Diamond 9.1 Speakers (Pair) (Walnut)

Paired these with an Ampapa D1 and they are now sitting unobtrusively in my bookshelf. The speakers are excellent and the little Ampapa struggles to hit their limit. That said, they produce a perfectly listenable output even at the lowest settings, clear and crisp if a little bright but this budget setup punches well over its weight already. A fiddle with EQ settings and the introduction of a subwoofer will make it near on perfect for its setting. They are well made and I am delighted with their performance.

These get five stars for value. Arrive very well packed with nothing but the speakers. Finish is excellent. A beautiful matt colour that wasn't particularly Walnut and could happily pass as dark oak. Very nice indeed. Commendably clean bass even if there isn't much of it. No bass woolliness here! Sound is a little muffled in the upper midrange, and lacks bass punch. Overall they are little bright sounding. They don't need much power to get them dancing. I didn't find myself winding the volume up and up, which you do with the best hifi, but you still want them to go loud. They are a lot of fun. I personally found them best at tracks that were simple. They definitely have their moments, but the more cluttered the track the more the speakers struggled to resolve detail. Some tracks sounded exceptional, others just muddled. And they also didn't really respond to quality recordings. I think some people would prefer a more engaging, energetic sound. Seems like I am kicking them to death here, but what on earth can you expect for this money? They are absolutely fantastic for less than the price of an average food shop. They are a great budget option and do punch above their price. I think you would have to pay double to get a noticeable improvement. They do need running in. After about 12 hours, I found them to shine just that bit brighter. Music sounded more fun and the occasional bass detail just caught you with a wow! For the generally music listener, bass-heads need not apply. For a TV or budget hifi these are winners. Highly recommended. If you are on a budget, give them a listen.

So I recently bought these speakers and am in the process of running them in. Got a Denon amp setup with cables already run in. Happy with the buy at current. They do require a stand to get them at the right height. Really nice wood finish and the front grills are delicate from my personal opinion. Love the shape, bass is clean for the price. Tweeters are good quality but once fully run in, will be able to update the review with much more accurate info. Overall, works well with the Wharfedale S150 sub but I've heard the sub tends to break after 6 months so will see if it's just how users are setting up or if it's build quality.

These are excellent speakers the price,punchey sound and clear, ideal for a small room

Pleasing appearance, solidly built and well finished. I have slight reservations concerning the overall sound ballance. Sound is generally detailed quite 'forward'. On my system I sometimes have to adjust the treble downwards to avoid brightness turning into slight harshness. This problem is particularly noticeable for large-scale choral music, where there is a tendency for the sound to 'glare' for the full choir at full throated volumes. I have found that cutting around 4kHz with a graphic equaliser helps to limit this. I wondered whether some of this was my hearing, so I placed a pair of old (but quite good) SONY bookcase speakers next to the Wharfdales to allow an 'A-B' comparison. I also played the same music through my top-end system which has large floor-standing speaker cabinets ('ols school'). These tests confirmed my assessment that the Wharfdales can be a little over-bright and even a little harsh with large choral works. Speaker choice is always a matter of taste. For me, these speakers are definitely good enough to keep. Although (of course) not perfect, they are nice pieces and acceptable value for money. Additional... Just listened to a DECCA LP of Glazunov's and Prokofiev's violin concertos. The Wharfdales performed beautifully. Great clarity. Well done. An extra star.

As I get older I seem to spend more time listening to music on my computer. When I listen to music on my system in the living room it’s usually in the company of others, so the music is turned down and bland enough not to offend anyone. Pity though because the Denon Ceol and Monitor Bronzes can throw out very decent sound. In the bedroom I have a Sonos Play: 1 pair. Great for going to sleep with sounds at relatively low levels (and of course, all delivered through Wi-Fi streaming). So why, with two nice systems, am I listening to music on the computer? It’s because I find I spend most of my time when I’m at home in front of the computer… About 2 years ago I decided I wanted to upgrade my Creative Computer speakers (GigaWorks T20 Series II) for something a bit more substantial. Not that there was much wrong with the Creatives; they were hefty, well designed and had offered adequate either side of my screen for a few years. But they were ultimately plastic housed computer speakers- part of that ‘computer speakers’ tradition of just needing some sound out of your computer. Remember the little cream coloured satellites from the 90’s? I even had a cream subwoofer at one point… So I bought Edifiers- the r1280t model- based on various reviews I’d read. Immediately the soundscape from my homemade desktop was fuller and deeper. There was a huge difference with base response, even if those deep sounds were a little mushy and indistinct. For the first time I began to question the whole thing about quality of source for Hifi, and how much you pay. I couldn’t cope with the thought of going back to vinyl. I still have a CD collection but it gets its often abandoned in favour of Spotify. The bedroom Sonos didn’t seem to suffer much in terms of sound quality as a streaming device. And now my soundcard, some bits of electronics on a motherboard I’d installed in a desktop, was producing exquisite such sweet music? I’ve become convinced that this computer sound set up- two speakers a metre apart on my desk, with my ears about the same distance from them, is the best way to listen to music. Now, in Lockdown I spend even more time in front of the computer at home, as I’m part of the ‘work from home’ brigade. So could I upgrade my listening experience from the Edifiers without spending obscenely? Discussions with the younger generation ensued. I’d received a seriously dinky Fosi T20 tube amplifier from my son in law, who thought I needed ‘updating’. “You don’t need full size amps anymore” he instructed me. I thought this amp was small enough to sit on my desk (and look nice) but I had no passive speakers. SinL recommended Lonpoo speakers off Amazon. I bought them. They were very cheap. I was not sure what to expect but I was quite impressed. Through the Fosi they were laid back and detailed. Really easy to listen to. They were an improvement on the sound stage from the Edifiers but, unlike the latter, they lacked any real base and I had to crank the amp to the top get any sense of presence and they still sounded thin. I suppose for £66 I couldn’t expect more. They went back. What now? I thought I’d spend a bit more, but not splashing out in any sense. I bought Wharfedale Diamond 9.1s. They are universally well reviewed, and have been around 15 years. I never owned Wharfedales, but they were always on my list of possible choices…. They have been an Epiphany. They are a bit big for my desk but they really pair beautifully with the Fosi, producing rich, warm and highly musical ambience. I have NEVER heard such rich detailed sound. The soundstage has become completely enveloping. Subtle sounds come from far away in front of me (the speakers are against a wall, so those tiny tinkles, riffs and plinks in the distance must be coming from somewhere outside. Right?). Minute details are highlighted and detailed in a 3d stage; the breaths of the singer between singing, even the spatial tracking of the guitarist as his/her fingers move up and down the frets of a guitar. This is detail like I’ve have never heard before. I’ve never really understood audiophiles. I’m a few hundred quid guy, not a few thousand. But these speakers, at £120, have made a huge difference. I’m sure some of it is my position relative to the speakers? Or is it the shape and size of my study? Is it funky little Chinese amp? For goodness sake, is it the cables I’ve used? I don’t know. What I do know is, I have never had such an experience of the joy of music. And it’s these little 9.1s that seem to have made the difference…

Nice compact speakers with a great sound were easy to set up. Awesome power output for relatively small speaker

Brilliant sound, the neighbour wired them up for us as don’t think I could have done that bit! But now we are up and running there excellent.