Wharfedale Diamond 12.1 HCP £999
It’s not always easy being part of a large, successful dynasty. Just ask the Windsors. Similar to the Royals, fellow British institution Wharfedale and its Diamond series of speakers have a long and storied legacy (albeit with significantly less scandal), as well as a bit of a German connection. For Diamond 12, Wharfedale brought in Germany-based designer Karl Heinz Fink, and the result is a solidly built, nicely finished, well engineered package.
The tautness and dexterity of the SW-10 subwoofer is striking when the Diamond 12.1 HCP gets playing. It’s an incredibly musical sub and it blends seamlessly with the smaller speakers, which themselves have an impressively well integrated low end. The result is rich and lively sound, particularly with films that have a heavily featured score.
The soundfield is smooth too, and although swapping the front two speakers for floorstanders would certainly provide more scale, there is something to be said for the consistency of tone created by using the same speaker for fronts and surrounds.
To give these tabletop-sized boxes a vigorous musical challenge, we try Blade Runner 2049 and they project the meaty, sonorous score with both composure and charisma. In the scene in which Ryan Gosling flies to the orphanage, there are plenty of delicate nuances too, from the sound of the raindrops landing on the windscreen to the wiper cleaning them off.
With poise, effortlessness, cut-glass diction and charisma, the Wharfedale Diamond 12.1 HCP is the Audrey Hepburn of home cinema speaker packages. It offers rich bass without sacrificing or overpowering the mid and treble, presenting a mature sound that’s rich in impact, agility, detail and sensitivity. An excellent choice for both music and film.