Wharfedale Diamond 220s speaker placement

[spandan414]

Hello fellow FMs,

I am new to the forum and please forgive me if I have posted this question in the wrong section.

I have recently bought a pair of Wharfedale Diamond 220s and am pretty satisfied with them. I have currently placed them on my Entertainment Unit (made out of rose wood) and I am wondering if they would sound a lot different if I place them on a pair of speaker stands. If they do, then how much do you think I should spend on speaker stands for budget speakers like the Diamond 220s (19k)?

Another question is that I have read in one of the reviews that the wharfedale 220s should be placed closer to the wall to get the best out of them. I have placed them 10cms from the back wall, is this fine, or should i give them more space to breath.

I am attaching a few pictures of my current placement.

Thanks,
Sam.

 

[raghupb]

Stands, as I found out recently do help. Speakers like to "float" in air.
Some speakers benefit from keeping them closer to walls. Enhances bass, but can get boomy and muddy, overwhelming other frequencies.

For starters, move it forward so that the front of the speaker lines up with the front of the table and check if there is a positive improvement in sound.

Cheers,
Raghu

 

[sunilkm]

220 has slot loaded design and not rear ported.
So placing closer to rear wall is also fine and will not create any muddy sound.
Yes, as suggested in the above post stands will be good for the placement.

 

[20kHz]

@spandan414
How did you open the from grille!
I thought it was not possible !

 

[Rajkumars]

@spandan414
How did you open the from grille!
I thought it was not possible !

You can remove cover from the corner.....

 

[sunilkm]

@spandan414
How did you open the from grille!
I thought it was not possible !

It is not permanently fixed grill. Removable cloth grill. You have to use the nails on the edge!

 

[spandan414]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. I went ahead and built myself a couple of speaker stands. I followed a few articles on the net on how to build DIY speaker stands. They cost me a meagre 750 bucks and a days work. I have been listening to the speakers on these stands for a couple of days now and boy there was a huge difference. They sound a lot roomier and the bass is a lot deeper. Fallen in love with them all over again

Posting a couple of pictures of the stands that I have built.

 

[raghupb]

Wow. Add spikes and gel pads and you have professional stands.
Great job on the DIY. Have you mass loaded the stands? Sand fill?
-Raghu

 

[spandan414]

Hi Raghu,

I couldn't source the spikes in the hardware stores near my house. May be I can order them online, not sure. I have ordered a couple of anti skid mats on Amazon (Filboy Skid Resistant Mesh), hope they will do the job. If you know any better options, let me know.

I filled the PVC pipes to the brim with dry sand. Made sure the sand is completely dry.

 

[arunkvivek]

They cost me a meagre 750 bucks and a days work.

Hi Spandan,

This has got me very interested. Can you explain your design and how you went about DIY? I have recently got a pair of BS and would like go your way for the stands.

 

[spandan414]

I followed this article for the most part.

I went ahead and bought the below material:

PVC Pipe (3 inch)
3/4 inch water proof plywood
Thread Rod
Jamb Nuts
Lock Washers
Flat Washers
Sand
Sand Paper
Black paint and Brush

The article describes exactly what you need to do. So, I suggest you read the article first to make sense of what I am going to convey in the next paragraph.

I'll list out the hurdles that I came across which might help others. When you buy the PVC pipe, don't let the hardware shop guy to cut it. Buy the full pipe and cut it yourself with the hacksaw blade. I made a mistake by asking the hardware shop guy to cut the pipe for me. They just wont cut it evenly. If the cut is not even, you will have to seal the gaps with something like mseal when you sandwich the pipe between the two plywood planks. The thread rod needs to be cut precisely. So, assemble the stand before you glue and pour sand to mark the thread rod with a sketch pen. I couldn't procure "Rope Chalk" which was suggested in the article to glue the planks to the pipe. I used mseal instead which worked well. When you buy the washers, make sure that the washers are smaller in diameter as you need to drill the holes on both the planks to fit the washers into the planks.

 

[spandan414]

Wow. Add spikes and gel pads and you have professional stands.
Great job on the DIY. Have you mass loaded the stands? Sand fill?
-Raghu

Hi Raghu,

I couldn't source the spikes in the hardware stores near my house. May be I can order them online, not sure. I have ordered a couple of anti skid mats on Amazon (Filboy Skid Resistant Mesh), hope they will do the job. If you know any better options, let me know.

I filled the PVC pipes to the brim with dry sand. Made sure the sand is completely dry.