Wow! Wharfedale Diamond 10.2's arrived

What about Bozak and their aluminum-cone mids and tweets? I must admit, their large models from back in the day sounded VERY-natural to me. When I was a kid, there was a Bozak dealer right up the road from our house, and when they cranked up a pair of Concert Grands for me the first time, it was mindblowing. Nowadays, I would rather have a pair of Symphonies (The CG's are just too-damn-big... But the Symphonies would be the right balance of power, bass-output, musicality, and that natural, organic quality I like).

For woofers, I really-like wool. That's what the OLD Wharfedales used (It might have been a combination of wool and paper pulp... Can't remember right now, as my brain is shot from the crazy last two weeks I had). My W90's have the wool-based woofers.

I think Bozak in their large models from '62 and later used a silk-based woofer. Using a natural-based material like silk or wool for the woofers makes a lot of sense to me. But like I mentioned before, people are getting some very-nice, very-natural sound out of Kevlar when powered with the right sort of amplification. The Denton reissues are my first pair of speakers with Kevlar woofers, so I'm new to that stuff. I love the sound of Wharfedale's old, classic W12 woofers. I think their crossovers played a very-large role as well. The woofer-to-midwoofer-to-tweeter response is seamless, and the instrument & voice timbre is as natural as it gets.

 

I almost bought the Monitor Audio MR2's with aluminum coated woofer and gold anodize aluminum dome.

 

Never got an ear to a pair of Bozaks. Love to one day.

 

I've yet to hear the 10.2's I have the 9.1's which I'm very happy with. A pair of Denton 80th anniversaries may be my next pair.

 

They just keep getting better and better. Satisfied.

 

Just keep getting better. Really happy with these

 

Go on YouTube and do a search for Bozak 302's or Symphonies, or even the Concert Grands.

I originally got back into the hi-fi thing with the intention of buying some Bozaks, but I detoured and found Wharfedale. My W90's do a mean DSOTM.

 

Those are real purty!!!

 

I only have experience with the Denton 80 speakers which sound and look great.

 

Have had mine for about a year Fantastic with classical piano stuff.

Telemike: what stands are you using? Been looking for some over at Audio Advisor

 

Pangea LS200

 

Yeah, I really-like the finish on those. I was surprised at how nice the Dentons looked, but these look awesome too.

I like the mid-toned colors like this and what the Dentons have. Shows off the finish better than those blond, light-toned colors do.

I get the feeling that the new Wharfedale models like this (with the kevlar woofers and the modern tweeters) really come into their own once they've broken in well. Especially that kevlar woofer/midwoofer. I bet those get more and more natural as you keep playing them over the first couple years. Once I move, I plan to give my Dentons their own setup (My W90's are so big, it makes it near-impossible to set up another pair of speakers in the same side of the room, and I like to get the measurements just right, so it's not easy to move the Dentons in and out without disrupting my main setup, so those speakers are still pretty-low-mileage at this point... I'm dying to listen to them more, but I don't want to mess with my main system, so it's complicated).

What I love about the modern Wharfedales is that they do a beautiful job with all the stuff that my old Wharfedales struggle with, such as music from the '80's and especially post-millennium music, which is not exactly a good match for a pair of speakers with cone-tweeters. The modern Wharfedales are smooth and easy on the ears, but they also have a bass response with a kind of forwardness that works perfectly for late '70's rock as well as '80's stuff. My main speakers DO NOT have that forward-sounding kick to the bass (You need that once in a while... I mean, my W90's are absolutely-perfect for stuff like "Are You Experienced", "Let It Bleed", "Dark Side Of The Moon", etc., but I also need a speaker with a nice forward kick to it for playing those '80's SRV and Metallica albums, and all the other stuff that requires a forward bass response to sound right, and thankfully, the Dentons have it in spades).

 

Update: I have no need to replace these. I am so satisfied with how these sound. I just sit back and enjoy the music.

 

That 6" mid/bass driver is something special! I had 10.2's for awhile; what a gorgeous-sounding, open, full speaker.

 

Telemike - it's like I've stepped back to the early 1990s - Wharfedale and Pioneer Elite was my first "real" system. I still have my Wharfedale Vanguards and my friend bought the Diamonds of the time -


And my Elite



I hope you have a lot of enjoyment out of the Wharfedales. I am biding my time to get my speakers restored 25 years later now.

 

I'm still very happy with these.

 

My 10.2's arrived yesterday, and...holy smokes! What a difference from the 10.1's. Love them!

 

Are the 10.x series still being made, or are there just enough still in inventory for these latter-day purchasers?

 

According to Music Direct's website, I purchased the last pair of black 10.2's in stock. Rosewood was still available.

 

I snagged new 10.7s and 10.2s in black for $699 and $299 a pair--on sale, respectively--at Music Direct today. Sales guy said both models were in stock at and would ship from the "Vegas warehouse," so interested buyers may want to check back after the 4th.

 

I picked up a pair of Wharfedale Denton 80th Anniversary demo speakers at Music Direct during the Wharfedale sale going on right now. Price was too good not to give them a listen.

 

I agree. I have been using a pair of the original Quad 22L's now for years. I've had other speakers from Proac and KEF for in-home demos but stuck with the Quads. Wonderful and underappreciated speakers.

 

I keep looking at speakers on CL thinking I need something bigger, but then I listen to Wharfs and they just are so smooth and enjoyable

 

I’ve got the Diamond 250’s. Definitely needed to be broken in before the low end started to shine. I bit bright right outta the box. My only complaint is their size. Love the sound but they just don’t flow with my living room right now.

 

I just got another pair of 10.2s from Music Direct. The top back corner on one speaker was peeled back about an inch. They came from Vegas to NJ so now I have to go through a long turnaround for either a refund or exchange.