M Jarve
Audio Geek and NGE Freak
The Diamond 7 series by Wharfedale was Wharfedale’s first attempt at making the Diamond series an object of high-end desire to compete with the likes of the Paradigm Mini Montor and other favorite 2-way near-field monitors.
The Diamond series worked on the premise of the classic two-way monitor. Put a good tweeter and a decent woofer in a box and call it a day. Update the components now and then and re-badge it when you do. The original Diamond was not that much different from the iteration immediately preceding the Diamond 7.
The Diamond 7 series proved to be quite a different beast and took the line in a new direction. Where the Diamond of any particular generation had been a single model, the Diamond 7 was actually a series of initially 3 speakers: The Diamond 7.1, the Diamond 7.1 on steroids a.k.a. Diamond 7.2, and the floor-standing Diamond 7.3. The Diamond 7.2 and 7.3 shared the same drivers, but the Diamond 7.3 had provisions for bi-wiring/bi-amping, and a larger, floor standing enclosure that could be filled with sand or lead shot. The 7.1 was the “budget” version with an inferior tweeter and a less capable woofer.
The Diamond 7 series was also the first speakers made by Wharfedale that utilized the new composite “Audio Stealth” material. Audio Stealth, as the literature put it, was a composite material made of mineral impregnated polymers. It was acoustically inert and very strong (but very brittle). The front and rear baffles bolted together making the cabinet extremely well braced. A gasket kept the cabinet air tight where the front and rear baffles met the wood cabinet, and also acted to acoustically isolate the baffles from the wood.
When I was working at a local hi-fi shop in high school, the Diamond 7.2 was by far the best seller. It had a very broad frequency response, going down into “real” bass from just a little 5-inch woofer. Treble was typically British warm, but had plenty of detail. However, even when the Diamond 7.2 had just come out, I wished that there was a bi-amp model out too. Further, many speakers were damaged in shipping due to the very brittle nature of the Audio Stealth material. If the bolts were over tightened, the mounts would snap and rattle around inside the enclosure. We even suggested to our distributor that they ship the speakers disassembled, and save final assembly for the shop (though that never happened).
Less than a year later comes the Diamond 7.2 16th Anniversary Limited Edition (7.2ALE). The 7.2ALE was bi-ampable, and also sported an improved woofer and an updated tweeter. The cabinet was available in several real wood veneers. The Audio Stealth material had also been improved, as none of the ALE editions of the speakers arrived broken and they could even survive small falls, as we found out.
Sound-wise, the 7.2ALE went deeper in bass and much louder than the regular 7.2. The imaging was a little more focused, but less broad. The ALE also lost the nasal tone of the original 7.2. Most noticeable, though, was the greatly improved high-frequency response. The original 7.2 sounded down-right rolled off compared to the 7.2ALE, which had crisp and clean treble and only a hint of British dryness.
The Diamond 7.2ALE quickly became my favorite general purpose speaker. It was small enough to go anywhere and it had the almost magical quality of sounding good on any equipment. My main set (in rosewood) have been downright abused over the years: The cabinets are beat up, the baffles are nicked, and one is missing the single-amp jumpers. Still, they play perfectly on command, and sound great doing it. An over achiever loudspeaker if ever there was one.
The Diamond series worked on the premise of the classic two-way monitor. Put a good tweeter and a decent woofer in a box and call it a day. Update the components now and then and re-badge it when you do. The original Diamond was not that much different from the iteration immediately preceding the Diamond 7.
The Diamond 7 series proved to be quite a different beast and took the line in a new direction. Where the Diamond of any particular generation had been a single model, the Diamond 7 was actually a series of initially 3 speakers: The Diamond 7.1, the Diamond 7.1 on steroids a.k.a. Diamond 7.2, and the floor-standing Diamond 7.3. The Diamond 7.2 and 7.3 shared the same drivers, but the Diamond 7.3 had provisions for bi-wiring/bi-amping, and a larger, floor standing enclosure that could be filled with sand or lead shot. The 7.1 was the “budget” version with an inferior tweeter and a less capable woofer.
The Diamond 7 series was also the first speakers made by Wharfedale that utilized the new composite “Audio Stealth” material. Audio Stealth, as the literature put it, was a composite material made of mineral impregnated polymers. It was acoustically inert and very strong (but very brittle). The front and rear baffles bolted together making the cabinet extremely well braced. A gasket kept the cabinet air tight where the front and rear baffles met the wood cabinet, and also acted to acoustically isolate the baffles from the wood.
When I was working at a local hi-fi shop in high school, the Diamond 7.2 was by far the best seller. It had a very broad frequency response, going down into “real” bass from just a little 5-inch woofer. Treble was typically British warm, but had plenty of detail. However, even when the Diamond 7.2 had just come out, I wished that there was a bi-amp model out too. Further, many speakers were damaged in shipping due to the very brittle nature of the Audio Stealth material. If the bolts were over tightened, the mounts would snap and rattle around inside the enclosure. We even suggested to our distributor that they ship the speakers disassembled, and save final assembly for the shop (though that never happened).
Less than a year later comes the Diamond 7.2 16th Anniversary Limited Edition (7.2ALE). The 7.2ALE was bi-ampable, and also sported an improved woofer and an updated tweeter. The cabinet was available in several real wood veneers. The Audio Stealth material had also been improved, as none of the ALE editions of the speakers arrived broken and they could even survive small falls, as we found out.
Sound-wise, the 7.2ALE went deeper in bass and much louder than the regular 7.2. The imaging was a little more focused, but less broad. The ALE also lost the nasal tone of the original 7.2. Most noticeable, though, was the greatly improved high-frequency response. The original 7.2 sounded down-right rolled off compared to the 7.2ALE, which had crisp and clean treble and only a hint of British dryness.
The Diamond 7.2ALE quickly became my favorite general purpose speaker. It was small enough to go anywhere and it had the almost magical quality of sounding good on any equipment. My main set (in rosewood) have been downright abused over the years: The cabinets are beat up, the baffles are nicked, and one is missing the single-amp jumpers. Still, they play perfectly on command, and sound great doing it. An over achiever loudspeaker if ever there was one.
