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forum threadZorba1446 posted Yesterday 11:16 PM
forum threadZorba1446 posted Yesterday 11:16 PM

Wharfedale Diamond 12.C center speaker (can also be used as vertical mains), $199 each

$199

$399

50% off
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This is quite a steal if you have a subwoofer pulling the low end, since it has an F3 of 90Hz so you'd likely need a 100Hz high pass filter (crossover), but that's how it achieves a respectable 87db sensitivity despite its compact and high-WAF form factor. (To understand how the bass-for-sensitivity trade-off works, compare with the $3K/pair SVS Ultra Evolution tower which has the same 87db sensitvity but due to being 8x the size, has a 30Hz F3 spec.)

So, if you have a subwoofer this would give you much more room-filling capacity than many speakers in its size and price range ($400/ea. MSRP). Designed by Karl Heinz Fink, who designed the first generation Q Acoustics speakers which were widely acclaimed for their combination of tonal balance, good looks, and high price-to-performance.

Caveat: if you want the traditional "warm and lush" Wharfedale sound signature, you'll have to look at earlier generations of the Diamond series which were designed by Peter Comeaux---the 12 series lean much closer to neutral and will do both music and movies well.

Even though it's marketed as a "center channel," it can be stood vertical and used as mains just like any other 2-way MTM speaker. (The industry doesn't want you to know that because they'd rather sell you tower speakers for your mains, which are much more profitable for THEM---same reason automakers are eager to upsell you to SUVs not sedans.)

Another WAF bonus: available in 4 colors, not just black.

https://www.wharfedaleusa.com/col...el-speaker
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This is quite a steal if you have a subwoofer pulling the low end, since it has an F3 of 90Hz so you'd likely need a 100Hz high pass filter (crossover), but that's how it achieves a respectable 87db sensitivity despite its compact and high-WAF form factor. (To understand how the bass-for-sensitivity trade-off works, compare with the $3K/pair SVS Ultra Evolution tower which has the same 87db sensitvity but due to being 8x the size, has a 30Hz F3 spec.)

So, if you have a subwoofer this would give you much more room-filling capacity than many speakers in its size and price range ($400/ea. MSRP). Designed by Karl Heinz Fink, who designed the first generation Q Acoustics speakers which were widely acclaimed for their combination of tonal balance, good looks, and high price-to-performance.

Caveat: if you want the traditional "warm and lush" Wharfedale sound signature, you'll have to look at earlier generations of the Diamond series which were designed by Peter Comeaux---the 12 series lean much closer to neutral and will do both music and movies well.

Even though it's marketed as a "center channel," it can be stood vertical and used as mains just like any other 2-way MTM speaker. (The industry doesn't want you to know that because they'd rather sell you tower speakers for your mains, which are much more profitable for THEM---same reason automakers are eager to upsell you to SUVs not sedans.)

Another WAF bonus: available in 4 colors, not just black.

https://www.wharfedaleusa.com/col...el-speaker

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Today 12:20 AM
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Joined Dec 2011
wysiwyg1652Today 12:20 AM
193 Posts
Center channel speakers are usually designed to minimize vertical dispersion so they aren't always the best choice for LCR speakers.

SVS Ultra Evolution speakers are state of the art 3-way designs with well-regarded diamond-coated tweeters and a special shape for temporal alignment across all acoustic frequencies. I don't think that they can be compared to this center channel. Having the same sensitivity doesn't mean much in terms of how they actually sound.
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Today 03:30 AM
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supermanrob
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Today 03:30 AM
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Quote from wysiwyg1652 :
Center channel speakers are usually designed to minimize vertical dispersion so they aren't always the best choice for LCR speakers. SVS Ultra Evolution speakers are state of the art 3-way designs with well-regarded diamond-coated tweeters and a special shape for temporal alignment across all acoustic frequencies. I don't think that they can be compared to this center channel. Having the same sensitivity doesn't mean much in terms of how they actually sound.
Completely agree, extremely crazy comparison using thee biggest bias there is!
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Today 03:37 AM
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Zorba1446Today 03:37 AM
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Quote from wysiwyg1652 :
Center channel speakers are usually designed to minimize vertical dispersion so they aren't always the best choice for LCR speakers.

SVS Ultra Evolution speakers are state of the art 3-way designs with well-regarded diamond-coated tweeters and a special shape for temporal alignment across all acoustic frequencies. I don't think that they can be compared to this center channel. Having the same sensitivity doesn't mean much in terms of how they actually sound.
Well, 2 way MTM centers are notorious for having narrow horizontal dispersion compared to TM bookshelf speakers or TMM towers and people often find them to actually sound better vertically due to the virtual elimination of "lobing effects." So there may be trade-offs but this is fairly common practice.

As for the SVS Ultra Evo, I'm not implying that the WD 12.C would be in any way equivalent in performance, but simply as an illustration of Hoffman's Iron Law regarding speaker efficiency vs bass extension vs cabinet compactness.

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