Hi-Fi: Wharfedale Diamond 10.6 Floorstanding Loud Speakers – Review – 77

It’s probably due to an interesting childhood that Dr Who has been a favourite of mine over the years. Every second season or so a new Doctor comes along, resplendent in a different suit of clothes and sporting advanced technological tools in the fight against Daleks and Cybermen – not to mention the Giant spiders of Metebelis Three. Of course, change isn’t always good (remember Colin Baker, anyone?), but the show has remained interesting because of it.

The great thing about Dr Who is it always reinvents itself, and the prime example of reinvention in terms of audio equipment must be the long-running Diamond series 
from Wharfedale.

Improving on the Diamond 9 series was going to be tough. The range had almost universal acclaim from all points of the hi-fi globe, but a new series was almost as inevitable as a new Dr Who.

Enter the new Diamond 10 series, clad in a shiny new suit of clothes and sporting internal improvements designed to keep Wharfedale’s series ahead of the pack.

Hot off the manufacturer’s assembly line and straight into my trusty system was a pair of the floorstanding Diamond 10.6s. This rear-ported slim pedestal uses two carbon fibre 165mm bass drivers and a 25mm silk dome tweeter, but the obvious difference between old and new Diamonds is the shiny piano finish front baffle, employed within the 10 series to reduce cabinet vibration and, perhaps paying homage to the legendary Wharfedale ‘E’ series from yesteryear, silver driver surrounds. Even the main driver’s roll edge has come in for a tech revamp, resembling the tread pattern of a tyre, presumably in an effort to reduce distortion of the cone under high volume.

As for the enclosure itself, thicker cabinet walls are used to increase rigidity and reduce internal standing waves, and each curved cabinet is clad in a realistic looking black timber-effect vinyl wrap. Otherwise, decent adjustable floor spikes and five-way binding posts make for what looks a nicely finished speaker that would look great in most homes.

With an efficiency rating of 88dB and a six Ohm impedance, the 10.6 is a pretty easy load for the vast majority of amplifiers in the market. Luckily, I had tons of amplifiers at home at the time, so everything from my 250wpc Korsun and 100W Manley tube pre/power to the micro-powered Kingrex spent time delivering watts to the Diamond 10.6s.

And basically the 10.6s are a fine speakers, albeit ones that really need a bit of room around them. Too close to wall boundaries and they begin to boom, but larger spaces allow them to breathe and in this environment the Diamonds were able to produce very listenable, quality sound.

Tracks from Tori Amos’s new and oddly titled Abnormally Attracted To Sin album showcased excellent pace, rhythm and timing from the Wharfedales, along with nice pitch control during the many piano segments on the disc. Her voice was also a delight, the 10.6s capturing a sweetness in Amos’s vocals that has been missing from her last few CDs; while an open mid-band combined with the tweeter to create an open, integrated sound. Heavier music such as Metallica’s Master Of Puppets also fared well, the 10.6s capturing the rawness of Hetfield, Ulrich, Ulrich and Burton at their peak with excellent dynamics and detail.

The Diamond 10.6s do very little wrong for the outlay. They’re a true blue no-brainer purchase.

Gary Pearce

Tech Specs

Enclosure type: 
Two-way bass reflex
Drive Units: bass/mid – 165mm x 2, 25mm textile dome HF
Frequency Response: 
45Hz-40kHz
Sensitivity: 88dB
Impedance: 6 Ohms
Recommended Amplifier: 20-150W
Dimensions: 955 x 223 x 301mm (H/W/D, incl spikes)
Weight: 6.45kg each

Pros

• Dynamic sounding but doesn’t smudge the detail

Cons

• Must be placed clear of rear and side walls

Verdict

• An update on an already popular speaker, Wharfedale’s new Diamond 10.6 is an accomplished performer that sounds great when situated in free space

CONTACT

www.wharfedale.co.nz

This Review is from Tone Issue #77.