Wharfedale Diamond 220 – good fetch in 2020?

Wharfedale Diamond 220

Wharfedale Diamond 220

Tested at $199 / £119
8.9

Sound quality

8.0/10

Build

9.5/10

Compatibility

9.0/10

Value

9.0/10

Pros

  • Lush and rich midrange
  • Full-bodied presentation
  • Plenty of details

Cons

  • Nothing for the price

Wharfedale Diamond series has a long-standing tradition of offering a great bang for the buck. As my own experience goes, I first came in touch with it trough 8th iteration, more specifically trough stand-mounters Diamond 8.2 and floor-standers Diamond 8.4, some 20 years ago. For those of you still keeping count, this would be the 12th iteration of the series. Diamond 220 debuted a few years ago with a price of $350 / £180 but goes for a discounted price of just $199 / £119 these days.

Build and Features

My first impression when taking them out of the box was that those feel quite weighty and sturdy for the size and especially for the price. It feels nicely finished too and there’s really nothing to complain about. Moreover, I really like the solution used for grills – where each driver has its own circular grill. They’re covering the drivers themselves only while we still get to enjoy the overall look and design of the front panel, very neat trick if you ask me.

Bass reflex is located on the bottom, between the speaker and the attached bottom board, so it’s out of sight. Binding posts are big and sturdy and ready for bi-wiring.

Wharfedale Diamond 220 is the second smallest speaker in the series with a 5″ / 130 mm bass/midrange cone and 1″ / 25 mm soft dome tweeter.

Sound

Put on a pair of mass loaded stands and position clear of the corners, Diamond 220s produce a well- developed sound-stage. I especially admired its width and height, with depth being a bit more modest. The next thing that struck me is their midrange skils. Vocals are firmly centered, present, and rich with nuances. Listening to the likes of Leonard Cohen and his deep but raspy voice is a joy. The same goes for instruments too. They’re presented in a full-bodied fashion but are also brimming with details.

The bassline is reasonably deep for the speaker of this size. It’s precise and agile but not that punchy or exciting, so if you’re looking for a speaker to make heavy beats of your electronic music alive and jumping, better look elsewhere. Putting Diamond 220s closer to the walls and corners will increase their bass output but at the expense of timing and precision. Midbass is slightly warm but never overwhelmingly so. It fills the sound with an everpresent sense of body and weight without ever making it bloated.

On the other end of the spectrum, Diamond 220 offers well developed high frequencies capable of etching a respectable amount of tiny details. The track atmosphere is well conveyed too, so you can clearly hear that moment when the microphone turns on just before the singer starts to sing. The only thing this soft dome twitter lacks is that last bit of smoothness and glossiness, so it can occasionally feel slightly grainy, giving those highest frequencies a bit of a matt finish. This was noticeable in compassion with a bit pricier Monitor Audio Bronze 2 and much more expensive KEF LS50. But given the very modest Diamond’s price, I don’t think this should be held against it.

Conclusion

Wharfedale Diamond 220 are not meant for heavy electronic music, nor will they rock your world with a low bass grunt in movies. On the other hand, they offer a beautifully lush and rich sound, with vocals and acoustic instruments sounding as good as I’ve ever heard near this price range. That made listening to my own favorite music (that mostly consists of Blues, Rock, Acoustics, Pop…) a real joy.

These little speakers were praised for their skills by most reviewers when they first appeared a few years ago. There was little room to complain about 220s even at their initial launch price, but few years and a few price-cuts down the road, it would be plain rude to do so.

WHARFEDALE DIAMOND 220 – CHARACTERISTICS

General description: 2-way bookshelf speaker
Enclosure type: Bass Reflex
Transducer complement: 2-way
Bass driver: 130 mm Woven Kevlar Cone
Treble driver: 25 mm Soft Dome
AV shield: No
Sensitivity (2.83V @ 1m): 86 dB
Recommended amplifier: 25-100 W
Peak SPL power: 95 dB
Nominal impedance: 8 Ω Compatible
Minimum impedance: 4.1 Ω
Frequency response (+/-3dB): 56 Hz – 20 kHz
Bass extension (-6dB): 45 Hz
Crossover frequency: 2.2 kHz
Cabinet Volume (in litres): 7 L
Height (on plinth & spikes): 315mm
Width: 174mm
Depth (with terminals): 227 (+28) mm
Carton size: 495x320x410mm

Official webpage

2 thoughts on “Wharfedale Diamond 220 – good fetch in 2020?

  1. Brand new these speakers are so severely recessed they sound puny, as if they are playing from the back of a wardrobe. A remarkable presentation I thought, pushing them as close to the wall as possible and cranking up the volume. Better but still terrible, no sound stage at all as the music beamed out.
    They opened out over the first day, and continued to improve for months. They respond to more current and improve as you upgrade the amp. They tend to sound a little closed in again with budget amps below 40 watts. It is all about the mid-range which can be amazingly good. Tried them with a powerful bi-amp set up and the owner of the amps was very pleasantly surprised. The D220 of course soon cried enough when the volume was cranked up, but within their limits they were very good, the bass developing more texture and even some sub 50hz heft with boundary reinforcement. I have stuck with these as I have moved up to a much better amp. A good speaker, irrespective of price.

  2. Testaa joskus Geneligit Täältä Suomesta.

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