Wharfedale

Wharfedale has been building fine loudspeakers for many, many decades, and we're delighted to be representing their products once again. While this company is, perhaps, best known for its Diamond mini-monitors which have existed in various configurations over the years, Wharfedale currently has two lines, Diamond and Jade.

The recently-introduced Diamond 200 series has two bookshelf models, the 210 at $299 and the 220 at $349. There are three towers, the 230 at $799, the 240 at $1199, and the 250 at $1599. They also have a 220C center channel model for home theater use at $299 and two subwoofers, the WH-D8 and $399 and the WH-D10 at $549. The Jade series comprises two bookshelf models, the Jade 1 at $1199 and the Jade 3 at $1499, two floor-standing models, the Jade 5 at $3199 and the Jade 7 at $4199, two center channel models, the Jade C1 at $1099 and the Jade C2 at $1499, the Jade SR on-wall surround model at $999, and the UPC-10 subwoofer at $1400.

We want to focus on the Diamond 220 here because it is the latest incarnation of a model that has garnered praise for its high performance to cost ratio over many years. This loudspeaker has several refinements over its predecessor, the Diamond 10.1, including a very rigid rectilinear cabinet constructed from multiple layers of different materials to reduce cabinet colorations, a ribbed Kevlar woofer with increased magnet size to reduce cone resonances and extend bass, and a slot-loaded bass reflex design to improve bass response and reduce placement sensitivity. The magazine What-HiFi? described the 220s as having "wonderfully balanced and informative sound, expressive dynamics, fine integration, unfussy nature, overflowing with detail, deep, controlled bass, and neatly finished". The Diamond 200 series is already a big hit in the UK and Europe and has earned a perfect 5-star review in What-HiFi? along with a Budget Speaker of the Year award. You can check out the full review of the Diamond 220 here:

Considering that a pair of the 220s costs only $349, this could be the best buy in audio today.