Sold Bose to get Wharfedale Diamond series: Did I make the right choice? (1 Viewer)

[sameer]

Hi, newbie here.

Sold my Bose Accoustimass (AM 10) today, and am getting the Wharfedale Diamond series tomorrow:

Front: Wharfedale Diamond 8.3
Center: Wharfedale Diamond Center
Rear: Wharfedale Diamond 8.2
I'm getting them all for around US$ 380

I already own a Wharfedale Powercube 12a Subwoofer. Paid US$ 180 for it.

Did I make the right choice? Need some advice from all you Audiophiles. Thanks in advance

 

[Brett DiMichele]

Well for starters selling the AM was a step in the right
direction. I can't vouch for the wharfdale's but I haven't
heard any complaints about them on these or other forums.

I would audition as many speakers as I could before I made
a purchase. Check out the JBL Studio Series and also the
JBL NSP1 Packages while you are out demoing. Listen to as
many as you can and let your ears make the choice.

 

[Hank Frankenberg]

When someone sells Bose to replace them with something else, its usually a good thing

 

[Philip Hamm]

You'll be happier with the Wharfs.

 

[Chad A]

I have the Wharfs myself and couldn't be happier.
They're the best bang for your "small bucks" out there.

If you don't mind me asking, where are you getting them for that price cause it's a good one and I need some 8.1's for my 6th and 7th channels.

 

[sheldon M.]

I have 8.3's for mains, The Diamond Center and 8.1's for rears in my bedroom. Couldnt be happier-these are excellent speakers at any price but for what you paid they cannot be beat. I have much more expensive JMLabs downstairs and sometimes I get more satisfaction out of the Wharfedales-they have wonderfully smooth silkdome tweeters which are totally non fatigueing. You made an excellent choice

 

[sameer]

Thank you all for you inputs. Glad I made a 'sound' decision.

I am from Nepal, and the prices here are pretty cheap compared to other places. But that's just for the Wharfedales - a new dealer opened up here and they're giving these as introductory prices.

I always thought my Bose was the best, since I didn't have any good speakers to compare them to. My brother bought the whole set (Wharfedale Diamonds), and after hearing them, I couldn't stand the Bose speakers - they sounded so....."cheap". But I still needed some expert opinions from you. Mine's coming in today !!! Can't wait to hook them up. Sold my Bose to a friend of mine, who thinks they're the best. Didn't argue with him, just took the money.


Thank you all once again, and greetings from Nepal !

- Sameer

ps: what's the break-in time for these Wharfs? someone mentioned 60-70 hours? I'll ask my wife to crank them up while I'm away at the office

 

[Cagri]

Sold my Bose to a friend of mine, who thinks they're the best.

Now that's something a friend mustn't do to a friend...

 

[AhsanR]

Yeah guys, I have a question about the Wharfs too.

I just need speakers for HT, I don't really need 2 channel, just surround sound, would the wharfs be fine? or should I go the upgrade route?

Thanks.

 

[Philip Hamm]

I think you'll be happy with the Wharfs for quite some time. Once you have some nice speakers there's no reason to upgrade unless you have a compelling desire for better sound. I've had my main L/R pair for 5 years, the center for about 3, and the rears for about 2. I don't intend to upgrade them any time in the future. In my living room I have a little stereo setup for "dinner music", where I have a pair of Wharfedele Modus 1.6 speakers that I intend to keep for 30 years.

 

[Randall Duncan]

When someone sells Bose to replace them with something else, its usually a good thing

Yea! Even if the replacement is KLH!

 

[DerrikW]

I myself can't say anything about the wharfedale diamonds because I've never heard them, but consider this, even if the wharfedales are junk, don't get me wrong I'm not saying that they are because I've never heard them, but even if they were, you could guarantee yourself that they will sound a hell of a lot better than them bose toilets ever did.

 

[Randall Duncan]

The Wharfedale Diamond series gets much praise from audiophiles
and HT nuts. They're good in my book. Now all I gotta' do is
get some of them! ...I'll post my opinions when I do.

 

[AhsanR]

AYE AYE!!

IF anyone has the Diamond Series, speak up!!!

I am more of a HT guy than 2 channel, so if these speakers, can do HT, its allllllllllll good.

 

[Yee-Ming]

Short answer:

Sell Bose =

Everything else is just gravy

 

[Geoff L]

Sameer

You made a very good choice and at that price, ~{call it stealing}~!

The Diamonds have been around for quite a few years and continue to be refined. They have won many awards and much praise from the Audio press.

They'l do HT just as well as music for those asking. As noted the high end is very smooth and delight to listen to.
As a few have made mention already, they are indeed very pleased with their Diamond speakers,,,, and you made good choice "as long as you like them". It's really irrelivent what others think, truely....

Seems you've made it clear that now you can't stand to listen to your previous state of the art, best known speakers in the world, we all know as Bose.
I recomened you not let your friend who purchased the Bose's from you, back in to listen to your Diamonds! I see in my crystal ball, someone could be very uphappy, and it's not you...

The Diamonds have a typical Britt sound and very affordable price, a Diamond in the rough you might say...
Wharf also makes the larger 8.4 tower and hard to find and little known bigger 8.5 also.
High quaility silk tweets, neodymium magnets, Kevlar drivers, choice in cabinet woods, hard to belive at their selling point.

For those interested in the Diamonds and can't get a chance to listen, a quick Google search for reviews will bring forth much to read (user and many pro reviews) that should give you a very good idea of what to expect from the Diamonds..

For the money spent, I highly doubt you could have done better,, "period".....!

Regards & Enjoy
Geoff

Edit: As far as break in time, the manual says 50 hours I belive. They do smooth up a bit according to many Britt audio mags, but do sound very good right out of the box.
Just throw a CD in, or FM tuner on and let them play at a medium volume while your out. Let them felx their surrouds and warm the coils for a while and all will be good.

 

[Chris Shelly]

I just received my Wharfedale Diamond package yesterday. I purchased 8.4's, Center and the DFS Surround speakers. I have only listened to them briefly but what I have heard so far has impressed me. The high's are incredibly clean and sharp but not overly crisp or fatiguing. To be honest this is the best high end I have ever heard from a speaker. Mine are not even close to being broken in yet either.

Only thing you need to be careful with is your amp power. These speakers are grossly inefficient. I have a Panasonic HE200 receiver and it puts out 130 Watts per channel. I have no problem reaching reference levels with this receiver but I sure had to crank it. With my JBL NSP1 speakers reference level was 21. With the Wharfedale Diamonds it is 18.

I am not sure how true this is but I have heard when broken in they are more efficient. They are mid 80's when brand new but jump to 89 or so when broken in. The drivers are pretty stiff when brand new. I will find out in 50 or so hours.

I would say for the price they can't be beat. They are also bi-wireable and that is really cool and not just the towers but everything.

Assembly quality is high average. I don't see any thing really wrong with it but some of the more expensive speakers do look better. Some things really impressed me like the bottom plates on the 8.4's. The screws actually attach to metal holes embedded in the cabinets. Some speakers and I bet more expensive ones you screw right into the particle board. You unscrew it more then a few times and its stripped. Others like the speaker grills will break on you if you remove them more then a few times.

Wharfedale has a new line coming out called the Pacific Evolution. I am not sure if these are replacing the Diamonds or not. They look to be much the same speakers but in a better looking cabinet. However they are also much more expensive. Depending on your budget these might be worth a look.

Chris

 

[Geoff L]

Chris

The EVO's are far from the same speaker. Also they have been out for many months already. The EVO's are in a whole different class of speakers.

They are NOT replacing the Diamond line....

Much higher build quailty, Curve Cabinets, a ton of bracing, much higher grade components used in the crossovers, top of the line WBT Bi-amp Bi-wire posts, etc.

And the price dose reflect the quailty of these speaks for sure, as you already no.

Glad you like your new Diamonds, a speaker line that certainly dose not get much air time here at HTF. The tweeter will get even better with more play time. Has a very nice and smooth midrange also!

They are a little power hungry as you noticed, but the efficency will not go up. 89db 1m/1w is what they are and will be....They do like clean power and your Panny-200 is another sleeper deal out their. Good power, better than some so called higher end line units...
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Did your 8.4's come with a dampner pad along with the Plinth=Base???
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Enjoy and I think you'll be happy for some time, most are.

Cheers
Geoff

 

[Chris Shelly]

Did your 8.4's come with a dampner pad along with the Plinth=Base???

No actually they did not. All I got was the base and speaker spikes. No dampner pad. Should I have?

Thanks for clarifying the EVO's. I have seen them advertised in magazines lately and tried to find a retailer that was selling them. I could not find any so I put 2 and 2 together and thought they were not available yet. It also looks like they use the same drivers as the Diamond line but the cabinet can make a world of difference

I have ran my Diamonds for 10 hours and can already hear a difference. They may not grow in efficiency but they definitely open up.

I gotta tell you I am also really impressed with the Diamond DFS Surround speakers. They do a wonderful job of filling my room with surround information but good luck trying to pin point the speaker. This is just the way it should be.

I am really impressed with the Panasonic HE200 receiver. It is rated at 130 Watts with a 6 ohm load. Since the Diamond Series are 6 ohm's it should be a match made in heaven.

Chris

 

[Geoff L]

Chris

No they should not come with a dampener pad! The large very rare 8.5's might, but I do not know for sure as I have never seen a pair aside from a picture last year.

I thought they may have made a design change with the Diamond "base". The Emerald line (MKIV-97 & 99 towers) have this and was curious if it might have been passed on down to the Diamonds.

You got what should have got, no missing parts!

Enjoy
Geoff