Wharfedale Diamond Pro Monitors

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The 8.2 passives are $195.00 per pair. I was able to ship a guy in New Zealand a pair cheaper than he could buy them there. Shipping to Aus is $100.00 for a pair of the Actives. So your total would be $375.00US
 
Skan,

Read back through the thread...........there are two varieties of Diamonds, the "hi-fi" and the "Pro" series. The original positive comments from Massive Master were apparently based on the "hi-fi" series which are built in the UK and have a yellow kevlar cone. The "Pro" series are apparently of Chinese manufacture, have a black cone. Also, I'm not sure, but I think the "hi-fi"s are only available as passives, however, they are the more expensive of the two series.

Contact CMI in Melbourne, they are the Aust., distributors of the "Pro" series and could tell you who is stocking the Wharfedales. IAG (Wharfedale) still distribute the "hi-fi" range.

BTW, I notice my prices differ to yours...........the figures I am quoting are based on info from the distributors.


D/water,

That is a good price.......works out about $500 Aust., as opposed to a RRP of $800Au a pair. Obviously street price may get them down somewhat but it would be unlikely that they would get down to $600. Believe me, if we hadn't just blown the current budget I would be making arrangements with you.

:cool:
 
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Massive Master said:
If it helps, I used to run a sine wave sweep from 20-20kHz while I wasn't home.
Click to expand...

This is a little off topic, but where can I get a sine wave sweep from 20Hz-20kHz? Is this available for download somewhere on the internet, or is there a CD I can pick up from somewhere? Any help would be appreciated!
 
Almost any decent DAW will write one for you... If you can't dig one up, I suppose I could upload some calibration tones and such...
 
Hey ausrock, thanks for info...(yes I've worked out the diffent models and listened to the Diamond 8.2 Pro Active with the black cone) I found a distributor and they have them on special for 499 AUD! Yes that's right...reduced from 999 AUD in this particular store. They sounded OK for the price I guess but not as great as the reviews I have read would lead me to believe. Actually I was a bit disappointed but then maybe my expectations were too high. I'm thinking that the passives perhaps are a better speaker as they are made in the UK and not China. I can think of no other explanation as I have read nothing but great reviews on the passive. Anyway, I thought I'd listen to the Quad Studio monitors that were next to them just to get some perspective and guess what...they cost 2300 AUD and use EXACTLY THE SAME DRIVERS AND TWEETERS! The LED's on the front are exactly the same! I turned both speakers around and to my further surprise, found that all the connections were identical, even the same volume knob! Then I realised that I wasn't dreaming when I saw that the company that makes both of them, whose name I have forgotten, have exactly the same address in the UK! Soundwise,they were pretty much the same too...which would upset you if you'd paid the extra for the Quads!! The finish on the Quads was lovely I must admit..deep gloss lacquer that goes all over the front and sides of the cabinet...and they look less slapped together than the Wharfedales.

But I digress, now I'm not sure what to do...I listened to the JBL LSR 25 that were there also and they sounded much nicer, much more depth and clarity but then again they cost twice as much. Then another friend has recommended I audition the KRK RP5. Hmmm...what to do...
 
You should test the passives, they were very nice. This week i will test the actives so i can compare em (although it will be extremely subjective... ). And don't rule out the placebo effect of that sweet yellow kevlar.. LOL
 
Hey guhlenn,

I look forward to what you have to say about the actives...let me know.
 
GemSmith said:
This is a little off topic, but where can I get a sine wave sweep from 20Hz-20kHz? Is this available for download somewhere on the internet, or is there a CD I can pick up from somewhere? Any help would be appreciated!
Click to expand...


http://www.programmersheaven.com/zone2/cat303/2750.htm

Here is a link to a simple sweeping program.

Waiting on my Wharfedales to be delivered today. :) Of course I'll be back to tell my story once they're broken in.
 
Thanks for the link digitalelfman. I'm gonna check it out!

Massive Master, I work in Pro Tools LE 6.4. Is there a way to write a sine sweep in that?
 
How do these compare to Yorkville YSM'1s? I had a pair but after a few years felt the bass was thin(probably a room issue as well) and the highs seemed hyped IMO.
 
New 8.2a's

Have had a chance to live with my new 8.2a's for a while and - me likey -

They are a hell of lot more accurate than my old monitors anyway. Re- mixed several songs - and re-mastered a few more. Noticible improvement in each case. Tried out the mixes on a boom box, Passat car stereo and home stereo - better in each case.

You need to be real careful about auditionaing monitors - They should be neutral. Which means they won't always sound the best. They should expose problems in a recording - great recordings will sound great on them - but in my experience will sound better on typical hifi speakers. They should not "forgive" at all. These Wharfdales revealed problems in my previous mixes which I think is a good thing. My only problem is mid bass bump - which I think is a location issue... Lowest bass is absent so if you are into that get a good sub... and I mean a good sub - most subs really suck, they prop up the 45-60hz range way too high and fail below that. A good sub will be flat to well below 30.

I found issues with my mixes that I had not heard before - particularly in upper bass/midrange.
they do improve after a number of hours - Not sure how many it took... I just left a song looping for about 20something hours and then auditioned for an afternoon before mixing. They are getting better - for sure.

I gotta say they are a steal if you get em from deepwater - and very prompt service.

Thanks Deepwater and thanks for this thread
 
Diamond 8.2 70th Anniversary Edition?

I have a question for anyone who has the answers. I actually followed John's, from Massive Mastering, advice from another thread a few months ago, and I bought a pair of Wharfedale Diamond 8.2's off eBay - but the 70th anniversary edition. Anyways, when I received the monitors, I realized that the 70th anniversary edition is it's own class - it is not the 8.2 model. The dimensions are a little different - the dimensions of the box is a little shorter, a little deeper, and a little thinner. The size of the bass driver is 5", rather than 6.5". Now here is what got me suspicious - the 70th anniversary edition boasts an extended frequency response, from 40Hz-24kHz, although the bass driver as small as it is. It does seem to get pretty far down though, but I haven't quite ran any "scientific tests" to verify that. Interestingly, although this is a consumer model, it does still rock the black drivers, as to my, as well as a lot of you other folks', disappointment. Oh well, the sound did not disappoint at all!

Anyways, here is my question. I was wondering if anyone has any clue about how these go up against the regular 8.2's. I am just hoping they are more inaccurate or more flattering than the originals, ya know? And the wide frequency response in particular for such small drivers does make me wonder if something is not right. Any suggestions?

And thanks for posting the invaluable Wharfedale secret John - it really helped me get quality monitoring within my budget! I'm all about looking for these kind of secret gems - I'm not the richest of folks out there!

Craig
 
I'm just hoping to get a Christmas card from Deepwater... :D
 
Audition

Well guys, I auditioned the 8.2A's again next to a set of Tapco S8's and can say that the Wharfedale's had far superior imaging. Every instrument (Ricky Lee Jones acoustic cd) had it's own distinct place whereas the Tapco's were nowhere near as accurate. The Tapco's just seemed more 'closed'...less revealing for sure. I would choose the Wharf's any day but did make an error in a previous post...the price was 499 AUD for ONE monitor, which maked them less of a bargain (by a factor of exactly 2 i suppose!)

Having said that, at 1,000 AUD, what else compares?
 
Skan - your last post reminded me of the day I got my 8.2 actives. I booted up Vegas, ran some of my mixes through them and was very impressed. But what really sold me was when I played XTC's "Scarecrow People" through them. Sonic bliss!
 
I'm really confused by what ones are the best ones to have....

Here in the UK my local pro audio dealer has 2 models, one with the black cones.....

WHARFEDALE Diamond Actives 8.1 (pr)
£199.00

Built using the Diamond family transducers in specially designed enclosures and with a custom designed bi-amplifier package, the Diamond Studio Pro Active series is a complete and balanced system for two channel and 5.1 reference monitoring.

The Diamond 8 family has a heritage extending over twenty years and throughout has been Britain’s best selling loudspeaker. This pattern has been repeated around the world with 5 star reviews and accolades in every country in which it has been available. As such the Diamond 8 Series represents a de facto standard for sound quality and balance in a tremendous number of home stereo and A/V systems. The consistency and quality of these speaker systems across a wide variety of source materials gives a tried and proven basis for a monitor to give the professional recording and post production industry a superb reference for the creation and mixing of program material for the real world.

The tweeter is a 25mm textile dome, ferrofluid cooled unit powered with an ultra strong neodymium magnet for fast, accurate response. 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.

The 8.1 is known for its excellent overall balance, transparency and accuracy. The 8.2 offers the same quality with greater output level capability. For recording and mixing down both offer excellent Near Field Monitoring performance and value.

The Diamond Pro Actives contain a bi-amplified amplifier unit which features an active electronic crossover - a valuable tool allowing the input signal to be divided between the drive units and optimising the overall response of the system. This amplifier unit has built in overload protection circuitry to monitor output levels and protect the drivers. As well as the ON/OFF LED, the Diamond Pro Active has a second LED on the front panel that will illuminate when the unit is being driven excessively (as would a CLIP LED on an amplifier).

PRODUCT DETAILS
Application:Studio Recording


TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Bi-amplifier power: 60W LF + 40W HF
Drive Units: 5” LF, 1” HF
Frequency Range: 50Hz – 24kHz
Crossover frequency: 2.0K
Dimensions mm (HxWxD): 295 x 198x 280
25mm textile dome tweeter
Ultra strong neodymium magnet
Kevlar® weave cone
Finished in IRIDIUM colour laminate
Click to expand...

..and for £50 more the ones with the yellow cones...

WHARFEDALE Diamond Active 8.2 (pr):
WAS £299.00 NOW : £249.00

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 we have 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.

The Diamond 8 family has a heritage extending over twenty years and throughout has been Britain’s best-selling loudspeaker. This pattern has been repeated around the world with 5 star reviews and accolades in every country in which it has been available. As such the Diamond 8 series represents a de facto standard for sound quality and balance in a tremendous number of home stereo and A/V systems. The consistency and quality of these speaker systems across a wide variety of source materials, from Jazz to Rock, Classical, to Movie Sound Track and effects, gives a tried and proven basis for a monitor to give the professional recording and post production industry a superb reference for the creation and mixing of program material for the real world.

PRODUCT DETAILS
Application:Studio Recording


TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Type 2 WAY
Usable frequency response 45Hz-24kHz
Peak SPL @ 1m, short term IEC noise source 108dB
Sensitivity 86dB
Power Handling (Watts) 100 W
Recommended amp power 30-200W
Impedance nominal 4.
Drive Units 6.5" LF, 1" HF
System Magnetic Shielding Yes
Crossover frequency 2.2K
Input connectors combo
Input connectors (active) 1 x XLR-1/4 jack combo balanced
Active ie slew rate, distortion 10v/ micro s
Finish IRIDIUM color laminate
Dimensions of Active H x W x D (mm) 364 x 212 x 322
Weight of active unit (each kg) 8.0kg
Usable frequency range 45Hz-24kHz
Drive units 6.5" LF, 1" HF
Crossover frequency 1.9K
Output SPL ((from peak power) 108dB
Bi-amplifier power (LF/HF) 60W LF + 40W HF
Input sensitivity 0.775V RMS (0 dBu)
Amplifier system distortion at 0.1% @ 50W
System Magnetic Shielding Yes
Signal to noise ratio 100dB
Voltage operating range at 230V setting 205-250V
Power consumption: Idle 22W
Power consumption :Full output 130W
Click to expand...

I thought from reading on here the yellow coned ones were normal HiFi speakers? would they really be more expensive than the refference monitors?

I'd love to get a set of these but I really don't know which are the right ones to buy. :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused:
 
Deepwater is the man

The Fedex guy just dropped off the set of Wharfedale's I purchased from Deepwater. If all goes according to plan...I'm about 40hrs away from listening heaven. :D

Big thanks to Deepwater! ;)
 
The hi-fi 8.2's are passive with yellow cones - they were Massive's original suggestion. You'll get a pair for around £130 (I paid £120 for mine because the grill clips were broken). Don't know what Hafler or Bryston amps cost, but you should be able to get a used one and come in under the cost of the 8.2 actives, and with better quality amplification. The 8.1 with the 5" bass driver is not the same deal at all.
 
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