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| Wharfedale Diamond 9.1
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Speaker manufacturer Wharfedale has introduced its new Diamond 9 budget range speakers. The series includes:
- 3 bookshelf speakers (9.1 / 9.2 / 9.3)
- 3 floor speakers (9.4 / 9.5 / 9.6)
- 3 centre speakers (9.CC / 9.CS / 9.CM)
- 3 surround speakers (9.0 satellite / 9.SR rear / 9.DFS bipole)
- 2 subwoofers (SW150 / SW250)
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Wharfedale
Diamond 9.4 |
Wharfedale has developed a special open-back chassis for the range which is designed to present a very small amount of acoustically reflective surface directly behind the cone. This narrow, low-reflectivity chassis claims to avoid the possibility of ghost images reflecting back at the listener and to reduce the metallic 'zing' generated by resonance in a standard wide-body chassis. The chassis radiates more sound into the internals of the cabinet than typical speakers, hence the need for large amounts of interior wadding. The curved cabinet meanwhile is believed to be better at dispersing and breaking down this rearward radiation.
Of the subwoofers, the smaller SW150 is a fairly standard device by comparison, offering 150 watts and a ten-inch bass driver. The larger SW250 features curved sides, a Kevlar ten-inch bass driver, 250 watts and a sealed-box construction. It comes with a full remote control that gives four different programmable presets for gain, low-pass filter and phase to allow switching between music and movie settings.
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| Wharfedale Diamond SW250
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Wharfdale's efforts promise a very sharp sound, combined with very low levels of coloration. With boom and zing reduced, it should be easier to discern very low signal levels. Hence, it should be easier to follow notes all the way as they decay into silence for example. (Think of the mechanical resonances in the speaker as being a very rough equivalent of hiss on a tape deck - reduce this hiss and lower level signals are suddenly revealed). In short, the speaker should have fewer bad points and impinge less on the music.
All the Diamonds except the 9.SR surround and the two subwoofers are shielded. All parts are die-cast including trim rings, tweeter fascia plate, port tubes, rear terminal housing and the bass driver chassis.
All models in the range use a Kevlar diaphragm for bass and mid duties. All relevant models also feature an identical 25mm soft dome tweeter with neodymium magnet and ferrofluid cooling.
Diamond 9 speakers are currently available in four different finishes: beech, cherry, black and silver. All speakers are available seperately or bundled in an AV pack, though some are not yet available in the UK (see specs below).
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| Wharfedale Diamond CS |
Specifications
- Vinyl finishes: Black, Cherry, Beech and Silver
- Shielding: All speakers are shielded except 9.SR, 9.DFS, SW150, and SW250
- All speakers are nominally rated at 6 ohms but are suitable for all 8 ohm amplifier outputs
| Main speakers |
| Diamond 9.1 | Bookshelf | 5 inch bass driver, shielded bookshelf speaker, 130mm Kevlar cone, 100W, bi-wire, dimensions (HxWxD): 296mm x 194mm x 278mm | £180 (pair) |
| Diamond 9.2 | Bookshelf | 6.5 inch bass driver | Not yet available in the UK |
| Diamond 9.3 | Bookshelf | 8 inch bass driver | Not yet available in the UK |
| Diamond 9.4 | Floorstander | 6.5 inch bass driver, shielded 2-way speaker, 165mm Kevlar cone, 100W, bi-wire, supplied with pre-fitted plinth and carpet spikes, dimensions (HxWxD): 850mm x 223mm x 301mm | £300 (pair) |
| Diamond 9.5 | Floorstander | Twin 6.5 inch bass drivers | Not yet available in the UK |
| Diamond 9.6 | Floorstander | Twin 8 inch/ 2 inch dome mid | Not yet available in the UK |
| Centre Speakers |
| Diamond 9.CC | Centre | Square sides, twin 4 inch, 2x 100mm Kevlar cone, 120W, shielded, single-wire, dimensions (HxWxD): 120mm x 330mm x 130mm | £100 |
| Diamond 9.CS | Centre | Twin 5 inch, 2x 130mm Kevlar cones, 120W, shielded, bi-wire, dimensions (HxWxD): 189mm x 400mm x 233mm | £150 |
| Diamond 9.CM | Centre | Twin 6.5 inch/2 inch dome mid | Not yet available in the UK |
| Satellite/rear speakers |
| Diamond 9.0 | Sat | Square sides, 4inch bass driver, 100mm Kevlar cone, 75W, dimensions (HxWxD): 236mm x 145mm x 165mm | £100 (pair) |
| Diamond 9.SR | Rear | 4 inch bass, shallow profile, 100mm Kevlar cone, 60W, single-wire, dimensions (HxWxD): 236mm x 185mm x 117mm | £100 (pair) |
| Diamond 9.DFS | Rear bipole | Twin tweeters, twin 4 inch bass, 2x 100mm Kevlar cone, 200W, dimensions (HxWxD): 280mm x 290mm x 132mm | £150 (pair) |
| Subwoofers |
| SW150 | Subwoofer | Square sides, 10inch (250mm) driver, 150 watts, forward firing, auto-power, dimensions (HxWxD): 330mm x 330mm x 370mm | £250 |
| SW250 | Subwoofer | 10inch (250mm) Kevlar driver, 250 Watts, downward firing, remote control, four presets, sealed box design, dimensions (HxWxD): 420mm x 420mm x 375mm | £400 |
| AV Pack |
| 9 HCP | Pack | incl. 9.0 front, 9.CC centre, 9.0 rears, SW150 subwoofer | £500 |
For more information on Wharfedale, go to www.wharfedale.co.uk.
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