Wharfedale Diamond 10.2 Bookshelf speakers
Two-way speaker systems of medium size, Diamond 10.2, can be called typical representatives of inexpensive shelf speaker systems. The bodies with clean lines are finished by high-quality vinyl that faithfully imitates wood veneer. The faceplate is designed not so strictly, but quite interesting and tasty. A pair of drivers, mounted on its lacquer surface, is framed with aluminum laps, giving an additional twist to the design.
Drivers are traditionally self-engineered products. This is an inch tweeter with fabric impregnated dome and large woofer (165 mm) with webbed diffusor made of black Kevlar. The type of design is the back bass-reflex with two small ports on the back wall. Thus, possible turbulent noises, arising at the use of big sized openings, are minimized. Terminal block in Diamond 10.2 has two pairs of high-quality gilt screw terminals that are habitually associated with speaker systems of the same label. The built quality and finish of the loudspeakers are very high - it's nice that the manufacturer does not lower expectations even in budget models.
In our tests we have already had the possibility to listen to some systems from the latest generation of Diamond. Herewith, quite a significant difference in the manner of presentation of musical material in comparison with the predecessors was noted. So, the situation with Diamond 10.2 turned out to be similar. These systems attract not only by fantastic bass register, typical for previous speaker systems - Wharfedale.
Low frequencies are so powerful that in some cases you can do without a subwoofer. It's a pity that articulation in this part of the range is not always enough. Sometimes, the bottom is perceived too slow and monotonous, prone to humming. This is particularly evident in phonograms with abundance of infrasonic components. It is possible to correct such behavior by turning the speaker systems into "closed box", i.e. to plug the bass-reflex ports with plugs.
The sound is quite clear and comfort in most genres. We can note a high degree of elaboration of the mid frequencies and very correct tops, which need only a little bit air. Herewith, the resolution of the tweeter is enormous - not only nuances of live recording, but a number of shortcomings of sound engineer are audible.
Sound stage in Diamond 10.2 is expressed enough for the speaker systems of such price. Of course, it is not holographic, but I didn't have special claims to the localization and focusing.
