# Diamond Audio - A Brand Necro?



## rton20s

So every once in a while I like to look around and see what the brands of yester-year are doing today. My personal yester-year would be from the mid-90s to the early 2000s. One of those hot ticket brands for me was Diamond Audio. They hit big here locally and I still have some M3 comps and TM3 10s in my non-driven "project" Dakota. 

So I had seen some minor buzz around CES regarding what I might consider a "relaunch" of the brand. They have dumped much of their 2013 lineup and expanded to a much broader line for 2014. Their website is still behind and the FB page isn't much help. I was however able to find some CES 2014 product photos as well as a PDF of their 2014 catalog. 

As far as the catalog is concerned, it is definitely more style than substance. There is a clear lean toward marketing over statistics. There is a bunch of faux heritage, non-quantifiable product descriptions and the requisite typos. That being said, I am still a bit intrigued. Not because I want to buy any of their products, but I would like to know how the Diamond of today stacks up to the Diamond of 15-20 years ago. 

Has anyone taken a look at the new product lineup yet? 

Anyone had a chance to actually see or hear it in person? 

Anyone have more detailed specs or product manuals? 

Anyway, a google search will provide a link to download the catalog. In the mean time here is the new product lineup... 

*AMPLIFIERS*
*HEX:* (Top Tier Class D)
HX400.2 (200w x 2 @ 4 Ohms)
HX480.4 (120w x 4 @ 4 Ohms)
HX640.4 (160w x 4 @ 4 Ohms)
HX800.1D (800w x 1 @ 1 Ohm)
HX1200.1D (1200w x 1 @ 1 Ohm)
HX1600.1D (1600w x 1 @ 1 Ohm)
HX1200.5 (100w x 4 @ 4 Ohms + 800w x 1 @ 2 Ohms)

*MICRO:* (Mid Tier Class D)
MICRO2 (100w x 2 @ 4 Ohms)
MICRO4 (80w x 4 @ 4 Ohms)
MICRO1 (300w x 1 @ 2 Ohms)

*DIAMOND ELITE:* (Mid Tier Class A/B & Class D)
DE300.2 (100w x 2 @ 4 Ohms)
DE400.4 (70w x 4 @ 4 Ohms)
DE600.1D (600w x 1 @ 1 Ohm)
DE1200.1D (1200w x 1 @ 1 Ohm)
DE900.5 (75w x 4 @ 4 Ohms + 450w x 1 @ 2 Ohms)

*SUBWOOFERS*
*HEX PRO:* (TDX, Neo motor, cast cooling fin basket)
HXP102 (700w)
HXP104 (700w)
HXP122 (900w)
HXP124 (900w)
HXP152 (1100w)
HXP154 (1100w)

*HEX:* (3" VC, cast (JBL Style?) basket)
H102 (500w)
H104 (500w)
H122 (600w)
H124 (600w)
H152 (750w)
H154 (750w)

*DIAMOND ELITE:* (dual Spider w/ woven tensil leads, stamped basket)
DE102 (400w)
DE104 (400w)
DE122 (500w)
DE124 (500w)

*DIAMOND SHALLOW:* (3" mounting depth, cast basket)
DS102 (250w)
DS104 (250w)
DS122 (300w)
DS124 (300w)

*DIAMOND:* (stamped basket)
D102 (200w)
D104 (200w)
D122 (200w)
D124 (200w)

*SPEAKERS*
*HEX PRO:* (TDX, Neo motor, cast cooling fin basket)
HXP65 (fiber/polymer weave cone, 30mm aluminum tweeter)

*HEX:* (cast basket)
H65A (aluminum cone, aluminum tweeter)
H65S (aluminum cone, silk tweeter)

*DIAMOND ELITE:* (composite ABS basket, 1" aluminum tweeter)
DE525 (5.25" coax, foam core carbon fiber cone)
DE652 (6.5" coax, foam core carbon fiber cone)
DE692 (6"x9" coax, foam core carbon fiber cone)
DE682 (5"x7" / 6"x8" coax, foam core carbon fiber cone)
DE65C (6.5" component, foam core carbon fiber cone)
DE365C (6.5" 3 way component, foam core carbon fiber cone)
DE65V (6.5" convertible component, aluminum cone)
DEK3 (add on 3 way kit)
DETAK (add on tweeter kit)

*DIAMOND:* (stamped basket, PP Cone, 19mm silk tweeter)
D35 (3.5" full range mid only)
D42 (4" 2 way coax)
D52 (5.25" 2 way coax)
D683 (5"x7" / 6"x8" 3 way coax)
D69V (6"x9" 2 way convertible component)
D694 (6"x9" 4 way coax)
D693 (6"x9" 3 way coax)
D652 (6.5" shallow 2 way coax)
D653 (6.5" 3 way coax)
DE65V (6.5" 2 way convertible component)
D65C (6.5" 2 way component)
D365C (6.5" 3 way component)
DTAK (add on tweeter kit)


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## 82cj8

I loved my m6 12".I have wondered the same.


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## bkjay

I can't wait info on this. I was a big Diamond fan back in the day. The Hex sub is still my dream sub.


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## rton20s

I'm not sure if this will work, but I'll attempt to upload a reduced size PDF of the catalog that I found.


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## bkjay

Thank you for the link. I like the new Hex stuff,not sold on the gold though.


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## rton20s

I believe it is copper. But I know what you're saying.


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## thehatedguy

God has it been nearly 20 years already?

FWIW. Bob Diamond died late last year or early this year.


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## rton20s

thehatedguy said:


> God has it been nearly 20 years already?
> 
> FWIW. Bob Diamond died late last year or early this year.


I know. Right. I can't believe it has been that long. 

I wasn't aware he had passed. He hadn't become involved with Diamond again, had he? I only saw on LinkedIn that he had been working for Zylux up until 2011.


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## thehatedguy

I would have to go and find the article in Voice Coil again...it had who he had worked for over the years. Vance had nothing but great things to say about him, seemed to be a really upstanding and nice guy.


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## Golden Ear

Very interesting. I had a couple of their amps and a sub. It was pretty solid equipment and sounded pretty good. The new amps look nice.


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## rton20s

thehatedguy said:


> I would have to go and find the article in Voice Coil again...it had who he had worked for over the years. Vance had nothing but great things to say about him, seemed to be a really upstanding and nice guy.


Found it. Thanks. 
http://magaudio.biz/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Voice_Coil_2013_11.pdf



VOICE COIL said:


> It is with great regret that I announce the passing of Bob Diamond, another outstanding member of the loudspeaker engineering community. Born in 1956, Diamond received his BSEE at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI.
> 
> He began his career as an Acoustical Engineer at International Jensen (1987). He joined JBL Professional 1987–1993 as a Senior Loudspeaker Engineer. Diamond then became the Chief Loudspeaker Engineer at Aura Systems/Aurasound from 1993–1995. He left Aurasound and formed Diamond Audio Technology, a company that bore his name, as president from 1995–2000. Diamond became the Director of Product Development at M&K Sound from 2000–2003, moving to Cerwin-Vega as a Senior Transducer Engineer from 2003–2005. From 2005–2007, Diamond again served as a Senior Transducer Engineer, this time at Nuventix.
> 
> From 2008–2011, Diamond held positions as Director of Acoustical Engineering, VP of Engineering, and President of Zylux America. He spent the last two years of his life caring for his grandson Corbin, for whom he was putting together a college education fund. His untimely death prevented this, but a group of friends and family have established the Bob Diamond Memorial
> Fund. To contribute, visit www.wepay.com/donations/bob-diamond-memorial-fund.
> 
> I personally knew Bob Diamond. Our paths crossed on numerous occasions over the years at Aurasound, M&K, and Diamond Audio. He had a great sense of humor and was an excellent loudspeaker engineer.


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## bkjay

Wow thanks! What a resume! I always thought the Hex and Jbl Gti subs.looked similar.I'm not saying they are the same,just they look a like.


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## rton20s

It is probably the finned basket/motor cover that did it. What I find as an even more striking similarity (to the point I believe they use the same basket), is the 2014 HEX subwoofers and the current JBL GTO subwoofers.


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## Sound Suggestions

Did I read somewhere that Larry Frederick (formerly of PPI and Audison) now works there? He's a great guy with so much knowledge of the industry


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## thehatedguy

PG and Audison. Yeah he is there, or was there last time I saw him online.


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## Sound Suggestions

Yes, I forgot it was PG not PPI, new stuff looks good...always wanted that old school sub, the one with the fins all over (said to be a sound alike a w6) unfortunately Diamond is not well distributed in Canada...don't think that I ever saw a stocking dealer


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## rton20s

thehatedguy said:


> PG and Audison. Yeah he is there, or was there last time I saw him online.


I believe he is still there. Check the PDF in the link from my previous post. Larry Frederick wrote the forward to the catalog. At the bottom it has his photo and signature as well as "New Product Development" as his title/department. 



rton20s said:


> Found it. Thanks.
> http://magaudio.biz/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Voice_Coil_2013_11.pdf


He was also featured in the DIYMA "Industry Legends Discussion." 
http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/industry-shop-talk/145145-video-industry-legends-discuss-sq-mobile-audio-biz.html



Sound Suggestions said:


> Yes, I forgot it was PG not PPI, new stuff looks good...always wanted that old school sub, the one with the fins all over (said to be a sound alike a w6) unfortunately Diamond is not well distributed in Canada...don't think that I ever saw a stocking dealer


I did too. Never did have a chance to run them as I didn't have the scratch back then. One of my local shops was talking about picking Diamond up last year or the year before. I might swing in and see if they have and what they know about the new line.


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## Sound Suggestions

I downloaded the pdf file, but my Note3 for some reason doesn't want to load it up properly  had a feeling Larry's name might have been on there, spoke to him a couple times on the phone and I found him to be very pleasant/knowledgeable and enthusiastic (this is when he worked for Audison)


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## diy.phil

It actually looks and sounds promising (good).
In paragraph 2 of the PDF file... does this mean it's now made in the Eton/Germany factory, somewhere in LA (their address),... or where are these new Diamond products made?


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## thehatedguy

That DA website has sucked for the last couple of years, and it still does.


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## rton20s

diy.phil said:


> It actually looks and sounds promising (good).
> In paragraph 2 of the PDF file... does this mean it's now made in the Eton/Germany factory, somewhere in LA (their address),... or where are these new Diamond products made?


I'm not sure, but I would be curious to find out. Was Eton the company that did the original manufacturing? 



thehatedguy said:


> That DA website has sucked for the last couple of years, and it still does.


You're telling me?! At least they still have some of the older documentation available. Their FB page isn't really much better, but does at least have a bit more current information. It does appear that they have basically overhauled their brand in terms of products and image (keeping the flagship models), but the same certainly can't be said for the website. That thing is in dire need of an update!


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## thehatedguy

Yeah the original Hex speakers were Eton and the tweeters were LPG (they are sister companies).


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## rton20s

thehatedguy said:


> Yeah the original Hex speakers were Eton and the tweeters were LPG (they are sister companies).


Thanks for the info. The "new" HEX PRO looks pretty much the same as the model they introduced in 2008 save for some cosmetic changes. The basket also appears to be very similar to the original HEX/Eton (save for the new motor and finned cove). So maybe these are being sourced through Eton again, or still. 

If that is true, then the line diy.phil referred to would seem fairly encouraging...
"This years Diamond Audio products are *all* manufactured by the original factory that Bob Diamond first began to work with in making the best sounding products in the world!"


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## vqman

sorry to bump an old thread, but I used the search feature to find some info on Diamond..

I too date back to the mid 90's with my thirst for great audio. and in the early 2000's I decided to build a system in my car again.. after searching all over for great sounding subs, i ended up with Diamonds. I have three 10" subs still, and two different mono-block sub amps from the early 2000's, in great shape that are eventually going into my cars. (one 10" in my 1991 Sentra and two into my M35x)... 

i had heard that in the late 2000's, they stopped being as good as they were earlier in the decade. I bought a pair of 6.5" coaxials (not the 3's, but the 6 series).. i have planned to install them in the front of my Sentra SE-R - but wondered if in fact the late 2000's Diamond quality had suffered from his departure with the company.

thanks for any info, 

Regards, 
Matt


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## Chaos

We carry Diamond, and I remember a time when they made some nice gear. 

I probably shouldn't say this, but frankly, the new stuff is a far cry from the performance they used to offer. Some of the speakers are decent, but the subs are mediocre at best and the amps are underpowered and physically too large for what they are.


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## vqman

Chaos said:


> We carry Diamond, and I remember a time when they made some nice gear.
> 
> I probably shouldn't say this, but frankly, the new stuff is a far cry from the performance they used to offer. Some of the speakers are decent, but the subs are mediocre at best and the amps are underpowered and physically too large for what they are.


thanks for the info.

i wonder how long this has been the case. the amps and subs that i have are the older, good ones. 

However, the set of component 6.5's i have were bought around 2008... they have been in storage while I have been semi-restoring my 1991 Sentra and are finally ready to go in.. i hope they were still good then..


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## rton20s

Chaos said:


> We carry Diamond, and I remember a time when they made some nice gear.
> 
> I probably shouldn't say this, but frankly, the new stuff is a far cry from the performance they used to offer. Some of the speakers are decent, but the subs are mediocre at best and the amps are underpowered and physically too large for what they are.


Ouch. Kind of sad to hear. And this is in reference to all of the new 2014 product?

By the way, what do those Hex Pro HXP 65 actually sale for? 12V news listed retail as $1600-2000!


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## TY701

I received my Micro2 and Micro4 amps and DE10" today. I haven't installed them yet, so I can't comment on the sound, but I must say that I was surprised at the fit/finish. They look/feel nice and and have some weight to them. I know weight doesn't mean anything, but I have had some of the "mini" amps in my hands, and they didn't feel like these. 
If anyone is interested, I could post the manual, as its not avail online. In fact, there isn't much info avail at all.
I feel like a clown using a $50 to show the size, but that is all the paper cash I have right now.


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## bkjay

Must admit,looks damn sharp. Thank you for posting.


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## diy.phil

The old prez on the $50 bill sure looks serious lol.
The Diamond micro2 and 4 boxes look pretty!! Are these amps stackable (low-heat)?


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## cleansoundz

I still have old style Diamond Audio amps in my 300zx.


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## rton20s

They have updated their site... kind of. Still not much in terms of useable information on there. Inaccurate pictures are pretty prevalent as well.  I was really hoping they might be getting their act back together. 

Diamond Audio - 2014


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## Angrywhopper

rton20s said:


> They have updated their site... kind of. Still not much in terms of useable information on there. Inaccurate pictures are pretty prevalent as well.  I was really hoping they might be getting their act back together.
> 
> Diamond Audio - 2014


Not surprised. Don't see Diamond Audio around here at all! Everyone there is probably getting what they can and aborting ship.


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## rton20s

Except for the fact that Diamond pretty much relaunched their entire brand for 2014. It seems like they are putting forth some effort, but clearly not enough.


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## cleansoundz

Diamond audio and Cerwin Vega have the same address.


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## evo9

cleansoundz said:


> Diamond audio and Cerwin Vega have the same address.



Diamond Audio a part of CVDA LLC
1225 E. 7th Street Los Angeles, CA 90021
Tel: 213-261-4161 | Fax: 213-594-4767 | 


Cerwin Vega Mobile,
a CVDA Holdings Company
1225 E. 7th St.
Los Angeles, CA 90021, USA

+1 (213) 261-4161
+1 (213) 5947-4767


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## chithead

Very interesting... I've always been a Diamond Audio fan. Would be great to see them make a comeback into the market.


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## JYarrow

It is so sad to see what happened to them after selling the good stuff 13 years ago. I still have a set of hex 5 1/4s from 1997. But when I heard they were being bought, I got scared. I was running a full diamond system...D6 61/2s, hex 5 1/4s, D7104, D7402, and TDX 12. Blew the sub so I could get a new one (girlfriend dented the dust cap) and was told I could not get another one, so they gave me a credit back. Then we sent in a pair of D6 components and what came back was disappointing. Same mid and tweeter but the big crossover got changed to something that looked like it came from Memphis. But look at it like this...if "old" Diamond couldn't make it building phenomenal products that cost what they did, the "new" Diamond could not d business the same way. So they have to cheapen up the product so they can make more money on it to survive. Sad, but look at PPI, Orion, Sounstream, MB Quart...it's all but mere shadows of their former selves.


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## HiloDB1

Bumping this old thread back up to see if anyone has experience with their new line of products. I just got off the phone with Bob over at Diamond Audio about a local distributor. Hope the quality of the product has returned. I have used their products in the past (D9 comps/amps, D7 amps) If they have similar quality and sound I believe they would make a good addition to my lineup.


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## thrillkiller

I'm trying to get some legacy support and just hearing crickets on their end. Maybe someone here can help. I just picked up a gently used d915d4 in a large ported box that was not designed for the sub. I need to get sealed box specs for this thing and maybe a suggestion on which direction the sub should face(ie up, towards passenger compartment, away from passanger compartment). Box will be in trunk of 1990 infiniti q45. Thanks in advance for any info/help.


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## rton20s

Diamond Audio's recommendation for the D915D4 was as follows...

Sealed SPL: 1.65 CF w/ 1500 Watts
Sealed Optimal: 2.0 CF w/ 1500 Watts
Vented All Around: 2.5 CF @ 36 Hz w/ 1500 Watts
WinISD Sealed Recommendation: 2.344 CF w/ 1500 Watts

One thing to note is that while Diamond says their vented enclosure is tuned to 36 Hz, the vent size would indicate a tuning closer to 31 Hz. A tune to 36 Hz would mean vents that were about 7" shorter. 

None of the sealed options would reach Xmax on 1500 watts. The vented options do, but not until ~23 Hz and ~21 Hz respectively. Throw in a high pass at 20 Hz and you don't really have to worry about it with the vented enclosures either. At only 0.5 cf larger than sealed, I would see what I could do to get the 2.5 CF enclosure tuned to 31 Hz to work. 

https://web.archive.org/web/20070320154300/http://www.diamondaudio.com/PDF/current/D9/D9WooferTechSheet.pdf

And an SPL comparison graph for good measure.


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## thrillkiller

Thanks rton20. Good info. I got some info from someone else that pointed me to the wayback machine and was able to download the diamond's optimal vented enclosure design that they had posted on their old website. I was going to go with sealed because I had thought that would be better. But you suggest vented? Keep in mind I prefer SQ over SPL and the sub is going into a 1990 infiniti q45 with lots of factory "dynomat." Here is the vented enclosure design sheet...


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## rton20s

That design you posted is actually more accurate to Diamonds volume and tuning recommendation than the one in the PDF I linked to. I think vented would be fine, and even preferred over sealed, but I would tune it considerably lower than Diamond's recommendation in a larger enclosure.


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## thrillkiller

did some calculations and i would need to extend the port to 48" for 25hz. 34" for 29hz. I can't figure how to stuff all that port in that box. I could expand the box a bit. Make it deeper some which would also lengthen the port at the same time. Am I on the right track?


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## rhynotune

HiloDB1 said:


> Bumping this old thread back up to see if anyone has experience with their new line of products. I just got off the phone with Bob over at Diamond Audio about a local distributor. Hope the quality of the product has returned. I have used their products in the past (D9 comps/amps, D7 amps) If they have similar quality and sound I believe they would make a good addition to my lineup.


Bump

Looking to install them in a 2015 silverado. Curious on the quality of the new stuff as well.


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## Angrywhopper

Diamond Audio recently launched a new Display program for shops that were interested. I'd recommend anyone interested in their products find a local dealer with a new Display with the new equipment and go have a listen! Decide for yourself with your ears


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## gusgus87

years later im not sure why they are saying their product isnt good. Im wish i could hear the old stuff to find out how great it really was cuz their new stuff is dope. Expensive though. Hex pro stuff cant be worse than the old days I dont believe it.


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## evo9

So who is going to test this out? HXPRO653DI – HEX PRO HEX PRO Diamante Italia Edition – Diamond Audio – 2020 – Best Sounding Mobile and Marine Audio Products


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## rton20s

evo9 said:


> So who is going to test this out? HXPRO653DI – HEX PRO HEX PRO Diamante Italia Edition – Diamond Audio – 2020 – Best Sounding Mobile and Marine Audio Products
> 
> View attachment 276334


Let me just tell you how confidence inspiring it is to list offer a $3k component set with zero real support documents and data. And then to top it off, 70% of the virtually meaningless specs that are provided on the page are wrong because they put the wrong data for the category. 

These appear to be made by PHD. Not sure if that is good, bad or somewhere in between. I know the original Eton Hex line was really nice.


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## gusgus87

You just have to be a little bit of a baller and hear the hex pro. I have des series components and coaxials in my doors. And a singe des122 sub. Really like it. Rated at 500 rms can handle about 700. I’m about to pick up 2 hex 15s tomorrow.
I’m installing a zapco stx 4 sq today so I’ll see how my doors actually can sound. I’ll post a video of their tier 2 lineup. You never hear bad reviews on diamond audio. Especially their silk dome high end line.


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## wrxkyle

yeah i picked up a des1000.5 off fb marketplace, interesting amp, one of those jl slash type multi-ohm same output kind. full range class d, i have it running my sub currently and wondering how well it will sound on a 3 way front stage or whether i should just use it for my midbass bridged and use an old class a/b avionixx axa 440.4 ([email protected], on millie legend 700.3/280.3)

it feels like when cv bought them out they didn't bring along the people that knew the brand with them, there's 3 different sources/ratings for the included power output for this amp and they all seem wrong, even the user manual is different than the online posting off their own site.

haven't been able to find a single other soul running any of their des amps, so strange. they are a bit pricey (this one is evidently $790 new?)









DES1000.5D - DES 5-Channel Full Range Class D Amplifier


High performance 5-channel amplifiers are suitable for any car speakers or subwoofers which are available in cerwin-vega mobile.




diamondaudio.com





anyone know where i could find more info on this thing?


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## rton20s

The "brand" was Bob Diamond. When he left in 2000, I think that is when the decline began. Obviously with products already under development, it probably took a few more years before the reality of his departure was evident to the end user. And with Bob's passing in 2013, I don't think we'll ever see the same Diamond again. 

I know Larry Frederick is there (DA/CVM) now doing product development. But I don't know who they have doing actual engineering (if anyone). I would think the example you gave of inconsistent product information across different sources would fall under Larry's purview. While I haven't heard any of their current lineup, the lack of and/or inconsistent data does not instill much confidence.


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## Subw00er

Rton, ol timer here too, getting back into sq installs. Have the high end morel fronts now with audiocontrol amps and need a sub. In my day, hex was the go to. What is a similarly recognized sub now? Budget is 1000$ and am strongly considering the morel ultimo ti 10”. Its going in a tiny mini cooper convertible.


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## rton20s

Subw00er said:


> Rton, ol timer here too, getting back into sq installs. Have the high end morel fronts now with audiocontrol amps and need a sub. In my day, hex was the go to. What is a similarly recognized sub now? Budget is 1000$ and am strongly considering the morel ultimo ti 10”. Its going in a tiny mini cooper convertible.


The Morel subs are nice. And with a $1000 budget, you have plenty of options. If you are wanting to stick with a 10, I would also consider something like the Audiogrog GB10, Adire Brahma 10 or my personal favorite the Raven 10 XL.


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## Subw00er

Thanks I'm looking at them now. Any idea on how to classify each of these? Personal experience with any?

Also, we have a 2 ohm stable amp (Audio control lc1.800 - 800 watts @ 2 ohms - 500 watts @ 4 ohms), but I'm thinking of going with a 4ohm coil sub. Thats generally better for SQ right?


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## rton20s

Subw00er said:


> Thanks I'm looking at them now. Any idea on how to classify each of these? Personal experience with any?
> 
> Also, we have a 2 ohm stable amp (Audio control lc1.800 - 800 watts @ 2 ohms - 500 watts @ 4 ohms), but I'm thinking of going with a 4ohm coil sub. Thats generally better for SQ right?


I've heard all of the subs I recommended and wouldn't hesitate to use any of them. I personally use the Raven 10XLs in my own car. All of them are capable of significant output with pretty low distortion. 

I personally tend to run higher impedance on my subwoofers, but whether or not the difference is audible is debatable.


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## Subw00er

ok thanks


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## ItsonlyaHONDA

govis80699 said:


> Meaning you must be a scam
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


You joined 15 min ago to tell the 2 hour guy a scammer on a post that's 8 years old.....lol


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## Teddy

I had 3 of their 12" Mac Daddy, regret selling those.


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