Name: Wharfedale Diamond 12.3 Floorstanding Speaker (Pair), Black Oak
SKU: YXYUY 98478
Availability: InStock

Full Description

Award

2021 & 2022 Product of the Year for Floorstanding Speakers

Award

2021 – 2023 Best floorstanding speaker under £500

“For yet another year, these affordable floorstanders are the speakers to beat”

“It’s tough to make a truly talented affordable floorstander, but Wharfedale has cracked it with the 12.3.”

Diamond Value

From their introduction to the market in 1982, Wharfedale’s Diamond speakers have been critically appraised and copiously awarded. Today, they are still known for their great value and leading quality within the entry-level Hi-Fi category. The Diamond 12 series is no different. They will dependably deliver the music you enjoy with accuracy and authenticity. The 12.3 floorstanding speakers have been What Hi-Fi’s ‘product of the year’ within the floorstanding speaker category for two consecutive years. In the same years, the 12.3 speakers were selected as the best floorstanding speaker under £500; a testament to their great value.

Fink and Wharfedale

On board to design the Diamond series was Karl-Heinz Fink, the winner of What Hi-Fi?’s Outstanding Contribution Award for 2022. His influence on the design of speakers is monumental and, therefore, further assurance of the Diamond 12 series’ quality. With Fink’s engineering and Wharfedale’s vision for affordable Hi-Fi, the Diamond 12.3 floorstanding speakers set a new benchmark for the entry-level category.

Mid/Bass Klarity

The Diamond 12.3 floorstanding speakers feature Wharfedale’s new Klarity mid/bass drivers. These are made with polypropylene and mica for added stiffness, low distortion, and high resistance. While polypropylene is sometimes critiqued in speakers for creating mediocre sound this is primarily down to engineering rather than material selection. Wharfedale has certainly mastered polypropylene as the 12.3 speakers achieve characterful sound with minimal distortion and high moisture resistance. Such features will help keep your 12.3 floorstanding speakers in great condition for years to come.

Engineering Ingenuity

So, what is it that helps the dual mid/bass drivers sound so good? For one, a low- rather than high-damping surround is used to ensure that dynamics and bass are not restricted or softened. Adding this was no mean feat; extra stiffness was needed elsewhere on the Klarity cone to compensate. Ultimately, Wharfedale achieved a flat frequency response curve demonstrating that more expressive sounds are possible by using polypropylene and a little bit of ingenuity. A precision-made magnet system minimises inductance variation effects along the driver voice coil. This voice coil is wound around a high-power epoxy/glass fibre bobbin, contributing a level of power handling and overall performance not often achievable in speakers of this price point.

Tweeter and Crossover Capability

As well as dual mid/bass drivers, the Diamond 12.3 floorstanding speakers feature a 25 mm dome tweeter for high-frequency audio. They are designed to widely disperse and deliver your sound without unnecessary compression. The front plate is flat and exposes the tweeter dome with a short duct, balancing acoustic load and improving sound pressure. The 12.3’s tweeter seamlessly blends with the mid/bass drivers via a crossover network with acoustic LKR 24 dB topology. Air core inductors (of the standard found in premium speakers) produce the lowest distortion of all inductor types. Because this coil’s resistance is higher than that of a standard laminated steel or ferrite core inductor, the magnetic structure of the mid/bass driver was modified to compensate. This has led to quick, tidy bass without distortion from the inductor.

Cabinet Construction

The cabinets of the Diamond 12.3 speakers not only help them look great but also secure everything within. Construction makes a surprising amount of difference to sound quality too. Consequently, Wharfedale has paid close attention to its speaker exteriors. A rear-ported enclosure is specially designed to create harmony between internal volume and driver units. Wood fibre boards of varying thicknesses make up the cabinet walls; these boards and the glue which holds them together have been crafted and selected specifically to avoid any unwanted effects to sound output. Intelligent Spot Bracing successfully lowers cabinet resonance. The wood braces which internally connect opposite walls are modelled with precision by computer simulation for the utmost accuracy.

Features

Dual 130 mm Klarity mid-bass drivers with improved stiffness and low colouration
Intelligent spot-braced cabinets for minimal resonance
Designed in collaboration with Karl-Heinz Fink, the acclaimed and highly influential speaker designer
Available in three finishes: black oak, walnut pearl, and light oak
Wide dispersion 25 mm tweeters help your sound go further
Low distortion thanks to premium air core inductors

Specifications

Dimensions

Dimensions (H x W x D)	975 x 180 x 320 mm
Weight (each)	19.5 kg

General

Speaker type	2.5-way floorstanding speaker
Enclosure type	Bass reflex
Treble driver	25 mm textile dome
Mid/bass driver	130 mm Klarity™ composite
Dedicated bass driver	130 mm Klarity™ composite
Sensitivity (2.83 v @ 1 m)	89 dB
Recommended amp power	30 – 150 Watts
Peak SPL	102 dB
Nominal impedance	8 Ω compatible
Minimum impedance	5 Ω
Frequency response (+/-3 dB)	45 Hz – 20 kHz
Bass extension (-6 dB)	40 Hz
Crossover frequency	2.2 kHz