The Sound
Contents
As mentioned in the intro, this Wharfedale Diamond 12.2 plays along in the field of the DALI Opticon 2 (599), Bowers 607 (599) and, for example, Monitor Audio Bronze 100 (549 Euro). We know the Opticon 2 and 607 pretty well and we think they are good speakers in this field.
Now the Wharfedale Diamond 12.2 are a bit cheaper, but we assume for a moment that someone looking in this class is willing to save an extra 150 euros for a significantly better product. Because honestly, the competitors mentioned above are. We do not really like the sound of this Whafedale. It is not so much that we hear a speaker that sounds completely off, but we just miss refinement.
The mids and highs are a bit sharp and harsh and the bass feels a bit messy and woolly. It is all a bit shouty… if that’s a word. This is especially true with vocals. S and f sounds become incredibly prominent. Both on the Denon and the Yamaha. Although the Yamaha is a little less bright, but well: that amp is also in a different price class than the Denon. And know that both amplifiers are in a class above the Wharfedale. So it can’t be down to that.
Position
Now we can start typing a very long story about these speakers. We understand that a 449 euro pair of bookshelfs (excluding stands) will not play the stars from the sky. That makes sense: all value for money. However, if we broaden our view and look at the competition, we see that there are manufacturers – even Wharfedale itself with the EVO 4.1 – who, for a little more money, have an option that really performs better.
And that’s a shame, because we have the feeling that this speaker can play much better with minimal modifications. More about that in the next section with the measurements.