Wharfedale Diamond 8.2 Bookshelf Loudspeakers (Maple with Champagne Front Baffle)

by Wharfedale

Product Details

Data Sheet [248kb PDF]

• Product Dimensions: 10.5 x 8.5 x 14.8 inches ; 13 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 29 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B00005IA31
• Item model number: Diamond8.2Maple
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #272,098 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)

Product Description

Amazon.com Hands-On Review

Wharfedale's bookshelf Diamond 8.2 loudspeakers are both built and priced to thrill: with their 6.5-inch Kevlar woofers and silk-dome tweeters, they offer uncommonly luscious sound for their size and market positioning, with remarkably deep bass and smooth, transparent midrange frequencies (critical for voices, acoustic instruments, and even electric guitars). They'd make a super choice for use with hi-fi systems, home theaters, or computer setups, though they're not self-powered like most PC speakers are.

The 8.2s derive some of their low-end heft from their ability to push air from their tuned, front-panel ports. Our listening revealed taut, punchy sound with dramatically smooth midrange frequencies and detailed but never excessive or harsh-sounding treble. So you'll hear all the nuance of sticks on cymbals, but the crashing won't rip your ears off. Fittingly, voices and acoustic instruments sounded especially lush and realistic owing to the 8.2s' beautiful midrange, while the bass ran surprisingly deep for speakers using only a single 6.5-inch woofer each (the rated frequency response is 45 to 20,000 Hz).

The speakers owe a lot of their clarity and openness to their textile tweeters and woven Kevlar woofers. The tweeters are 1-inch silk-dome, ferrofluid-cooled drivers powered by a strong, neodymium magnet for speed and accuracy. Kevlar is said to be self-damping, a fact that would grant the woofers high rigidity and easy movement--a terrific recipe for dynamic sound from even wimpy amplifiers. And, despite their 6-ohm rating, it doesn't take much to make these speakers sing. Anything from 20 watts-per-channel integrated amplifiers to 85 wpc surround receivers will make a good fit, though be warned that the speakers are rated for use only to 120 wpc. For optimal sound, especially if you're biwiring, we'd recommend 40 wpc or above.

An especially choice feature of the 8.2s is their two sets of gold-plated speaker terminals, which let you power each speaker's driver independently if desired, a process known as biwiring. (The speakers come with jumpers to allow standard wiring; remove the jumpers to biwire.) Whether you use separate mono-block amps for each speaker or merely use your receiver's A and B speaker outputs to power the tweeters and woofers, respectively--with set A for the tweeters, set B for the woofers--extra cable required--you'll hear a little extra clarity, openness, and even frequency extension since the amplifier is focused only on a given driver's needs at any given moment. (Think: division of labor.)

The speakers' low end is not as taut or as even as you'd find in a larger or more expensive speaker with additional drivers or more sophisticated engineering--but at this price and at this size, their performance is exceptional. We recommend placement at least one foot from any room boundary, and the closer you can get to putting 3 feet between the 8.2s and your walls, the more natural, in our experience--though the port's front-panel positioning allows closer wall placement than would a rear port.

Each of the speakers in the Diamond 8 line uses the same tweeter and cone material for perfect timbral matching, so you can use the 8.2s for either stereo or surround-sound applications, enlisting the Diamond 8.1s as surround speakers, and the Diamond Center for a center-channel speaker. --Michael Mikesell

Pros:

• High value
• Genuinely good, balanced sound overall
• Attractive design
• Excellent midrange reproduction (voices, etc.)
• High sensitivity/easily driven
• Biwirable for cleaner sound

Cons:

• Tiny plastic binding-post inserts difficult to remove

What's in the Box
Two speakers, 2 grilles, self-adhesive rubber "feet" for each speaker, and a user's manual.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing Musicality and Soundstage for Little Money, September 10, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Wharfedale Diamond 8.2 Bookshelf Loudspeakers (Black Ash, Pair) (Electronics)

I was a bit worried when I ordered the Wharfedale Diamond 8.2's based solely on written recommendations from here and from the web. Any concerns I had disappeared the first moment I heard them. They give clean musical sound with a transparency and realistic soundstage I didn't think possible from such an inexpensive speaker. The sound just 'pops' on these babies and you'll hear things that never made it to your ears before. I'm running them with ancient Carver equipment (TFM-25 amp, CT-17 Sonic Holography Preamp tuner) that has never sounded sweeter. The sound is clean and strong throughout the music range. These speakers handle high volume room filling sound cleanly and yet play great at low volume as well. An unbeatable sound/price ratio, I highly recommend the Wharefdale Diamond 8.2s.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars gorgeous sound!, July 22, 2003

By 

Dexter Brisbane (Los Angeles, United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Wharfedale Diamond 8.2 Bookshelf Loudspeakers (Black Ash, Pair) (Electronics)

Ive been a music producer, record executive, and pop music critic. besides all that i've been a music fanatic since i got my first transistor radio in 1965. i need superb speakers! after shopping around brick and mortar stores, and having been flummoxed by high prices, too many options, and imbecilic sales people i came to Amazon and began reading reviews. then i ordered these fantastic speakers. i cannot over state how happy i am with them. it's just a wonderful experience... even listening to records i have heard thousands of times. i didn't want huge speakers dominating my living room (actually my wife didn't want that), but i NEED a clear vibrant bass sound. i like to hear clean high frequencies, but i don't want shrill fake treble. in the studio, we would use Yamaha NS-10's for the final mix. they offer a completely faithful, no-frills, replication of the recorded music. but they sound was so faithful that it was, well.... boring. these wharfedales are EXCITING. they are ALIVE. despite their small size they have full, warm,. round bass tones. even with my relatively low powered Denon 80 watt amp. one recommendation... plug your speaker wires into the Bass inputs in the rear of the speaker. there are two alternative plugs and when i switched to the bass inputs, the speakers realized their full potential. what a deal, too!

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply amazing!, July 22, 2002

By 

Pondo "pondo13" (Arcata, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wharfedale Diamond 8.2 Bookshelf Loudspeakers (Maple with Champagne Front Baffle) (Electronics)

These speakers are phenomenal. I spent months researching speakers, listening at local hifi shops and reading reviews from London to Tokyo. After all is said and done, I think these beauties sound as well as any midsize (large bookshelf) speaker I heard. They are also an incredible bargain! I paid [price] + shipping from [store]. Beside the incredible sound the diamond 8.2's are very attractive. I have decided to save up for the larger 8.4's speakers and use the 8.2's for rear surround in my home theater system. If you are looking for rich sounding speakers that are still affordable, then consider these.

p.s.
at the minimum bywire these speakers to boost tonal quality. The speakers come with directions on what to do, its worth it.

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