Diamond 11 Series

Started by a Yorkshireman, Gilbert Briggs in 1932, Wharfedale are one of the most famous loudspeaker brands in the world today. With a huge R&D department and manufacturing facility making over 200 in-house drive unit designs, they are focused on open backed chassis technology, curved cabinets for reduced internal reflection, kevlar weave cones and powerful neodynium magnets to achieve incredible sound quality at each price point. The Diamond is the most famous and successful model to date, and lives on today with it's latest version; the Diamond 11 series. 

The latest incarnation of the Diamond series sees significant improvements throughout its design, from construction itself right through to the materials used. The series is composed of eight different models; three standmount units and three floorstanders with a pair of centre channel speakers for use with home theatre systems. The most immediately visible change is the return to the curved cabinet design that was seen in the Diamond 9 and Diamond 10 series, models that achieved What Hif's Product of the Year award in 2005 and 2009 respectively. 

The latest Diamond 11 series features a new driver design built in-house by Wharfedale to offer a rich and dynamic performance reminiscent of much more expensive speakers, despite the speaker series' affordable price bracket. The bass/midrange woofers utilise large magnet designs with special ribbed baskets and advanced suspension working flawlessly alongside the Kevlar cone design. These woofers are tempered with a high-performing textile dome tweeter, which uses an over-sized ceramic magnet and a specifically shaped rear chamber for the best possible stereo imaging and high-frequency sound reproduction.

The cabinet itself is built from a sandwich of different density woods, resulting in the Diamond series excellent acoustic characteristics while also offering a more robust and luxurious finish. The curved cabinet is not just for aesthetic purposes though. While elegant in appearance, the curved profile allows for standing waves and resonances to be directed in such a way that the loudspeaker is able to perform to a superior level. 

The bass-loading aspect of the speaker is not found on the front or back like traditional speaker cabinets, but instead the Diamond series incorporates Wharfedale's intelligent slot-loaded air distribution port, found on the bottom face of the speaker cabinet, allows for a more dynamic and articulately presented bass response without being too over-powering or 'woolly' sounding.