The Wharfedale Diamond 12.4i is the largest floorstander in the updated DIAMOND 12i Series, sitting above the smaller 12.3i and complementing the 12.1i and 12.2i bookshelf models. It is a 2.5-way design pairing a 25mm textile dome tweeter with twin 150mm drivers in a bass-reflex cabinet, taking the foundations of the long-running Diamond 12 line and refining them with new finishes and revised port tuning for cleaner low-frequency control.
Refined acoustic engineering
For the i-series update, Wharfedale's engineering team revisited the cabinet's bass port and internal damping. Led by Director of Acoustic Design Peter Comeau, the work used laser interferometry, anechoic and in-room measurements, and computational fluid dynamics to assess airflow and pressure inside the port. The result is a more controlled bass response with cleaner transitions between low and mid frequencies, while preserving the neutral character that defined the original Diamond 12.4.
Twin 150mm drivers in 2.5-way configuration
The 12.4i uses two 150mm advanced polypropylene cones in a 2.5-way arrangement: one driver carries the midrange and upper bass, while the second extends the low-frequency response. The cones are lightweight and well-damped for expressive dynamics and precise transient response. Ribbed cone shaping helps maintain a smooth frequency response and a low-damping surround supports a wide dynamic range. Each driver is mounted to a precisely tuned magnet system designed to reduce inductance variation as the voice coil moves, lowering intermodulation distortion.
25mm textile dome tweeter
High frequencies are handled by a 25mm woven polyester dome treated with a high-loss damping coating for an extended, smooth treble. The tweeter sits behind a flat front plate with a minimal waveguide, designed to broaden dispersion and improve off-axis response so the sense of stereo space holds across a wide listening area.
High-quality crossover
Inside the cabinet, the crossover network uses air-core inductors of the type usually found in higher-end designs. The network is tuned for minimal phase shift and a smooth handover between drivers at 2.1kHz, with the driver motor systems adjusted to compensate for the resistance of the higher-quality components.
Low-resonance cabinet
Each enclosure is built from a multi-layered sandwich construction designed to suppress panel resonance, with the adhesive between layers acoustically tested as part of the damping. Inside, computer-modelled spot bracing connects opposing cabinet walls to control vibration without transmitting energy from one panel to another. The All-Black finish gives the cabinet an understated, contemporary look and complements the Classic Walnut and Stone Grey alternatives in the range.
