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Wharfedale Diamond 8.3 Floorstanding Loudspeakers, Pair (Black Ash) | 
| Brand: Wharfedale
Category: CE
This item is no longer available
Rating:  11 reviews
Sales Rank: 64911
Color: Black Ash
Media: Electronics
Size: Black Ash
Shipping Weight (lbs): 25
Dimensions (in): 10.5 x 8.5 x 32
Legal Disclaimer: ****Brand New - Factory Sealed! ***Ships via UPS with Tracking info!*** No HI, AK, APO please without additional freight charges. Air shipping available as well!
MPN: Diamond8.3Black
Model: Diamond8.3Black
EAN: 5025941008552
ASIN: B00005IA32
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| Features:
| • | Pair of floorstanding speakers (31.5 inches high) | | • | 20 to 120 watts recommended power (per channel) | | • | 6.5-inch Kevlar woofers, 1-inch silk-dome tweeter | | • | 86 dB sensitivity; 6-ohm impedance | | • | Black ash finish |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
The Diamond 8 series is the result of over three years intensive research and development into virtually every aspect of acoustic design. Firstly, the tweeter in all models is a 25mm textile dome, ferrofluid cooled unit powered with an ultra-strong neodymium magnet for the fastest, most accurate response International Audio Group has ever achieved. Next, the woofer cone is made from a bi-directional KEVLAR weave - self-damping in nature, reducing resonant frequencies to virtually negligible levels. The impetus for rapid movement here, is a dual layer, vented voice coil which transmits the signal information with the highest levels of accuracy. The cone is mounted on a nitrile rubber 'Flexaural surround rim'. A profiled phase plug improves the off-axis performance to project an excellent stereo image across a wide listening area. All the stereo models are front ported to enable positioning close to a back wall. Gold-plated bi-wire terminals are used for connection and you should take advantage of the increase in openness this offers, even if using an amplifier with single connections. The final test though, of any loudspeaker is not how much technology is used in the constituent parts, but how these react together to form a coherent package. It's more about the kind of music synergy that can be created between the various elements to ensure the overall result is much more than the sum of the parts. It is this elusive element, the 'musicality' that separates the Diamond 8 from all the competition and you will not believe the results.
Amazon.com Hands-On Review
Wharfedale's Diamond 7 series was a marvel of quality and affordability. With the Diamond 8s, however, the UK speaker manufacturer took both characteristics to the next level, enhancing sound quality and improving on the speakers' looks while keeping the prices remarkably affordable. The floorstanding Diamond 8.3 (also available in maple) is a typically solid entry, taking the punchy and dynamic 8.2 bookshelf design and giving it greater mass and accordingly deeper bass. The speakers derive extra low-end heft from their ability to push air from their tuned, front-panel ports.P 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 8.3s' beautiful midrange, while the bass ran surprisingly deep for speakers using only a single 6.5-inch woofer each (the rated frequency response is 40 to 20,000 Hz).P 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, indeed, 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.P An especially choice feature of the 8.3s is their dual, gold-plated speaker terminals, which let you power each 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.)P The speakers' low end was not as rich, powerful, or as even as you'd find in a more expensive speaker with additional drivers or more sophisticated engineering (Wharfedale's wonderful Emerald 97, for instance)--but for at this price, the performance is exceptional. We recommend placement at least one foot from any room boundary, and the closer you can get to putting three feet between the 8.3s and your walls, the better, in our experience--though the port's front-panel positioning allows closer wall placement than would a rear port.P 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 8.3s for either stereo or surround-sound applications, enlisting Diamond 8.1s or 8.2s as surround speakers and the Diamond Center for a center-channel speaker.P --iMichael Mikesell/iP bPros:/bbr ul liHigh value liGenuinely good, balanced sound overall liAttractive design liExcellent midrange reproduction (voices, etc.) liHigh sensitivity/easily driven liBiwirable for cleaner sound /ul p bCons:/bbr ul liSlightly tubby bass /ulP bWhat's in the Box/bbr Two speakers, speaker grilles, speaker-terminal jumpers (for non-biwired applications), wood-plate "feet," a user's manual, and warranty information.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 6 more reviews...
 Great for the price August 22, 2005
K. L. Snodgrass
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
The Wharfedale speakers are a great deal for the price. They look beautiful (I've got the maple), but they sound even better. If you can't spend more than $1,000 (which I can't), you couldn't go wrong with these--clear, clean sound on treble and bass.
 Excellent speakers January 12, 2004
11 out of 11 found this review helpful
I agree with James Michalak's review and give these speakers 4 stars. I was looking at surround sound speaker sets: either cubes and a sub or real speakers. I purchased the Wharfedale Diamond 8.3 towers, the Wharfedale Diamond centre, the Wharfedale Diamond 8.1's for the rear, and a Paradigm subwoofer.pI wanted our speakers to do double duty: movies and CD's. The speakers perform admirably in both. For the price the sound is superb; the highs and mids are crystal clear and the bass is punchy and fast.pIt is true that you won't get copious amounts of bass from the 6.5 inch woofers. However, what you will get is accurate sound reproduction. Our music tastes range from AD/DC to jazz and classical. We can crank the volume to an almost uncomfortable level on our AC/DC and have ample bass, as can we on our classical, jazz etc. The key is to not adjust the bass control on the receiver beyond the mid or neutral point. Beyond that there is too much bass anyway. In addition, speaker placement makes a difference too. We experimented for a few days before finding the best distance from the corners and furniture.pWhere the bass is somewhat inadequate is in surround sound movies, but then that is what the subwoofer is for. In the first two Lord of the Rings DVD's there are parts with deep and prolonged bass. Again the speakers can do the job, but they really benefit from the subwoofer for the lowest, house shaking lows.pIn the end, you can probably buy cheaper, higher bass producing speakers than the 8.3's. However, what you gain in bass you may likely lose in accurate and clear sound. These are excellent consumer level speakers with a very reasonable price (in fact, all 6 speakers cost less than some of those cubes/subwoofer sets). If you don't want to take up huge floorspace with giant towers, but still want a quality sounding speaker, these speakers should be on your potential purchase list. The longer we have them, the better they sound.
I am surprised and happy with it December 31, 2003
Sergey Prilutsky (Moscow, Russia)
9 out of 10 found this review helpful
Actually, I just wanted to upgrade my Technics 770 mini-system to something more. And didn't wait anything great for such price... I bought pair of Wharfedale 8.3 for about $220. And was surprised on it's clear and strong sound (reciever Kenwood 8060). May be bass isn't enough for movies, but I think subwoofer can easily solve this problem. Movies are 5.1, aren't they :) I think it's really good choise for it's price segment.pP.S.: Sorry for terrible english, not my native language.
bang for your buck January 19, 2003
Jon Chua (Los Angeles, CA United States)
6 out of 7 found this review helpful
bought these when amazon had 'em [on sale]--inexplicably they went back up in price... For [the amoutn I paid], i can't complain, they're great as the left and right fronts for my home theater system (using a Yamaha HTR-5550 receiver, energy s8.2 sub, 2 cheapie KLH's for rears and a wharfedale diamond center channel). the manual is very skimpy, if that matters to you. the grill is pretty cheap and flimsy, as stated by others. brThe sound is very rich, reproducing effective lows and highs. I'd highly recommend it...
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