the Diamond 12C Centre Speaker brings cinema-quality vocal tangibility and depth to the Wharfedale DIAMOND 12 series home theatre system.
Designed as the centrepiece and perfect complement for the DIAMOND 12 series standmount (bookshelf) and floorstander models, the Diamond 12C Centre Speaker is compact, accurate and powerful.
Using dual 130mm (5”) KlarityTM drivers for accurate, refined mid-range and bass frequencies.
While the 25mm (1”) dome tweeter delivers open and smoothly extended high frequencies opening up detail and depth for movies, sports and music.
NEW Klarity™ cone material, formulated from a blend of Polypropylene and mica adds stiffness to reduce flexing, enabling a lightweight cone with high rigidity, low colouration and lightning-fast response.
The Klarity™ cone is fitted with a low-damping surround, thereby achieving both low colouration and expressive dynamics.
By simulating many different cone shapes and adding ribs to provide further stiffening, a flat response curve was achieved without resorting to a high-damping surround, thereby striking the ideal balance.
A precision-made magnet system with an aluminium compensation ring to minimise the effect of variations in inductance as the voice coil travels. This contributes to an absence of distortion and intermodulation generated by the ‘motor system’.
The voice coil is wound on a high-power epoxy/glass fibre bobbin highly unusual in speakers at this price level.
This has the advantage of not adding eddy currents and delivering greater power handling than an aluminium bobbin, whilst also being much stiffer than the Kapton type associated with this price-class.
DIAMOND highs:
The Diamond 12C Centre Speaker 25mm dome is made from a woven polyester film with a high-loss coating to deliver open and smoothly extended high frequencies.
The Diamond 12C Centre Speaker magnet system and the front plate have been optimised for wide dispersion and uncompressed behaviour.
The Diamond 12C Centre Speaker front plate is flat and exposes the dome as much as possible; only a very short duct on the front plate balances the acoustic load and improves the SPL (sound pressure level) measurement.
A crossover of style:
The crossover network uses an acoustic LKR 24dB topology. This includes air-core inductors of the type more commonly found in high-end speakers, selected because they produce the lowest distortion of all inductor types.
As the resistance of the coil is higher than a standard laminated steel or ferrite core inductor, the magnetic structure of the mid/bass driver has been modified to compensate, resulting in fast, clean bass with no distortion from the inductor.
Firm and fair:
The Diamond 12C Centre Speaker rear-ported enclosure is precisely sized so that the internal volume works in harmony with the drive unit system to deliver the desired sonic result.
A multi-layered sandwich design subdues the identifiable characteristics of the cabinet’s ‘sound’. Even the resonant properties of the glue between the layers were measured to determine the optimum combination.
Brace yourself:
Inside the Diamond 12C Centre Speaker cabinet, Intelligent Spot Bracing connects opposite walls with a specific form of the wood brace to achieve an optimal reduction of cabinet resonance.
These braces are precisely modelled by computer simulation to improve upon the commonplace ‘figure of eight’ brace, which may simply transfer resonance from one wall to another.
The Diamond 12C Centre Speaker is a complete redesign from the previous generation. The dual 5-inch Klarity™ woofers are mica-infused polypropylene cones.
What does that mean? Polypropylene is very light, so it responds quickly to audio signals — important for any speaker to reproduce music accurately.
Mica is a mineral that adds stiffness to polypropylene. That keeps the woofers from losing their shape, which can cause distortion.
Combined with the 1-inch soft-dome tweeter, these new Klarity woofers offer a sound that's impressively accurate and smooth.
The Diamond 12C Centre Speaker is a great value, and it's your ideal choice if you're considering Wharfedale Diamond-series speakers for your main fronts.
The series offers lots of bang for the buck, and I've always been impressed with how elegant Wharfedale speakers look.
Specifications of the Diamond 12C Centre Speaker
Enclosure typ: closed-box system
Transducer complement: 2-way
Bass driver: 130mm advanced PP Cone x2
Treble driver: 25mm)Textile Dome
AV shield: No
Sensitivity(2.83V @ 1m): 90dB
Recommended amplifier power: 20-120W
Peak SPL: 96dB
Nominal impedance: 8Ω Compatible
Minimum impedance: 4.0Ω
Frequency response(+/-3dB): 90Hz ~ 20kHz
Bass extension(-6dB); 80Hz
Crossover frequency: 2.2kHz
Cabinet Volume (in litres): 8.7L
Dimensions ( H x W x D ): 180+28 mm
Net weight: 8.5kg/pcs
