I did not do a lot of auditioning for speakers this time 'round, so I cannot compare, but I think it would be diffficult to find a speaker this good for the price. It is not a "flashy" sound, certainly, but its naturalness (particularly in the high end, which often sounds "tweaked" in small, cheap speakers) is mighty impressive. It's a very easy speaker to live with, especially in a small space, or if you need to place your speakers on a bookshelf.

Two notes that have already been mentioned: (1) Definitely use with the grilles off. The sound is more open. They look less attractive this way (or at least more conspicuous, which may not bother some people), but, oh well. (2) Break them in. They sound constricted right out-of-the-box but open up nicely after about a month of everyday listening.

I recently moved from a house in California to a Manhattan apartment. I thought my large Soliloquy 5.3 floor-standing speakers would be problematic in an apartment situation (especialy since I have toddlers running around). After reading many reviews, I decided to try the Wharfedale Diamond 8.1s. My criteria were (1) I wanted bi-wirable speakers (2) I wanted small boxes (3) I didn't want to spend a lot of $$. In addition, the 8.1s are front-ported, and I thought that might be less annoying to my neighbors, if I ended up placing the speakers against a shared wall. I have been extremely pleased with the result. I listen primarily to classical music, and although these small speakers cannot match the richness of a larger speaker (like my Soliloquys), particularly when it comes to big orchestral works and operas, they do a really admirable job. Voices sound natural. Wide soundstage. Reproduction of piano (difficult instrument to capture) is very fine, despite the lack of deep bass tones. I have them biwired with Transparent MusicWave cables to an NAD 317 Integrated Amp, and use an NAD c541 CD player (with monster cable connections).

Bargain price, gorgeous sound, clean bass without a hint of any booming.

Nothing at all

I bought these speakers after buying and subsequenlty returning a pair of mission 701's to use with my Teac Reference 303 system. The problem with the missions was that the bass boomed, I bought the 8.1's off the internet after I had read various reviews. When I got the speakers, I bi-wired them up and placed a selection of music in my multiplay, including The beatles,Ian Brown and Dido. I satback and pressed play, I was totally gobsmacked, i could not believe what I was hearing. With the speakers and cable not even run in the sound was amazing. I straight away understood what reviews had been saying, these speakers are absolute crackers and expressed everthing that was on the discs, listening even to harsh recordings like oasis, with these speakers you can pick out tambourines and cymbals. I just cannot believe how they cando it for the price, every house should have a pair.

Similar Products Used:

Teac LS303 (Free with Teac System and can see why they are free) Mission 701's (bought them and returned them directly back to the shop after they gave me a headache with there boomy bass)

Good looking with beautiful yellow Kevlar driver. Inexperience with great performance. Can be bi-wired.

None for these USD140 speakers, but mannual is too simple, not attractive.

These are great speakers that can product clear high and mid sound. Bass is not enough due to their size. Although I am using AV Amp and DVD with them, they still have satisfactory performance.

Similar Products Used:

JBL, AudioPro

Good looking with beautiful yellow Kelvar drivers, great sound, inexpensive.

The mannual is not attractive

These are great speakers in the price I spent. The treble is clear and the midrange is natural. The bass is not enough for these small speakers. They can reprodure crystal guitar and piano sound. I am using DVD and AV amp but they still have satisfactory performance.

Similar Products Used:

JBL, AudioPro

Wonderful imaging and soundstaging, good bass for its size, detailed, musical, and engaging sound--and $200 for the pair.

None. It exceeds all expectations for its size and price.

I haven't had a chance to let these break in yet, but right out of the box they clearly demonstrate remarkable imaging (location of individual instruments) and soundstaginge (the effect of staging the whole ensemble). Even with little break in, I found the detail and smoothness of the sound quite pleasing. I can tell that after a couple of weeks of break in (as several others have suggested here) these will be extremely musical and satisfying (I expect them to open up and lose some of the muddiness in the mid-range). Having them so distinctly place voices and instruments makes listening very engaging and non-fatiguing. And the front bass ports make placement more flexible than rear ported designs. Good stands and proper positioning will be rewarded, however, and very good source, amp, and interconnects will also be easily noticed. It's hard to believe that they are only $200. They are very well made and are very attractive with the grills off (as they should be for best sound). I am looking forward to breaking them in and perhaps bi-wiring them in the future. Equipment: Acurus integrated amp Acurus CD player MSB Link III DAC with upsampling Analysis Plus Oval One Interconnect (fantastic) WireWorld speaker cable Coincident Speaker Tech. Conquest (floorstanders)

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Pinnacle bookshelf speakers (clearly inferior to the 8.1s for about the same price, although they are often praised); B+W N801 (more refined in all respects and 10x the cost); B+W 601S3 (better bass,

Very natural sound field. Matched with a good powered sub after the break-in period creates a perfect blend of highs, mids, and lows. Stereo and home theater sources work well with these speakers, making them very versatile for all around use. The best speaker you could buy for this price range.

Flimsy grill that definitely should be removed.

Great speaker! Does require 2 week break-in period before natural acoustic range is fully optimized. Highs are very clear and percise, Mids seamlessly blend with lows and highs. Diamond 8.1s has some solid low-end bass but definitely recommend using with powered sub. Matches well with Velodyne CHT-8 powered sub. Acoustically very wide sound stage and works well with both stereo and home theater sources. These speakers should cost twice as much, best price/performance ratio for it's class. My only complaint is the flimsy grill the comes with the speakers.

Similar Products Used:

JBL LT20s, Bose Acousti-Mass, Sonus Faber Conciertos, NHT Super Zeros/Super Ones, Wharfedale Diamond 7.1/8.2, B&W BM601

Well-balanced accurate sound.

Owner's manual does not mention long breaking-in period and does not contain the page in Russian language (!).

Diamond 8.1 is a well-built speaker that bears great designers' care of music listeners. Front bass-reflex port makes it possible to place them closer to the wall (in my case the distance about 16" from the wall to the front baffle makes good sound and does not occupy too much room), bi-wiring can make tweeters sounding slightly clearer. Standing beside the speaker you may watch almost half inch long movement of yellow mid-bass driver that delivers nice vivid sound. Drums and percussion, as well as acoustic guitar strings are reproduced very natural. Violin solo is reproduced nicely, grand piano sounds comfortable too. Bass in my 200 sq ft room is very accurate - no complains here (surprisingly, I do not hear much loss of the bass on familiar records after ten years living with 60 lb heavy Korvet speakers sporting 12" bass drivers). I personally founded black finish better then combination of wood and silver. IMHO: 1. Remove cheep protecting grills - those were probably included just to match bookshelf speakers standards of today and were not intended to serve the good sound. I am happy that designers did not waist their small budget on those useless details, and directed saved money to build sophisticated drivers. For me it is also important that there are no ugly holes at the front of the cabinet after removing the grills like seen on most other speakers - good designer's job! 2. Give them at least two weeks for breaking-in. I was disappointed by the muddy sound right after bringing them home, and used to twist tone controls to the maximum. For whatever reason Wharfedale owner's manual writers did not mentioned straightforward what I later learned from the Internet - heavy Kevlar drivers and Ferrofluid cooled tweeters need much breaking-in time. I played Pink Floyd's Shine On You Crazy Diamond many, many times before I waked up my Diamonds 8.1. Please, do not write critical reviews right after the purchase - give them a chance to shine and they will prove they deserve five stars! 3. Be ready to spend some money on spiked stands and bi-wiring cables to get the best of your Diamonds 8.1. After all, their attractive retail price allow any "Audio Enthusiast from [you name the country]" to throw in some extra money for important accessories. My system comprises Technics SL-PG440A CD player, Technics SA-GX170 receiver, greatly modified Rotel RP-820 reco

I almost bought the floor-stander version of this baby, but I''m glad I didn''t. Having read all the glowing reviews of the 8.1, I withdrew some cash from the bank to buy the 8.3. But lo, as hard as I tried to listen to what the fuzz was all about, I came away convinced that Wharfedale has lost its touch. The sound of the 8.3 was crappy, tinny and bereft of any bass. I shudder thinking how the bookshelf 8.1 would fare. I''ll take the Wharfedale Valdus 200 anytime if this British company has nothing more to offer but Diamonds and Pacifics. The Valdus is also crap with midrange almost nonexistent, but it''s a far better speaker than the Diamond. Kevlar or no kevlar, the Diamond sucks!

Similar Products Used:

Infinity, Tannoy

Sound is full and accurate. Soundstage is enormous. Non-fatiguing soft dome tweeters and tight Kevlar mid-bass. They can handle 130 watts with no complaints. 

Bass is not as deep as I would like, but hey, what do you want from a 5-1/4 inch driver? Flimsy grilles (removed)

I have had many low to mid-budget speakers and by far these are the most amazing little speakers I have heard for under $700. Wharfedale has really knocked the hi-fi industry on its ear... The overall sound of these speakers is incredible. The soundstage is huge for such a small unit and the bass is very tight. I have them bi-wired, but they sound great with the shorting strips in place. I am looking at their Pacific PowerCube subs right now. I just hope they perform as well as these beauties do. My system is all Rotel and it makes the Diamonds really sing. I was using Energy C-4''s, but the aluminum dome tweeters are a little too sibilant. I mostly listen to Jazz and Classical with some R&B thrown into the mix.?

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1980''s Boston Acoustics A-40''s & A-60''s (great sound for short money, but, alas, the foam surrounds finally rotted away), Roy Allison Labs Micro Monitor & Mini References (great little speakers, bo

Range, accuracy, (accurate, solid bass for such a small little speaker) Music, baby they sound just like the music!

???

Oh my! I''''m almost embarassed that I paid so little for such performance! I almost want to call Wharedale and offer them more $$ for what I got. My listening pleasure has increased dramatically, the improvement from my trusty JBL''''s is so drastic that it is almost greater than the difference I had from upgrading my trusty DUAL turntable to a new Clearaudio Champion (a purchase that was more than 15x the money). For a mere 200 bucks I''''ve got incredible soundstage for size, clarity, dynamics, and everything is just....well right. I don''''t know another way to explain it. These speakers just reproduce sound excellently, they sound as accurate as a $100,000 system I auditioned once which had B&W Nautiluses. I can hardly wait to someday upgrade (although keep these beauties for life) to the Diamond 8.4. That will probably be Nirvana. If inexpensive speakers can sound this good, who needs to spend more? I may never. I''''m a believer.

Similar Products Used:

JBL, Sony, B&W, Martin logan prodigy.