only a diamond cuts to the heart of the music
Since 1981, Wharfedale’s famous Diamond line has continually redefined what can be achieved by modestly priced loudspeakers, each iteration improving upon the last.
Now it’s time for a new generation – the Diamond 11 Series – to burst sonic expectations with a range of bookshelf and floorstanding speakers that deliver spellbinding clarity and sparkling refinement.
Elegantly curved multi-layered cabinet walls, advanced drive unit technologies and a sophisticated slot-loaded port system combine to expose the heart and soul of every musical performance, as only a Diamond can.
advanced bass and midrange drivers
The Diamond 11 Series incorporates the most advanced drive unit systems ever seen in an affordable loudspeaker range, with massive ceramic magnets for high sensitivity and highly linear motor systems for minimal distortion.
Woven Kevlar cones are bonded to a super-lightweight surround made from hi-tech foam, delivering remarkable clarity and musical expression. These cones are driven by copper-clad aluminium coils, which surround a specially shaped one-piece pole plate fitted with a copper cap to reduce inductance and linearise the magnetic flux.
The driver assembly is held together by a specially designed basket, ribbed to increase rigidity, with a large open area behind the cone. The rigidity improves transient impact while the big open area reduces early reflections to cone and allows the internal cabinet absorbent to do its work.
wfr treble unit
Developed specifically for the Diamond 11 Series, Wharfedale’s Wide Frequency Response tweeter incorporates its own ‘cabinet’ – a precisely shaped rear chamber damped with a fibre filling. This provides a low resonant frequency below 800Hz, ensuring that the usual distortion heard from such resonance is buried deep below the musical output.
An over-sized ceramic magnet, chosen to give a smoother sound than the commonly found neodymium, is attached to a vented pole piece with copper cap. Together, these features contribute to a wonderfully lucid midrange as well as smooth, pure and richly defined high-frequency detail.
elegantly curved cabinets
The main enclosure of each Diamond 11 Series speaker is expertly engineered to make the most of the advanced drive units, utilising a multi-layer sandwich of woods of differing density to subdue the identifiable characteristics of the cabinet ‘sound’ and so let the drivers speak for themselves.
Critical bracing of the cabinet panels contributes to the eradication of audible resonance, as does the curving of the cabinet walls to provide a non-boxy shape. In addition, the cabinet walls are lined with a specially developed internal fibre, chosen for its outstanding absorbent qualities across a wide bandwidth.
The result is that the listener hears the drive unit output unsullied by unwanted colorations caused by panel vibration or internal resonances, revealing more of the detail of the musical performance.
sophisticated slot-loaded port
Instead of a standard circular reflex port, an enhanced version of Wharfedale’s more sophisticated Slot-Loaded Distributed Port is used to augment bass performance.
An internal port tube, with precisely curved openings to smooth airflow, opens into a slot formed between the cabinet and the plinth. This reduces the turbulence and audible ‘chuffing’ suffered by conventional ported systems, which is caused by the sudden outrush of high pressure air into the low pressure in the room.
The result is an entirely natural recreation of the fundamental notes of bass instruments, matching the realistic sound of the midrange and treble characteristics. It also allows the listener to position Diamond 11 speakers closer to a rear wall than would be possible with conventional rear-ported speakers, helping to make them less obtrusive in a room setting.
sound that sparkles
It all adds up to unquestionably the best Diamond range yet, delivering a natural sense of space and musical communication that is both instantly engaging and consistently appealing in the long term.
Diamond 11 Series speakers draw you into every musical performance in a way you’d normally expect to hear only from models at considerably higher price levels, epitomising the traditional Wharfedale attribute of being great all-rounders with any kind of music.
Add the elegantly curved and immaculately finished cabinets, available in a choice of black, white, walnut or rosewood, and Wharfedale is proud to have created a range of speakers that delivers premium quality at remarkably affordable prices – entirely befitting the company’s 85-year legacy.
the range in full
The Diamond 11 Series comprises eight models: three standmount designs, three floorstanders and two centre speakers for home cinema systems.