nice warm, yet detailed sound looks good good voice reproduction

if any than they don't sound that good at higher volume levels

I was searching for a budget bookshelf speaker and after reading the rave reviews in defferent hi-fi magazines and user forums I decided to give them a try. I can say that these speakers didin't dissapoint me at. At least not for their price. Besides I think that they are one of the most beautiful looking speakers. The overall sound characteristic of the Diamonds is quite warm so there's no treble harshness at all. Therefore their well suited for bright sounding amplification. Of course there are more detailing speakers but you can listen to these speakers for hours without getting annoyed. The Diamonds are suited best for normal room volume, thats when they sound the best. I wouldn't recommend them for those who want party speakers because their sound isn't that good anymore when played too loud but I consider that as normal for speakers at this size.

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Mordaunt-Short MS 904 Mission M33

Absolute seeamless integration. Natural and musical.

None if you like the richness of presentation.

I wanted a quality standmount speaker for my Musical Fidelity x-80 amp. This amp has very visceral and full bodied yet detailed presentation. Seeing the 5 star reviews for the 9.1 I decided to audition them. The audition was with the same amp as mine and a cyrus amp. The sound was full bodied and rich and detailed in the shop so I took a chance on them. Straight out of the box they sounded fine, but after a week of running in I can only say that these speakers ooze class. Midrange is really as good as I've heard. Bass on Nitin Sawnhey's Beyond Skin album shows good control and timing. Those who like a lean sound will not like these. This is a full bodied yet spacious transparent sound and those who have listened to high end audiophile standmounts will understand these qualities. Soundstage (also to do with the amp obviously) is wide and deep. Timing excellent. Give them an audition, but remeber they need a while to run in.

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Kef Tannoy Dynaudio

- Resolute detail and stereo imaging - Build quality - Bi-wire capable with gold plated terminals - Price!!

- If there was a complaint (and for the price I'm not really entitled to one) then they could have a little more detail in the treble. But that's really only my personal gripe as my ears have expensive tastes.

Well, if you hadn't heard already these speakers managed to pull off the 2004 What Hifi magazine's Stereo Speakers of the Year. The matching SW150 subwoofer also managed to take out the sub £250 category. So is such an effort out of great design or is What Hifi selling its sole to the cheaper end of town? After purchasing a set I mounted them on a set of stands and bi-wired using Supra Rondo 4 x 2.5 cable. Given that several reviews I have read stated that the small Diamond's don't require a great deal of space I mounted them close to the wall and ran them in for a few hours. This running in period allowed the additional free-play to develop in the drivers, which is a must for these speakers. Go without, and you'll be supplied with mediocre and flat sound. Several tracks and then CDs later have led me to the conclusion that What Hifi was right on the mark. Not only do you get a package which is an affordable upgrade to the dud speakers usually supplied with mini/midi systems, but a quite reasonable package for a separates system as well. Sonic clarity and resolution has never really been a strong point in this price range but the Wharfedales de-throne this old myth. What you get is fantastically detailed and natural sound. Stereo imaging is yet another of the strengths to place on the Wharfedales tech specs as these Diamonds lap up any fine detail that is fed to them. One of their key strengths to delivering all this is in their build quality. Wharfedale has gone to great length to developing a manufacturing process which oozes quality, but also delivers on the price promise. The newly designed chassis to house the mid/bass driver provides the obvious benefits of reduction in cabinet and chassis induced reflections. But my favourite - and one which is has immediate visibility without having to pull apart the chassis - is the cabinet itself. Wharfedale has brought the curved design of its Pacific Evos to the affordable Diamond range and as an added bonus, so has the quality. Given this is yours for around AUS$350, you'd be hard pressed to find a reason not to spend the little extra to upgrade your mini/midi hifi. Or, consider them in a budget stereo hifi set up and you'll be offered many hours of enjoyment.

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Diamond 9.6 (Great for movies) B&W DM602 S3s (heard for a few weeks but haven't owned them)