Home > Consumer Reviews > Wharfedale Diamond 8 Center Channel Speaker (Black Ash)

For movies and TV, this unit is fine. For listening to music, I shut it off as it overpowers my Wharfdale Evo-8s and does not give a very refined sound. I noticed this markedly when I was listening to a soprano soloist in a Bach cantata; the subtlety, crystalline quality was lost when the center channel was activated.

We added this to our home hi-fi and video setup, and the Wharfedale made a huge difference in the quality of audio. We now have intelligible voices coming from movies and discs, where beforehand, we lacked that kind of fine detail in the center of the field.

Purchased brand new in 03 along with Wharfedale Diamond 8.1s. Great all around speaker with robust frequency reproduction. Matches well with the Diamond 8.1s and a Velodyne CHT-10 subwoofer. Also works great in a 6 channel speaker setup when listening to CD/MP3 audio sources. High volume clipping doesn't occur with a Pioneer VSX-810 a/v receiver turned all the way up. Great speaker for the price! Highly recommended.

I just upgraded to this from the KLH 525 II Center Channel Speaker for a couple of reasons (1) I used that speaker in my fiancee's home theatre system and (2) my main speakers on my av system are Linn Kans (also polk R15s for surround speakers, a Harman Kardon AVR 235 receiver, and a Yamaha YST-SW215 8" Powered Subwoofer). I was looking for an inexpensive way to match my Linn main system and the kans in my home theatre system. These guys do their stuff. The design is British, but the box said "Made in China". Oh well, the sound is fabulous! If you are looking for an inexpensive yet fabulous sounding speaker look no further. I won't knock the KLH 525 Center Channel Speaker, but you may want to spend the extra bucks for this speaker as this really matches speakers like the Linns and polks.

I have been listening to the Diamond Center Channel speaker for several weeks and have been very pleased with it's performance. Excellent voice reproduction with television and DVD's. What has been really suprising is it's performance with music. I listen to classical, country, rock and folk music. Excellent clarity, no distortion or muddiness with these genres. Even opera, which I think is a real challenge, was accurately reproduced. My only criticism is the somewhat large, boxy appearance. Otherwise an excellent value for the price.