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Wharfedale Diamond 12 Owner's Thread

Willem

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I am not sure an equalizer is a good idea, but modern dsp room equalization should be part of any system with a subwoofer. The Naim amplifier is a hugely overpriced and underpowered piece of audiophilia, but it is what you have, and it might just have enough power to work in a small room like this. Does it have a line level subwoofer output?
The first thing I would recommend is to buy a mini DSP Umik-1 calibrated measurement microphone, and use it with the free REW measurment software. It will tell you what your speakers are doing in your room.
Next, what are your sources? If you are using a computer as a source you could use REW and the free Egualizer Apo or similar software to create a very precise tone comtrol and perhaps lift the bass a bit, plus create filters to equalize the response to deal with room modes (peaks and dips at low frequencies). The snag here is that the amplifier does not have much spare power to increase low frequency level. The advantage it that you can experiment without spending a fortune.
If you find that you need to lift bass response more than just a little bit, and extend it a lot, then the subwoofer route is probably the most cost effective way to do this. It will add real extension and power. Ideally one should use at least two (mono) subwoofers, for a smoother response across a wider listening area, and a high pas filter on the main speakers and power amplifier, but that is probably not possible with the Naim, unless it has separate pre/power amp connections. If the Naim does not have a subwoofer line level connection and you want some dsp room eq you will need to get the signal from the speakers connection, use an attenuating cable, and then insert a DSpeaker ANtimode 8033 room eq unit or a miniDSP 2x4HD dsp unit that can use REW or Multi Sub Optimizer filters.
In short, good bass does not come easy.
 

knownothing

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Of course not.
Willem, have you tried it? You can get silver plated OCC jumper from China for $11USD. Try it with your Wharfedale Diamond 12.X and report back. If you can’t hear a difference, especially in the treble, I will Venmo you the $11.

kn
 
Last edited:

knownothing

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I am not sure an equalizer is a good idea, but modern dsp room equalization should be part of any system with a subwoofer. The Naim amplifier is a hugely overpriced and underpowered piece of audiophilia, but it is what you have, and it might just have enough power to work in a small room like this. Does it have a line level subwoofer output?
The first thing I would recommend is to buy a mini DSP Umik-1 calibrated measurement microphone, and use it with the free REW measurment software. It will tell you what your speakers are doing in your room.
Next, what are your sources? If you are using a computer as a source you could use REW and the free Egualizer Apo or similar software to create a very precise tone comtrol and perhaps lift the bass a bit, plus create filters to equalize the response to deal with room modes (peaks and dips at low frequencies). The snag here is that the amplifier does not have much spare power to increase low frequency level. The advantage it that you can experiment without spending a fortune.
If you find that you need to lift bass response more than just a little bit, and extend it a lot, then the subwoofer route is probably the most cost effective way to do this. It will add real extension and power. Ideally one should use at least two (mono) subwoofers, for a smoother response across a wider listening area, and a high pas filter on the main speakers and power amplifier, but that is probably not possible with the Naim, unless it has separate pre/power amp connections. If the Naim does not have a subwoofer line level connection and you want some dsp room eq you will need to get the signal from the speakers connection, use an attenuating cable, and then insert a DSpeaker ANtimode 8033 room eq unit or a miniDSP 2x4HD dsp unit that can use REW or Multi Sub Optimizer filters.
In short, good bass does not come easy.
Plus 1 for good bass does not come easy.
 

knownothing

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Hi Guys!
I own a pair of Wharfedale Diamond 12.2 speakers with a Naim Nait 5i amplifier, and feel my current system a bit bass-shy. The music is very punchy, rhythmic and fast, but the bass doesnt have enough depth. I am actually quite stuck here, because I am about to buy new a DAC, but have been thinking about buying a sub or switching the amplifier. I am open to any suggestions.
Try gradually moving the Wharfedales closer to the rear wall and see if that gives you a little bass lift without losing clarity or muddying things up. If that doesn’t help, go with subwoofer(s). But save your pennies for a sub from SVS, Hsu, REL or similar.

kn
 

munin

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If you can’t hear a difference
That the problem, dude. Of course hearing is important BUT everybody here knows that the human hearing is one of the most bias sense we've got. So the best is to measure before and after to check if there is any difference AND/OT to do a real ABX text Wich will take more times and wont be easy to setup properly.

So the so call "did yout try?" argument is not a good one here depending on how you "try".
 

Willem

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Some things depend on the established science of physics. In this case, that suggests that you would be wasting your time and that the so called listening test is just an illusion. That would not be surprising, since expectation bias is a well known phenomenon. I have no intention to find out if the world is flat, or not.
 
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