The Short Form

iagamerica.com / 508-850-3950 / $1,400

Plus

•Superbly accurate and musical left/right front satellites. •Low-profile surrounds deliver clean high-level dynamics.

Minus

•Sub runs out of gas before main speakers and lacks crossover bypass. •Tonality of center speaker slightly different from L/R front satellites.

test bench

The frequency-response curve for the Diamond 9.1 left/right speaker sloped gently downward from bass to treble, and all three speakers showed relatively limited high-frequency extension. The subwoofer had ample output at 62 Hz (110 dB maximum) but averaged just 99 dB SPL from 25 to 62 Hz. Full lab results

MOVIE PERFORMANCE Overall, the Wharfe­dale system matched its musical excellence on movies. Sweeping scenes like Troy’s massive battles filled the listening space admirably, such as during the all-encompassing climactic sack of the city. The 9.CS center kept dialogue clear and easy to follow, but its timbre was discernibly different from that of the 9.1 satellites in close comparisons (though still close enough for a well-knit left-to-right “stage” most of the time). The center speaker’s tone also shifted noticeably when I moved off-center, becoming a bit heavy in the low-midrange frequencies, which subtracted a bit of edge and clarity from most male voices. Listeners at the extreme end of the couch in a close viewing setup might find themselves slightly shortchanged.

The compact British sub was tight, musical, and extended on stereo or multichannel music up to pretty high volumes, and it integrated well with the Diamond 9.1s at a typical 80-Hz crossover despite lacking a crossover bypass. But big, bottom-octave-rich cinematic impacts caused it to stumble, with both port noise and amplifier-limiting effects that sounded like rattly burbling. While never truly overt, you could hear these things on demanding deep-bass passages — like when the bass drum in Troy’s score kicked in — and especially when I set the volume at or just below the THX reference level. Wharfedale’s SW250 subwoofer, a different 10-inch model with a bigger amp and enclosure than the SW150 reviewed here, might be worth a look, since the SW150 ran out of steam well before the Diamond 9.1s had reached their dynamic limit.

BOTTOM LINE Wharfedale’s Diamond 9.1 is a truly excellent small, inexpensive two-way speaker system that delivers fine sound for music and solid movie reproduction. It could use a bigger sub and a slightly more accurate center speaker — both of which Wharfedale offers a bit higher up in its line. But this remains a strong little system just as it is.

Print

Stumble It