#BEST FLOORSTANDING SPEAKERS CRACKED#
#BEST FLOORSTANDING SPEAKERS PLUS#

The feet can be somewhat wobbly on carpet and I would stick with a hardwood floor if you can.ĭitch the foam port pucks that are designed to be inserted if the loudspeaker has to be placed closer to the wall due to space limitations. The build quality is quite high for the price and they do feel rather substantial when you set them up. Don’t buy another tower at this level without hearing this one first.The 3050i does not get enough respect from the hi-fi press and that’s problematic because it offers so much value for the money.

They are terrifically accomplished for the money and good enough to claim a space in the Diamond’s hall of fame.

#BEST FLOORSTANDING SPEAKERS CRACKED#

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

#BEST FLOORSTANDING SPEAKERS PLUS#

You can add an even tonal balance and stable stereo imaging to the list of plus points, too. There’s punch and power when required, but also a level of subtlety that’s rare to find in a floorstander at this price. They deliver Hans Zimmer’s raucous The Battle from the Gladiator OST with verve, tracking the brutal dynamics well. Play them louder and these speakers don’t complain. Too often we come across speakers that only come alive when pushed hard, but the 12.3 can be enjoyed at levels that won’t wake the kids or upset the neighbours late at night. These Diamonds also sound good at lower volume levels. The lows are agile, satisfyingly rich and textured with it. We like how Wharfedale has avoided excess there’s enough bass weight to satisfy but not so much that it spoils the balance of the presentation. The Wharfedale’s chief rival is the talented Fyne F302i, which sound more enthusiastic but lack the Diamond’s innate sophistication.Īs we move from Jay Z’s Blueprint 3 to Kate Bush’s Hounds Of Love, we appreciate the 12.3’s articulate and expressive midrange and the seamless integration between the drive units. They resolve a large amount of information but also present it in an organised and controlled way.

These speakers capture the album’s laid-back rhythms in a pleasingly sure-footed manner and don’t get tripped up when things get complex. Compatibilityįeed them Trance Frendz by Ólafur Arnalds and they deliver a lovely layered sound that’s brimming with detail and dynamic nuance. Speakers at this level have a difficult job to do: they have to be forgiving enough to sound acceptable with budget all-in-one electronics but still have the transparency to make the most of the best price-compatible separate components around. Similarly, keep them at least 70cm away from the sidewalls if you want to maximise stereo imaging, sonic balance and clarity. A bit of angle towards the listening position helps to firm the stereo imaging, too, but the 12.3’s broad dispersion characteristics mean that you don’t have to be millimetre-perfect to get good results. We find they work well if positioned at least 50cm from the rear wall we settle on 90cm in our test room.

Perhaps it’s more useful to know that the minimum impedance is 5ohms, which means these floorstanders are unlikely to give any decent price-compatible amplifier a problem.Īt just short of 98cm tall, the 12.3 aren’t massive speakers, but they still perform best if given a little room to breathe. A carefully shaped faceplate leaves as much of the dome exposed as possible, and the contouring closest to the dome is there to provide a small degree of horn loading.Ĭombined with a carefully calibrated, relatively sophisticated crossover, the result is a speaker with a sensitivity of 89dB/W/m and a nominal impedance that’s quoted as being 8ohm compatible. It’s a 25mm coated woven polyester soft dome, and a good one it is too. Wharfedale follows standard industry practice by using the same tweeter throughout the Diamond 12 range.

Best floorstanding speakers