Wharfedale Diamond 9.1 Bookshelf speakers (Wharfedale Diamond 9.1)

Member Name: dominica

Product:	Wharfedale Diamond 9.1
Date:	09/11/09 (57 review reads)
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Advantages: Front ported, solidly built, great sound, clarity, play loud or quiet, require little power.

Disadvantages: Nothing at this price!

I needed speakers to fit on a shelf above a fireplace and they were to be connected to a NAD 524 CD and NAD c340 amp. I didn't want to spend more than about £200 but would have spent up to £500 if I couldn't find any I liked for less. I listen to every genre of music from classical to rock. I bought the Wharfedale 9.1 speakers in Rosewood colour 2 weeks ago and for their price and size they are probably impossible to beat. Before choosing these I auditioned various other bookshelf speakers from Mission, Mordaunt Short, Tannoy, Dali, Gale, JPW, Arcam and Cambridge Audio. The Wharfedale have a clear treble and huge bass, considering their diminutive size. They are front ported so positioning is very easy. They can be played extremely loud considering their sensitivity is rated at 86dB. I guess this is due to them being rated at 6ohm. They especially excel with classical music and the clarity and detail is never lost whether a loud or very quiet piece is being played.
The cabinets are very sturdy and are a very aesthetically pleasing piece of furniture.
I struggled to find anything negative to say. If I had to say something negative it would be that the front grills are quite flimsy and held on by cheap plastic clips. The second thing is that they are quite deep so may not be suitable for a small shelf. These minor things are absolutely negligible and of no consequence considering the price and sound of these speakers. What can I say? If you are looking for bookshelf speakers buy them before they aren't available anymore.
Note that this the system in our second room. Our main system is a Musical Fidelity system with Focal JmLab Beryllium speakers, so you know music is very important to me.

Summary: An absolute bargain. Get while you can.

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