# Wharfedale Diamond 10.7, any good for serious music listening?



## TheOtus

So I have a pair of these as the main speakers of my home theater system. I really love them in that role, but when I try to listen to music... The sound just isn't involving at all, bass lacks force, sort of sounds hollow I think. Instrument placement also sounds sort of wrong in depth. Source is PS3 and amplifier is Onkyo TX-SR608. I know that these are not top-notch for music, not at all. I live in a flat, so the walls could reflect some, but I don't find the room very echoing. Most of the problme seems to be in the bass department, I was thinking if the reflex ports caused it, but there's plenty on distance to the walls and I also tried blocking the ports, no noticeable change.

Now I'm considering something like Denon PMA-1510AE + Denon DCD-1510AE or something similarly priced from Marantz maybe. These are supposedly pretty tight equipment already, but are the speakers a huge bottleneck? Of course I will hear it with my own ears, but if it's hopeless then it's just a useless inconvenience for me and the audio store. Any opinions?


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## JRG1990

There expensive speakers and are meant to sound really good, I think you have the Onkyo configured wrongly or connected up wrongly or it's on it's way out.


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## TheOtus

It's definitely connected correctly, and the whole set is less than a year old. I always use "Pure Audio" mode for music so there's no options to configure really. I might expect too much though, and I have this feeling that the amplifier just isn't capable to produce the low frequencies well enough. These are just my thoughts, I don't know so I asked for opinions. = /


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## JRG1990

Are you sure theres no eq cutting out the lower frequences, and you don't have the receiver set to small speakers or anything.


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## TheOtus

Pure Audio mode passes all EQ settings, and I don't use EQ anyway. Speakers are set to large, and Pure Audio most likely passes that selection too. The system is wonderful when watching an action movie, but in music it just doesn't cut it. Strong bass in pop music sounds un-natural and more subtle bass drum for example lacks all impact.
   
  EDIT: I still understand what the system is and what it isn't. It's not the same as my 10" subwoofer in my car, but the two 6,5" woofers in a reflex cabinet should still be able to reproduce bass pretty good. So my conclusion is that the amplifier just isn't up to the task?


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## Lenni

have you tried a different (better) source?


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## dura

I suspect the double woofers give an impedance dip in the bass and your amp is, as you think, not up to it. I've heart that before on alikewise setup, bass sounds weird and out of phase.
The speakers have a quoted 90db sensitivity, so a good quality amp with modest power, say 50 watts should do it. Go for a simple dedicated audio amp if you can, otherwise, there should be ht receivers with good amp stages too.


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## TheOtus

Quote: 





lenni said:


> have you tried a different (better) source?


 

 Not yet, I might do that soon. I don't believe that it will do a huge change though. Onkyo's DAC should be beyond terrible if it's about it.
   
  Quote: 





dura said:


> I suspect the double woofers give an impedance dip in the bass and your amp is, as you think, not up to it. I've heart that before on alikewise setup, bass sounds weird and out of phase.
> The speakers have a quoted 90db sensitivity, so a good quality amp with modest power, say 50 watts should do it. Go for a simple dedicated audio amp if you can, otherwise, there should be ht receivers with good amp stages too.


 

 That's the same suspection as I'm having then. I'm considering, as said, something in the max 1000€ (around 1300$) price range and a similarly priced source, CD / SACD player most likely. I could live with two amps, even while it requires some sort of selector switch or switching between two cables to the speakers. With good connectors it's not an issue obviously.


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## A-Dias

guys,
  I have these speakers conected to a Yamaha AS700 Amp + CDS700 CD player.
  I have listened to many different setups before choosing this one.
  I think they sound great together.


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## TheOtus

I tried the same set up with my Musical Fidelity M1DAC. It definitely didn't fix much, and I wasn't able to listen for long because there's something wrong with my PS3 optical output...
   
  A-Dias, what do you consider great, is there something you can compare it to? I don't have a lot of experience from speakers myself so some compare to headphones would be appreciated.


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## JRG1990

Dacs and amps are solid state eletronics there all sound the same unless there is alot of noise or disortion from a badly designed 1, amps are a bit different and some will perform slightly better with certain speakers, the behringer a500 or samson servo power amps should drive your speakers well, there class a\b dual mono amps with plenty of power.


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## TheOtus

You're saying that solid state amplifiers and DACs sound basically all the same? That's obviously not true and I'm not even going to bother commenting that matter any further.
   
  However, the conclusion seems to be that perhaps I need a better amp to drive the speakers. I'm not sure at all if I want to invest in the speaker hi-fi though, I don't see Diamond 10.7's getting anywhere near my headphone setup within a reasonable price.


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## cantsleep

i might be wrong but it sounds like the setting is for HT, not stereo audio.


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## TheOtus

Quote: 





cantsleep said:


> i might be wrong but it sounds like the setting is for HT, not stereo audio.


 

 Yes, my current set up is for a home theatre. It was mentioned at the very beginning, and also that I know that the system isn't best suited for stereo. My previous post tells my final thoughts.


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## sivad07

I bought these Beautiful Massive Tower speakers to full fill my desire of hearing quality sounding music. And I'm Glad i did these Wharfedale diamond 10.7 are Top quality speakers.
   
  The receiver i purchased to drive my music into these was Marantz SR6007. Main reason was the quality of internal components are top notch compared to its sibling Denon as well as other brands (though little pricy). apart from that i use my mediamonkey playlist on my laptop through network option to enjoy my music and huge collection of songs.
   
  One thing I will say is that all speakers need a break in time. and also the speaker configuration should be done properly. I used the Audessy setup (one of the reasons i bought Marantz sr6007) which does automatic calibration using a mic.  I have attached an old LG center speaker and use 3.0 setup to listen to music as i have not put a woofer . center speakers makes a big difference as the vocals are powered up and makes my listening experience . I plan to put a wharfedale Center speaker in future cos center speakers brings life to the music by making the vocals more visible. The Speakers have good bass but putting a dedicated woofer makes watching movies a better experience.
  
  This is my view of the speakers. try attaching the center speaker and c the difference


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## TheOtus

I have a whole setup of Diamond 10's... Pairs of Diamond 10.7 as main speakers, 10.SR on the side and 10.1 on the back and 10.CM as center speaker. Still loving them with movies. Recently bought a Luxman SQ-N100 tube integrated, and the sound became much more musical and transparent. Getting new speakers next week too but the real amplifier really shows the AV-receiver its place, even with these speakers. = ) While the speakers are probably decent for the price, they're not exactly appreciated for serious music listening, at least not at Finnish hi-fi-forums.


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## sivad07

I didn't realize you had the whole set up.. Good  Receiver does really Help.
   
  Well since I have not compared WDD10.7 with likes of Klipsch, polk, yamaha, mezzo or Paradigm.
  I really want to know how do they stand up in the price range against compitition.
   
  Initally I wanted to by Klipsch but ended up buying WDD 10.7 Tower speakers and Marantz sr6007 receiver..Though I beleive the sound is good; I want to know  HAVE I MADE A BAD CHIOICE?.?? Any audiophils compared them?? Please leave your comment as I have to yet complete my HT set up. Thanks in Advance


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## TheOtus

I believe they will sound great with that receiver. They have a lot of potential, they became much more alive when I listened to them with my Luxman. They're not high-end but for the price it's not a bad choise.


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## shrimants

make sure you have your reciever set to "large speakers". Otherwise, the receiver will use a digital low pass filter to send high frequency at cuttoff to the speakers and low frequency to dedicated subwoofer. if you have it set up as LFE+main/Large speakers, it will sometimes default to sending a full range signal to mains and leave out the LFE signal because in a 2.0 stream, there is no LFE. Conversely, you may need to set them to small speakers/LFE+main.

Personally, I have my LFE turned off, subwoofer connected to front left/right pre-out, and speakers all set to large so that they get the full signal.


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## tooley

I am very close to buying a set of Wharfdale diamond 10-7 but I cannot audition them as i am 2000 odd miles from nearest dealer. So I have been searching for positive reviews on them. I am upgrading from a set of Dali 4 and will be running luxman pd284 turntable with Ortofon om 40 cartridge thru a Luxman lv105 brid amplifier ( currently being restored ).
 Your views on their performance playing mild to heavy rock, female vocal and easy listening music such as the Alan Parsons project albums (always a good reference source ) would be much appreciated.
 Thanks


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