The Wharfedale Diamond 12 range has collected awards ever since it arrived in 2020. Its 5.1 home cinema package, the Diamond 12.1 HCP, won five What Hi-Fi? Awards in a row. Six years on, Wharfedale has refreshed the line as the Diamond 12i series, and the revised surround package, the Diamond 12.1i HCP, was reviewed by What Hi-Fi? on October 6, 2026. It earned five stars.
The package has two pairs of Diamond 12.1i standmounts for the front and surround channels, the 12.1Ci centre speaker and the SW 10 subwoofer. The SW 10 is the same sub that came with the earlier Diamond 12 packages. In the UK the set costs £999, the same as the 12.1 HCP it replaces. Buying the parts separately would cost £1126. When the review was published, the 12.1Ci centre did not seem to be on sale in the US, although the 12.1i and SW 10 were.
What changed
Most of the changes are inside. Wharfedale redesigned the bass port, added better internal damping and tuned it for what the company calls “improved bass clarity and control”. The drive units are largely the same as before, but they are now built to tighter production tolerances. One change you can see from the back is the terminals. The old 12.1 speakers could be bi-wired, and the new ones take a single pair of cables.
The 12.1i keeps its 13cm mid/bass driver, made from Wharfedale’s Klarity material, a blend of polypropylene and mica. Each one uses a magnet system with an aluminium compensation ring. Treble comes from a 25mm woven polyester dome with a high-loss damping coating, set in a shallow waveguide. The 12.1Ci centre uses the same parts, with the tweeter placed between two 13cm mid/bass drivers. The cabinets are made of wood fibre board in several thicknesses and use Intelligent Spot Bracing, which links opposite walls with a wooden brace to reduce resonance.
Key specs
- Diamond 12.1i: 2-way bass reflex, 100W max power, 88dB sensitivity, 8 ohms, 65Hz to 20kHz, 31 x 18 x 28cm (hwd), 6.8kg each
- 12.1Ci centre: 120W max power, 90dB sensitivity, 8 ohms, 90Hz to 20kHz, 8.5kg
- SW 10 subwoofer: 25cm front-firing long-throw driver, 200W amplifier output (350W claimed peak), 40Hz to 120Hz, stereo line and LFE RCA inputs, 42 x 34 x 38cm (hwd), 16.5kg
The boxes are the same size as before, but the styling has changed. The two-tone look, a gloss baffle with wood-grain vinyl sides, is gone from the All-black and Stone Grey finishes, which now have a smoother, plainer surface. A Walnut version keeps the wood surround and pairs it with a matte black baffle.
How it sounds
What Hi-Fi? tested the system with a Denon AVC-A1H AV amplifier and an Oppo UDP-203 player. The reviewers praised the centre speaker’s clear dialogue and the smooth way sound passed between channels. The SW 10’s bass was deep and even in the hard chapter two sequence of Blade Runner 2049. Overall, the review found the sound detailed and spacious, with “excellent value for money”.
The main catch is that the front and surround speakers are standmounts, so you will need to budget for stands.
