Wharfedale - Reva/Diamond

@leemazeI 

I sold the Reva 4s and bought a pair of Dali Oberon 5s with a matching center in light oak.  Beautiful speakers.  My wife loves how they complement the room.  Their sound is very forward up top and as many reviewers have stated they have a “surprising” amount of bass from a tiny Floorstander.  The low end seemed quite effortless from the first tune I played on them.  The bass just has a really nice presence.  I wouldn’t call it shocking.  More like pleasantly surprising.  

Most of their focus though is on the top end, which is again rather forward.  I bought them because I really liked the tweeter in Dali Specktor 2s that I bought for my desktop a few months earlier.  Vocals sounded really transparent with the Specktors so I wanted to try the Oberons.  The tweeter is apparently both a little larger than average (not to the naked eye) and the material they used for the soft dome in both the Oberon and Specktor is reportedly thinner than the average soft dome.  Turns out the Oberons do inherit the same qualities as the Specktors, albeit with slightly more control and higher reach (to my ear).  They have a great amount of detail, good imaging and tendency to bite with some aggressive material such as cymbals and horns.  Not nearly the bite from a metal dome tweeter, but it’s there.  I don’t mind this at all.  I think they are great speakers especially for the money.  I have been enjoying them very much so far, but after 6 months I am already looking for something else that has a little more authority and warming midrange like my old Diamond 10.7s.  Those 10.7s really are a damn good speaker.  They are really satisfying because they have that big warm bass that my fathers old 70s-80s speakers had, but with a great midrange and a halfway decent top end.  I always wished they imaged better and extended a little higher, which is why I went with the Reva 4s that ended up lacking that warm punchy low end the 10.7s had. 

So anyway...  I’m still looking for the right balance or warm and punchy low-mid and detailed top end.

@10000_hz_legend thanks for the update! They sound cool! What HiFi really loved them too! May I offer 2 other speakers to look at since you’re in the market?

Rega RS3 or RS5 (find used?) - I have the RS1 (bookshelf) version and this tweeter might be what you’re looking for. It’s very clean and clear up top, very sweet and reaches a little higher than the 10.7. I also have the R3 (older model) and it’s lower end doesn’t go as low as the 10.7 but it’s quite punchy and fun. With these powers combined...

Wharfedale Diamond 250 - again I have the 220 (bookshelf) and this tweeter seems to have a touch more clarity than the 10.7. I’d expect the floor stander to have a similar warm and punchy mid range/low end.  Definitely remove the grills on this speaker if you try it - they add a little distortion while on. 

Also do you still have your 10.7s?  A few easy tweaks with them I’ve found to really increase the high end performance. 
1) remove the grills - nice increase in clarity, definition and imaging
2) tow them in significantly towards the listening position and make sure they are perfectly level and stable. Much better imaging. 
3) thick speaker wire - I’m using 10 AWG OFC from parts Express. Made a big difference. 
And finally:
4) more power! Not necessarily easy but every time made a HUGE difference in performance. Almost like getting new speakers!  I went from 50w Marantz -> 75w NAD -> 100w Yamaha (with others in between) and each time they really projected what the amp/source had to offer. 

Also there’s another member here who’s written frequently about upgrading the capacitors on them because the drivers are so good and apparently they save on the capacitors to make them more affordable. This isn’t something I’ve really explored but it does peak my interest!

@leemaze.  


Unfortunately I sold the 10.7s.  I was originally driving them with a Marantz receiver, but yes, when I switched to an Adcom 5300 there was a significant improvement in control and reach.  Then I switched to an Emotiva A-500 and they sounded even better.  I wish I had held onto them.  I had the matching center too.  Best center channel I have owned.  Voices sounded so warm and present.  Never found myself saying “What did he say???”


Thanks for the Rega recommendation.  I haven’t listened to a rega yet.  I will do some research.

Wanted to resurrect this thread.

Any one listen to the new Wharfedale Lintons and compare them to the Wharfedale Diamond 10.7s?

Thanks!

Wharfedale EVO line is getting RAVE reviews. 
Wharfedale Diamond 12 looks fantastic and unbelievable price point. 
Had anyone sampled either with previous experience of the Diamond 10 series?