and Intelligent Spot Bracing are designed to reduce cabinet resonance.
25mm woven-polyester tweeter is engineered for wide dispersion and uncompressed behaviour.
Acoustic LKR crossover uses air-core inductors more commonly associated with higher-end speakers.
Cons
Available coverage is a launch announcement, with no independent listening assessment of tonal balance, bass weight, imaging or dynamics.
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What Reviewers Are Saying
SOUND QUALITY PERFORMANCE 75/100
The supplied coverage is a launch announcement rather than a listening review, so it provides very little direct evidence of the DIAMOND 12.0's real-world voicing. It outlines the driver, port and crossover design, but does not report how the speaker performs with music across the frequency range.
Bass
76/100
The DIAMOND 12.0 uses a rear-ported 4-inch mid/bass driver, with the port said to be matched to its cabinet. No listening impressions describe bass depth, control, texture or room interaction, so its low-frequency performance remains largely unreported.
Mid
75/100
The launch coverage describes the acoustic crossover topology and air-core inductors. It does not offer listening evidence on vocal clarity, tonal body, timbre or integration through the midrange.
Treble
75/100
Wharfedale's 25mm textile dome is described as being designed for wide dispersion and uncompressed behaviour. The supplied article does not assess treble detail, smoothness, air or potential brightness in use.
Soundstage Imaging
75/100
Wide dispersion is part of the stated tweeter design brief, which may be relevant to room coverage. However, no reviewer reports on image focus, soundstage scale, depth, speaker disappearance or placement sensitivity.
Dynamics
75/100
The article mentions an aim of uncompressed behaviour from the tweeter assembly. There are no reported listening observations about punch, microdynamic expression, loudness capability or amplifier demands.
Assessments of Build Quality, Usability, and Overall Propositions.
Build Quality
77/100
The cabinet is described as using varying-thickness wood-fibreboard panels and internal spot bracing intended to reduce resonance. Black, white, walnut and light-oak finishes are offered, though the supplied coverage does not assess fit and finish, terminals or long-term durability.
Value for Money
85/100
The listed DIAMOND 12.0 price range is 199.95-399.0, while the launch article cites the larger DIAMOND 12.1 at £249 per pair. No supplied review compares the DIAMOND 12.0 with similarly priced rivals or makes a direct judgment on whether it represents especially strong value.
Reviews & Sources
Professional reviews and sources for this product's Watt'n Potatoes analysis.
Online Reviews & Mentions
YouTube Reviews
Forum Mentions
No forum mentions found yet
Specifications
- Model
- Diamond 12.0
- General description
- 2-way bookshelf speaker
- Enclosure type
- bass reflex
- Transducer complement
- 2-way
- Bass driver
- 4"(100mm) advanced PP Cone
- Treble driver
- 1"(25mm) Textile Dome
- AV shield
- No
- Sensitivity(2.83V @ 1m)
- 87dB
- Recommended amplifier power
- 20-60W
- Peak SPL
- 95dB
- Nominal impedance
- 8̾ Compatible
- Minimum impedance
- 4.0̾
- Frequency response(+/-3dB)
- 70Hz ~ 20kHz
- Bass extension(-6dB)
- 65Hz
- Crossover frequency
- 2.7kHz
- Cabinet Volume (in litres)
- 4.4L
- Dimensions ( H x W x D )
- 265 x 160 x (200+28) mm
- Net weight
- 5.1kg/pcs
Manufacturer's Description — Wharfedale
The ultra-compact speaker in the DIAMOND 12 series, the DIAMOND 12.0 features all of the same technology as its larger siblings but is designed for small-footprint hi-fi systems, or even as a high-performance, compact satellite speaker in home theatre systems.
The DIAMOND 12.0 features a high-performance 100mm (4”) KlarityTMdriver with a bass performance that exceeds its diminutive footprint, while the superb 25mm (1”) woven polyester dome tweeter brings open and smoothly extended high frequencies.
Klarity affords focus
NEW Klarity™ cone material, formulated from a blend of Polypropylene and mica adds stiffness to reduce flexing, enabling a lightweight cone with high rigidity, low colouration and lightning-fast response.
Low colour and expression
The Klarity™ cone is fitted with a low-damping surround, thereby achieving both low colouration and expressive dynamics. By simulating many different cone shapes and adding ribs to provide further stiffening, a flat response curve was achieved without resorting to a high-damping surround, thereby striking the ideal balance.
A magnet of forces
A precision-made magnet system with an aluminium compensation ring to minimise the effect of variations in inductance as the voice coil travels. This contributes to an absence of distortion and intermodulation generated by the ‘motor system’.
A voice coil beyond this class
The voice coil is wound on a high-power epoxy/glass fibre bobbin highly unusual in speakers at this price level. This has the advantage of not adding eddy currents and delivering greater power handling than an aluminium bobbin, whilst also being much stiffer than the Kapton type associated with this price-class.
DIAMOND highs
The 25mm dome is made from a woven polyester film with a high-loss coating to deliver open and smoothly extended high frequencies. The magnet system and the front plate have been optimised for wide dispersion and uncompressed behaviour. The front plate is flat and exposes the dome as much as possible; only a very short duct on the front plate balances the acoustic load and improves the SPL (sound pressure level) measurement.
The crossover network uses an acoustic LKR 24dB topology. This includes air-core inductors of the type more commonly found in high-end speakers, selected because they produce the lowest distortion of all inductor types. As the resistance of the coil is higher than a standard laminated steel or ferrite core inductor, the magnetic structure of the mid/bass driver has been modified to compensate, resulting in fast, clean bass with no distortion from the inductor.
The DIAMOND 12.1 ’s rear-ported enclosure is precisely sized so that the internal volume works in harmony with the drive unit system to deliver the desired sonic result. A multi-layered sandwich design subdues the identifiable characteristics of the cabinet’s ‘sound’. Even the resonant properties of the glue between the layers was measured to determine the optimum combination.
Brace yourself
Inside the cabinet, Intelligent Spot Bracing connects opposite walls with a specific form of the wood brace to achieve an optimal reduction of cabinet resonance. These braces are precisely modelled by computer simulation to improve upon the commonplace ‘figure of eight’ brace, which may simply transfer resonance from one wall to another.
Verified Dealers
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Authorized dealers for Wharfedale DIAMOND 12.0
- In Living Stereo — in-store — New York City, New York, United States (website)
- 110Hz — online and in-store — Kielce, Województwo świętokrzyskie, Poland (website)
- A Tube High Fidelity — online and in-store — Almere, Flevoland, Netherlands (website)
- A/V Solutions — in-store — Pleasanton, California, United States (website)
- Acclaim Sound and Light — online and in-store — North Bay, Ontario, Canada (website)
- All Elite Audio — online and in-store — Perry Hall, Maryland, United States (website)
- Alma Music & Audio — online and in-store — San Diego, California, United States (website)
- Alpha Audio Pte — online and in-store — Singapore, Singapore (website)
- Alpha High End — online and in-store — Brasschaat, Vlaams Gewest, Belgium (website)
- Alta Fedelta — online and in-store — Lombardia, Italy (website)
and 139 more verified dealers