The Wharfedale Diamond 12.1 ranks #10 out of 34 total Medium Size Bookshelf Speakers for sound quality. See Top Recommended Speakers By Attribute for all the top speaker suggestions.
Brand: Wharfedale
#10 Wharfedale Diamond 12.1: $599 Discontinued
Pros: A budget two-way bookshelf speaker (5” polypropylene woofer, 1” textile dome tweeter) that measures well for its price: harmonic distortion at 86dB stays under 1% THD down to about 60Hz, genuinely good for a 5” mid-woofer. Wide horizontal radiation of about ±60° up to roughly 5kHz before the tweeter starts to beam. Tonally smooth and easy to listen to at moderate volumes, with a pleasant, non-fatiguing character the reviewer said he’d happily recommend to someone who wants noticeably better fit, finish and looks than typical speakers in the $300-400 range. A high-pass crossover around 80Hz meaningfully cleans up midrange multitone distortion, so pairing it with a subwoofer helps more than usual for a speaker this size.
Cons: A dip of about 3dB in the 1-3kHz crossover region (on-axis, in the predicted in-room response, and even off-axis) gives the speaker a soft, “laid-back” character that noticeably saps attack and transient bite from drums, guitar and other percussive material - possibly an intentional BBC-style dip, but one the reviewer would still prefer tuned flat. Vertical directivity is unusually tight for this class of speaker, holding together only within about ±5° of the tweeter axis before a real hole opens up in the response, so seating height matters a lot more than on most bookshelf designs. Diffraction artifacts around 3kHz and 5kHz show up as differences between the listening-window and on-axis curves. Distortion climbs well past acceptable levels at higher output - harmonic distortion exceeds 3% around 150Hz at 96dB (versus under 1% at 86dB), multitone distortion tops 10% at 96dB/1m, and real compression sets in between 96-102dB (about 1.5dB of lost dynamic range around 300Hz at 102dB/1m, roughly equivalent to 92dB for a pair at 4m in a room) - a genuine limitation on how loud or how far away this speaker can be pushed. Measured average sensitivity (84dB) runs a few dB below the 87dB spec. Only a 5” woofer, so a subwoofer is required for real bass. Discontinued.
How it compares: Just above it: Wharfedale Super Denton - $900 more, 2.6Hz higher bass extension (-3dB). Just below it: Neumi BS5 - $489 cheaper.
| Bass Extension (-10dB) | 46Hz (measured, Erin's Audio Corner) |
|---|---|
| Bass Extension (-3dB) | 61Hz (measured, Erin's Audio Corner) |
| Crossover Frequency | 2.6kHz |
| Dimensions | 12.2"H x 7"W x 10.9"D (310 x 178 x 277 mm) |
| Discontinued | Yes |
| Drivers | 5" advanced polypropylene cone woofer, 1" textile dome tweeter |
| Impedance | 8 ohms nominal (3.9 ohms minimum above 80Hz, measured, Erin's Audio Corner) |
| Sensitivity | 84dB (measured by Erin's Audio Corner; 87dB manufacturer specified) |
| Weight | 15 lbs / 6.8 kg each |
| Woofer Cabinet | ported |
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