Decent Bass from such a small size...great overall sound

The Speaker Grills are Horrible..I'm afraid of attempting to remove them because of a fear of breaking them..common Wharfedale...you could have done better

Original Plan was to build component home theatre set-up....got impatient and on a limited budget foolishly bought a home theatre package..well to say the least wasn't too impressed with the first one and returned it....found another..and it was worse than the first system...got smart and went looking for a good center and set of fronts. My buddy was pushing me heavy to look at Paradigm speakers...but after comparing the Diamond 8.2 and Diamond 8 center channel to Paradigms in the same bookshelf category..I went with the Diamond's and have been happy with the decision ever since If your looking for some great imaging with decent bass and at a good price...check these puppies out

Superb mid-range & highs. Bass is good for a bookshelf, probably about perfect for apartment dwellers. Very good imaging, highly efficient & easy on the wallet, too.

Concur with the cheap grill criticism, & with concern about imitation rosewood enclosure. But when it sounds this good, who cares?? Just don't put your drinks on it & don't play frisbee catch with your dog in the same room as you have these set up, you'll do fine.

This is only the second pair of speakers I've owned, replacing some ancient Dynacos from the mid-70s. Read the reviews here & bought this w/o a demo, as there are no Wharfedale dealers up here in Vermont. Very pleased overall. Using w/ mediocre equipment & still get great sound across the board. Excellent value for the money; surprisingly big sound from these little boxes.

Sound, look (though not long lasting)

Light weighted boxes that feels rather cheap, fragile grilles. Thin bridges (compared with Eltax monitor III)

Despite the bargin price I purchase (because one of the speakers is loose on the tweeter, but functions well after a occasional tap on the side), these are still outstanding speakers at any price. With my equipment I didn't notice any flappy upper bass as other and the magazine has said about, maybe it's because I have a bright sounding amp. Compared with Diamond 8.3 it still outstands in detail revelation, especially on stands. place them close to a rear wall then it will give you the best results.

Similar Products Used:

Eltax monitor III, Mission SCM-50, Bose reflection speakers, B&W DM 110, Mordaunt-short MS10, Opel speakers, Wharfedale Diamond 8.3

Good Build quality, Very good stereo imaging, very good tonal range, bi-wirable, and a "good looking" kevlar cone.

Very Very Flimsy Grills, COME ON WHARFEDALE!! How much more would it have costed to manufacture a sturdier grill?

A highly recommended speaker at such a good price. Managed to get them in a Rose Wood finish. Paid the eqiuvalent of $140 USD at a Hi Fi Corporation Store (similar to Richer Sounds in the UK) I bought these speakers as a upgrade from my Eltax Monitor 3 Speakers that i used in my room and in Home theatre, was looking for something a bit more "refined" Listen to a wide range of music- very clear and defined on vocals and acoustic instruments. Just pop in the Chicago Movie soundtrack and sit back and listen! Using these speakers in my system which comprises of the following items: Nad 1000 Monitor Pre Amp Arcam Delta 290 Power Amp Denon DCD 825 CD PLAYER Yamaha KX380 Tape Deck Technics SLBD20 Turntable Audioquest Jade Interconnects Audioquest F14 Speaker Cable Going to give it 5 stars for Value as it really beats speakers costing 3 times as much 4 Stars overall - Poor speaker grills are to blame for the absense of the final "Star"

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha NS Somethings? -Sold Infinity Alpha 10 - Sold Tannoy MX 1 Rears in Home Theatre Tannoy MXC Monotor Audio Bronze 2- Mains in Home Theatre Eltax Monitor 3 - Sold Rogers LS2/a2 - Sold

Detail and smooth from top to bottom.

Adjustment is very important for proper imaging. High end starts to glare a bit as the volume is pushed, but otherwise play surprisingly loud and rich for 6.5 inch bass/mid speaker.

This is a review for the Diamond 8.3. They are very similar to the 8.2 but with a taller cabinet for better bass loading. I bought these unheard based on the excellent reviews and based on the form factor - a nice inconspicuous size for the living room and that doesn't require an additional stand. That alone more than offsets the small additional cost for this model. After break in (and they definitely need break in) I've become more and more impressed with the sound. The sound is very detailed, and nice top to bottom cohesion. Imaging was a problem though. So I recently put these bad boys in my real listening room and did a head to head with my Vandersteen 2ce's - fully biwired and with good electronics throughout. For the money, they truly are amazing. They gave up a little to the Vandy's in bass extension/clarity and are slightly more forward which many listeners will definitely prefer - but detail through the critical midrange (a Vandy strength) is spot on in the Diamond's. Imaging though is a different story. While they have excellent depth, the image especially with female vocalists and less so with males tends to be a bit smeary. However, if you listen directly on axis the smearing largely clears up. They then get a bit too bright, but putting the grille on fixed that. Bottom line they are now happily sitting in my living room heavily toed in and with grille cloths (my wife's happy!). And frankly when I'm listening to pop and want something punchy I'm leaving the Vandy's behind and enjoying the Diamond's very much.

Similar Products Used:

Vandersteen 2CE, upper end B&W, Infinity, Paradign, Thiel, NHT zeros/sub

Biwiring Stereo soundstage Clarity Compact size Price

Too bassy for the neighbours after midnight. Veneer finish (but OK at this price) Made in China, not England. I think Wharfedale make too much out of their britishness these days.

Written in conjuction with my review of the 8.1 speakers from the same manufacturer. As a relative newcomer to the world of Hi-fi and on a small budget, it was impossible not to notice the Diamond 8 series. The reviews here and elsewhere were too good to ignore. When a local dealer advertised the 8.1s at a marked down price, together with the Bose monitors I was also considering, I had to go and get a demo. The 8.1s blew the Boses away from first listen. The sound was astoundingly good. Then the dealer showed me the 8.2s. A quick demo gave them a clear edge over the 8.1s, adding a far more substantial bass sound. (I decided to buy 2 8.1s for use as rear speakers in my surround system.) Used as stereo speakers they have a remarkable sound stage which was also immediately apparent in the shop. There is enough bass here that a subwoofer almost becomes uneccessary if you live above someone else and have to take neighbourly consideration levels into account. They do sound best at louder volume though. Music I knew and loved before sounds so much better through these speakers. The only problem is that bad quality recordings really do show all their faults, faults which my old (they were also very cheap) Dantax speakers muffled out.

Similar Products Used:

My dad´s old Wharfedales from the 60s

Smooth silk dome tweeter, high quality kevlar woofer. Tight, deep and fast bass, extremely detailed treble and holographic imaging. Be sure to match these up with high quality components, or you will not see what they can really do...

I cant think of any at this price.

I would just like to make an addition to my original review when I reviewed these speakers with a Cambridge Audio A500 amp. I have since bought a new amp (a Rotel RA-01), replaced all the cables, have a DAC and a DVD transport. I am now finding out for real what these speakers can do. Match these up with components of the Rotel's caliber, and these speakers really rock. The bass is punchy as hell, I now have a holographic soundstage on well recorded material, it simply fills the room with excellent, crystal clear music. You can now buy these speakers for £100 from Richer Sounds. Their price suggests you will be buying these speakers with cheap amplifiers and whatnot. However, if you give these speakers some faith, and use good quality cables and components, I honestly think these speakers would rival any in the £300 region IMHO.

Similar Products Used:

Kenwood, Sony, Eltax, Mission, Mordaunt Short, B&W

Good maging and slam, Kelvar mid bass driver. Smooth high end response

Slightly thich midrange--cumbersome grills

Compared to the Diamond 8.1's these were a slight disappointmnet. It seems there is a sligth thickening in the upper bass/ lower midrange response that makes these speakers not an ideal choice for classical music. However these are great for home theater applications beacuse of their good impact. If the Diamond 8.1's did not exist I would give these 5 stars for value

Similar Products Used:

Diamond 8.1's, Dynaudio Contour 1.1's, Paridgrim mini montors, B&W LM1's, Yamaha NS 200s

Excellent soundstage and imaging. Very natural sound. Nothing seems exagerated.

The terminals seem a little cheap

An amazingly large sound stage, outstanding imaging and very natural sound. I primarily listen to classical,and light rock. The speakers are an excellent performer on both. They replaced a pair of well loved B&W DM4s (in fairness to B&W they are old). In spite of being smaller the bass is deeper, more natural and the sound stage larger. Much more detail also. I am using an ARCAM integrated Amp, a Denon CD player and a Lynn LP12 turntable. If you purchase these speakers, spend some of the money you save on good speaker stands. Poor quality stands will muddy up this speakers sound.

Similar Products Used:

B&W, Richard Allen

Exciting, large sounding speakers with an incredible soundstage, almost holographic imaging for a speaker of this price, smooth crisp treble, and surprising bass for a bookshelf speaker, again, good quality too. Remember to bi-wire (or better still, bi-amp) them though, thats the only way these speakers thrive.

Well, there had to be some didnt there? First, they are demanding speakers, and your amp should really have a good deal of grunt to drive them. But thats hardly a criticism. The only real criticism I have is the grilles. One word sums them up: crap.

I bought these speakers as a Christmas present to myself last Christmas, and they partner a Cambridge Audio A500 Integrated amplifier, connected to it using Gale XL315 speaker cable, and are sitting atop of Atacama SE1000 speaker stands. The amplifier is connected to my PC and a Sky Digital receiver, so I am being a little criminal with the source at the moment. I mainly listen to trance music, but have listened to all kinds of music at some stage. As you will gather from the previous paragraph, they are also in use for watching TV and movies. So, what do I think of these speakers? Absolutley superb is what I think of them. Its at times quite hard to believe that the sound is coming out of two relatively small boxes. These speakers have a "large" sound. What do I mean by this? Basically, I mean they sound like larger speakers. Like floorstanders if you will. The amount of bass that comes from these speakers is surprising, it hits quite deep, and the quality is simply excellent for a bookshelf speaker. Elsewhere, the speakers have beautifully crisp, smooth, silk dome tweeters, which are never bright or tiring, but are very revealing for the price of these speakers. Hence they are very unforgiving of badly recorded material. However, give it well recorded material, and it simply beggars belief that music coming from such good value speakers can sound like this. Add to this, the speakers have Kevlar 6.5" woofers, providing the bass and mids, and the speakers seem to have quite a prominent midrange, which for me equates into quite a lively, exciting sound. Overall, I am simply blown away by these speakers, they simply flatten any speaker that costs the same price, no doubt about it whatsoever. At double the price, I would of been happy, but at £135s, I am delighted.

Similar Products Used:

Eltax Silverstones, Tannoy R1, Mission M71, Tannoy MX2