Wharfedale Aura 2 review by ErinsAudioCorner

[BrokenEnglishGuy]

The Mofi have a wide dispersion.

The aura have wider dispersion clearly, to be honest the concentric benefit allow you to sit more above or below the tweeter, if you want to listen a wide dispersion... thats only the horizontal plane, usually concentric design are more narrow, the mofi is narrowlike the kef... and maybe kef is a little bit wider

sourcepoint 8

R3M:

This one is kind of bugged xD

Aura2:

 

[cavedriver]

What I'd like to know is: when does the Evo 4.2 get klippel'd ?.... Tell me no one else has thoughts in the same vein....with these & the Linton doing so well we gotta see what the other 3 way measures like....

iirc, I think a UMIK-1 in-room type measurement done by a friend showed the tweeter was fairly hot, like a couple dB more than you would want over a wide enough range to need a shelf. Otherwise it sounded fairly good, especially for its price, not too many other flaws and perhaps with a minor crossover mod could be quite a bargain.

 

[Robert-Hifi]

Even the KEFs start to beaming, beaming is a very normal stuff


If u want very wide soundstage without beaming, u should buy only Q acoustics or speakers with Ribbon tweeter

I know most designs start to beam at a certain point, maybe I'm just worrying too much about it?
It was my assumption that you want to have wide dispersion up to 10 khz before beaming is taking over since there is very little going on above 10 khz with most music content.

All transducers beam in some way at higher frequencies, it is a consequence of the sound waves being of similar or smaller size than the transducer's surface.

The way I experienced the highs dropping off with the Wharfedale Evo 4.4 (which also has a AMT) was rather sharp.
Measurements from German magazine Audio (see attachment) showed the highs already started to drop off around 5 kHz on-axis.
Off-axis also around 5 kHz just even faster. And vertically +10 degrees already at 3 kHz.

The Wharfedale Aura AMT doesn't drop off on-axis, it even has a slight rise around 13 kHz.
Off-axis 30 degrees it's still pretty flat with slightly less treble energy.

I had both at the same time. Returned the Aura 2 because I wanted more bass and was waiting for a deal on the Aura 4 or a used pair. However, hasn’t happened yet. I tried to like the Mofi SP10 because they play louder, are more room filling, and have more bass in my 18’x22’x8’ room. However, they are too bright for my ears althought they measure flat. The Auras dip a bit in the higher frequencies which accentuates the midrange. I missed the luscious midrange of the Aura, so bought another pair of Aura 2 since they are on a big sale right now. I’m selling the SP10s.

I’m not sure of the horizontal dispersion of the Aura. I’ll have to test them when mine arrive this week.

The Mofi have a wide dispersion. That is one of the large benefits of their concentric drivers. You can position them straight ahead (no toe in) and can still hear them clearly. That makes them great for large rooms IMO.

The Mofi 888s will probably be amazing. Will almost be like having three 10” woofers per speaker instead of one. I may not even need subs with that many woofers.

I had 3 Mofi SP10s at one point and used one as a center channel. Sounded amazing as a center. You can place them horizontal and not lose anything. Even Andrew Jones auditioned them that way in some reviews. I can imagine a surround sound setup of 2 888s, 1 SP10 center and 2 SP8 as surrounds would be AH-mazing.

Don’t sleep on the Aura, though. They are a hidden gem unless you want a brighter sound. I would love to hear the Elysian to see if their AMT tweeter is really better. I couldn’t find any reviews comparing the two and I wonder if they benefit from a similar tweeter as their more expensive brethren. Also, the 4” Glass Fibre Matrix midrange woofer is the secret weapon of the Aura. It sounds really good and helps the mids stand out. I tried to find other speakers using that midrange woofer it was so good and found out it is a ScanSpeak Discovery Woofer. I didn’t have luck finding other speakers, but I imagine most speakers with a Discovery woofer have a luscious midrange.

Right now the entire Wharfedale Aura series has a 30% discount here in the Netherlands.
I'm not particular looking for a bright loudspeaker the way you describe the SourcePoint 10, but the SourcePoint 8 is the more neutral of the two in the treble.
Did you try to EQ it to taste?

My expectations are high for the SourcePoint 888, the bass should be awesome with very tight and punchy bass. And I really like Black Ash veneer, not a fan of gloss finishes.

Wharfedale Aura 4 or Mofi SourcePoint 888?
Both have their pros and cons. Or something in the middle like the Focal Aria Evo X N°4?

Hard to choose...

 

[BrokenEnglishGuy]

It was my assumption that you want to have wide dispersion up to 10 khz before beaming is taking over since there is very little going on above 10 khz with most music content.

I mean, if the drivers could change it's form in real-time to each frequency would be the best case, brands do the best they can to improve and change the directivity in many ways using a lot of technnics...

Some brands have wider dispersion very high, but for example coaxial drivers while are more narrow are more even with the sound, but the current coaxials start to beam normally, brands who mainly has wide dispersion in the region of 10khz aren't coaxial
example can be Q acoustics which their mid tier model start to beam at 12khz and it's up to 70°, i imagine the Concept models are a bit better, but it's among the best dispersions for dome tweeters. BMR, ascend acoustics ribbon model are very wide dispersion as well and beam very high as you can see, i'd say if you like bigs cymbals these are going to sound way fun than these constant coaxial directivity... you have to pick..., the bmr v2 is very constant anyway too 1khz to 15khz~ looks very constant enough

For for a DOME tweeter Q acoustics did a remarkable job with the 5040..., the Concepts range are curved with wave guide so i expect better

Some people just hate narrow directivity..., but constant directivity works very well in real rooms with no treatment.. so some of them love them? you have to pick anyway what suit what you want and expect, cymbals are going to sound very different with the KEFS and the BMR V2 speaker

 

[Ucftechguru]

I know most designs start to beam at a certain point, maybe I'm just worrying too much about it?
It was my assumption that you want to have wide dispersion up to 10 khz before beaming is taking over since there is very little going on above 10 khz with most music content.



The way I experienced the highs dropping off with the Wharfedale Evo 4.4 (which also has a AMT) was rather sharp.
Measurements from German magazine Audio (see attachment) showed the highs already started to drop off around 5 kHz on-axis.
Off-axis also around 5 kHz just even faster. And vertically +10 degrees already at 3 kHz.

The Wharfedale Aura AMT doesn't drop off on-axis, it even has a slight rise around 13 kHz.
Off-axis 30 degrees it's still pretty flat with slightly less treble energy.



Right now the entire Wharfedale Aura series has a 30% discount here in the Netherlands.
I'm not particular looking for a bright loudspeaker the way you describe the SourcePoint 10, but the SourcePoint 8 is the more neutral of the two in the treble.
Did you try to EQ it to taste?

My expectations are high for the SourcePoint 888, the bass should be awesome with very tight and punchy bass. And I really like Black Ash veneer, not a fan of gloss finishes.

Wharfedale Aura 4 or Mofi SourcePoint 888?
Both have their pros and cons. Or something in the middle like the Focal Aria Evo X N°4?

Hard to choose...

I think you will like the Aura 4 if you like an accentuated midrange. I haven’t seen any reviews of the Sourcepoint 888, but they’ll need to use one of the 8” woofers as a dedicated midrange speaker to get it to equal the Aura’s midrange. The SP10 is lean in the midrange compared to the Aura. Other online reviewers have stated the same thing. Since it’s pretty flat, the midrange can come off as lean. If you have wide listening positions, the SP888 may also be preferable as the Aura definitely has a smaller sweet spot.

 

[Penelinfi]

I think you will like the Aura 4 if you like an accentuated midrange. I haven’t seen any reviews of the Sourcepoint 888, but they’ll need to use one of the 8” woofers as a dedicated midrange speaker to get it to equal the Aura’s midrange. The SP10 is lean in the midrange compared to the Aura. Other online reviewers have stated the same thing. Since it’s pretty flat, the midrange can come off as lean. If you have wide listening positions, the SP888 may also be preferable as the Aura definitely has a smaller sweet spot.

The source point 8 is apparently more neutral than the 10, which has a little bit of extra mid or lower treble? From what I remember.

The 888 I'm guessing is coaxial mid-tweeter with 2x underhung bass.
The goal for Andrew was to reduce cone motion in the 8 and 10.
With the 888 he'll be able to maximise that.

Then he can make the coaxial smaller and curve the cabinet a bit and boom TAD

 

[Ucftechguru]

You are right. I checked the official Sourcepoint 888 page and one of the 8” will be a midrange driver. The MSRP is $4999 but will likely go on sale. Should be a pretty good deal for all of those drivers, if the midrange takes it up a notch. It will have plenty of bass punch.

 

[Robert-Hifi]

I mean, if the drivers could change it's form in real-time to each frequency would be the best case, brands do the best they can to improve and change the directivity in many ways using a lot of technnics...

Some brands have wider dispersion very high, but for example coaxial drivers while are more narrow are more even with the sound, but the current coaxials start to beam normally, brands who mainly has wide dispersion in the region of 10khz aren't coaxial
example can be Q acoustics which their mid tier model start to beam at 12khz and it's up to 70°, i imagine the Concept models are a bit better, but it's among the best dispersions for dome tweeters. BMR, ascend acoustics ribbon model are very wide dispersion as well and beam very high as you can see, i'd say if you like bigs cymbals these are going to sound way fun than these constant coaxial directivity... you have to pick..., the bmr v2 is very constant anyway too 1khz to 15khz~ looks very constant enough

View attachment 369518

For for a DOME tweeter Q acoustics did a remarkable job with the 5040..., the Concepts range are curved with wave guide so i expect better
View attachment 369520Some people just hate narrow directivity..., but constant directivity works very well in real rooms with no treatment.. so some of them love them? you have to pick anyway what suit what you want and expect, cymbals are going to sound very different with the KEFS and the BMR V2 speaker

Q Acoustics is not my thing in term of appearance and I also don't think they can keep up in the low end with the Mofi SourcePoint 888.
If I look at the loudspeakers that I have now, small tweeter/no waveguide, small midrange I assume they're wide dispersion.
That why I also mentioned the Focal Aria Evo X with the new inverted dome tweeter (also used in the Vestia line), which also has wide dispersion up to 15 kHz before it collapses.

I think you will like the Aura 4 if you like an accentuated midrange. I haven’t seen any reviews of the Sourcepoint 888, but they’ll need to use one of the 8” woofers as a dedicated midrange speaker to get it to equal the Aura’s midrange. The SP10 is lean in the midrange compared to the Aura. Other online reviewers have stated the same thing. Since it’s pretty flat, the midrange can come off as lean. If you have wide listening positions, the SP888 may also be preferable as the Aura definitely has a smaller sweet spot.

With "accentuated midrange" you mean a fuller sound with more body?
I'm not looking for good sound for multiple seats, it's only about the MLP.
When your Aura 2's arrive and you had a chance to listen to them again I would be very interested in how you perceive the beaming in the highs when you have them toed-in (aiming at your ears) and move your head something like 10 inches horizontally. Is it noticeable?

You are right. I checked the official Sourcepoint 888 page and one of the 8” will be a midrange driver. The MSRP is $4999 but will likely go on sale. Should be a pretty good deal for all of those drivers, if the midrange takes it up a notch. It will have plenty of bass punch.

Basically, it's the SourcePoint 8 with the same concentric/coaxial driver crossing over at 130Hz to the two bass drivers to free it up from bass duty.
But in Europe it's MSRP is 6000 euro, so the Wharfedale Aura 4's are more bang for buck at 2800 euro, but probably can't keep up in the bass department with two small 15cm woofers.
Makes me wonder if the SourcePoint 888 is worth the extra investment.

 

[Penelinfi]

Q Acoustics is not my thing in term of appearance and I also don't think they can keep up in the low end with the Mofi SourcePoint 888.
If I look at the loudspeakers that I have now, small tweeter/no waveguide, small midrange I assume they're wide dispersion.
That why I also mentioned the Focal Aria Evo X with the new inverted dome tweeter (also used in the Vestia line), which also has wide dispersion up to 15 kHz before it collapses.



With "accentuated midrange" you mean a fuller sound with more body?
I'm not looking for good sound for multiple seats, it's only about the MLP.
When your Aura 2's arrive and you had a chance to listen to them again I would be very interested in how you perceive the beaming in the highs when you have them toed-in (aiming at your ears) and move your head something like 10 inches horizontally. Is it noticeable?



Basically, it's the SourcePoint 8 with the same concentric/coaxial driver crossing over at 130Hz to the two bass drivers to free it up from bass duty.
But in Europe it's MSRP is 6000 euro, so the Wharfedale Aura 4's are more bang for buck at 2800 euro, but probably can't keep up in the bass department with two small 15cm woofers.
Makes me wonder if the SourcePoint 888 is worth the extra investment.

At that point you'd be looking at the Elysian I think

 

[Robert-Hifi]

At that point you'd be looking at the Elysian I think

Well, the Wharfedale Elysian 4 is now on sale for 4750 euro (44% discount).
Even cheaper than the MSRP of the Mofi SourcePoint 888.

Some things that I noticed between the Elysian AMT and Aura AMT:

- Elysian AMT and Aura AMT have the same dimensions (27 x 90mm).
- Elysian has a "Advanced PET AMT" while Aura has a "PET AMT".
- Elysian AMT has a very shallow concave faceplate (waveguide?), while the Aura AMT faceplate is flat.

I don't know if that small difference would change anything about the disperion above 7kHz for the Elysian AMT compared to the Aura AMT.

 

[Toni71]

Elysian 4 now with a discount, Canton Reference (nice design) Mofi, Kef Reference. The more, I save some money and the more I read on this forum, it gets difficult to choose. Where is the time that I just bought some inexpensive sister parent B&W speakers and just had fun listening to the music. Now I stare at graphics and more in reviews, I don't understand sometimes.

The Elysian 4 is a nice speaker, I guess. Scan Speak Discovery drivers. Good enough, I've read. Unfortunately there is not a place to listen to in The Netherlands.That reminds me of the cheap prices they went for earlier and shops stopped selling them. Why was that? No market? Not a good sound?

My search continues...

 

[Robert-Hifi]

Elysian 4 now with a discount, Canton Reference (nice design) Mofi, Kef Reference. The more, I save some money and the more I read on this forum, it gets difficult to choose. Where is the time that I just bought some inexpensive sister parent B&W speakers and just had fun listening to the music. Now I stare at graphics and more in reviews, I don't understand sometimes.

The Elysian 4 is a nice speaker, I guess. Scan Speak Discovery drivers. Good enough, I've read. Unfortunately there is not a place to listen to in The Netherlands.That reminds me of the cheap prices they went for earlier and shops stopped selling them. Why was that? No market? Not a good sound?

My search continues...

Maybe the Dutch distributor wanted a bigger piece of the pie, cutting out the middle man (shops/dealers)?
They clearly want you to buy from them directly since they are behind Wharfedale.eu, Digibrands - Top Partner (via Bol.com) and Stengo.nl.
Only way to listen to Wharfedale loudspeakers is to buy them online, try them out at home and return them if you don't like their sound.

Right now the Mofi SourcePoint 888 is still at the top of my list with the Focal Aria Evo X N°4 behind it.
Main thing for me is will the dispersion of the Mofi SourcePoint be wide enough for my taste?
I could try out the Mofi SourcePoint 8 at home and see how it sounds since the 888 is basically the same with just two woofers added handling bass duty.

But it's not getting easier with less shops to demo loudspeakers and with more measurements to expand my knowledge I also notice it makes me more picky.

 

[BrokenEnglishGuy]

Elysian 4 now with a discount, Canton Reference (nice design) Mofi, Kef Reference. The more, I save some money and the more I read on this forum, it gets difficult to choose. Where is the time that I just bought some inexpensive sister parent B&W speakers and just had fun listening to the music. Now I stare at graphics and more in reviews, I don't understand sometimes.

The Elysian 4 is a nice speaker, I guess. Scan Speak Discovery drivers. Good enough, I've read. Unfortunately there is not a place to listen to in The Netherlands.That reminds me of the cheap prices they went for earlier and shops stopped selling them. Why was that? No market? Not a good sound?

My search continues...

If you are going to look at canton, dont look at the 2015 series, but the new 2024 series, they change the voice from a V to a more natural Fr

 

[Toni71]

Yes. The Mofi floorstander is also on my list and the new Canton Reference. The former will be cheaper.

I will not jump on the Elysian. Deals can be made with the distributor any time.

Let's await more objective insight. And I need to find some time to listen to the Cantons (long drive). In the end, I will post what speakers I've bought and why.

 

[Robert-Hifi]

Yes. The Mofi floorstander is also on my list and the new Canton Reference. The former will be cheaper.

I will not jump on the Elysian. Deals can be made with the distributor any time.

Let's await more objective insight. And I need to find some time to listen to the Cantons (long drive). In the end, I will post what speakers I've bought and why.

I'll also pass on the Elysian (and Aura) and wait for the measurements of the SourcePoint 888.
By the way, the Dutch distributor of Wharfedale also distributes Canton in the Benelux, but the Canton Reference isn't sold via their Canton.nl site.

 

[dan3952]

The Mofi 888s will probably be amazing. Will almost be like having three 10” woofers per speaker instead of one. I may not even need subs with that many woofers.

Don’t sleep on the Aura, though. They are a hidden gem unless you want a brighter sound. I would love to hear the Elysian to see if their AMT tweeter is really better. I couldn’t find any reviews comparing the two and I wonder if they benefit from a similar tweeter as their more expensive brethren. Also, the 4” Glass Fibre Matrix midrange woofer is the secret weapon of the Aura. It sounds really good and helps the mids stand out. I tried to find other speakers using that midrange woofer it was so good and found out it is a ScanSpeak Discovery Woofer. I didn’t have luck finding other speakers, but I imagine most speakers with a Discovery woofer have a luscious midrange.

I had listened to the Mofi 888s with Andrew Jones in a hotel room just a month ago at AXPONA. The bass was so strong, that it was rattling things on the back wall. They also weigh 96 pounds (about the same as Klipsch Cornwall IVs which have a 15 inch woofer). I already have big, lively tower speakers (though having worse timbre than the MoFis because of the aluminum woofers), so I'm leaning towards the Aura 4s. Elysian 2 three ways are on sale for $5500 currently, $500 more than the MoFi 888s.

 

[BrokenEnglishGuy]

i imagine the ELYSIAN 4 must be a fantastic speaker

 

[Ucftechguru]

Yes. The Mofi floorstander is also on my list and the new Canton Reference. The former will be cheaper.

I will not jump on the Elysian. Deals can be made with the distributor any time.

Let's await more objective insight. And I need to find some time to listen to the Cantons (long drive). In the end, I will post what speakers I've bought and why.

I have the Mofi SP10 and Canton Reference 7K right now. Without EQ, I prefer the Canton (as they should since they cost me $1500 more). It seems more refined and complete overall. Bass is about the same. Mids and tweeter are better with the Canton. Both are too bright for me, though.

Someone on here asked if I could EQ the Mofi SP10 to tame the highs. I just tried that with my Eversolo streamer + SP10 and it sounds A LOT better now to my ears. I can’t handle the brightness at the top end. This allows me to play it louder which gives me even more bass and better midrange. I’m going to test that same EQ curve with the Canton and see which I like better. **Update: I like the Mofi SP10 better. I sold the Canton and have kept the SP10s.***

The SP10 is an incredible deal for the price. I bet the Mofi 888s will be amazing. I also had a pair of Arendal 1723 towers and I could feel the bass in my chest. It was amazing. It made movies and music more visceral and engaging. I did not love the timbre and tone. It did not sound natural enough. Plus, one came damaged, so I returned it. I can only imagine the 888s will be like that with a better upper midrange, tweeter, tone and timbre since the SP10 are really good in that regard (just less bass and midrange slam).

 

[BrokenEnglishGuy]

I have the Mofi SP10 and Canton Reference 7K right now. Without EQ, I prefer the Canton (as they should since they cost me $1500 more). It seems more refined and complete overall. Bass is about the same. Mids and tweeter are better with the Canton. Both are too bright for me, though.

Someone on here asked if I could EQ the Mofi SP10 to tame the highs. I just tried that with my Eversolo streamer + SP10 and it sounds A LOT better now to my ears. I can’t handle the brightness at the top end. This allows me to play it louder which gives me even more bass and better midrange. I’m going to test that same EQ curve with the Canton and see which I like better.

The SP10 is an incredible deal for the price. I bet the Mofi 888s will be amazing. I also had a pair of Arendal 1723 towers and I could feel the bass in my chest. It was amazing. It made movies and music more visceral and engaging. I did not love the timbre and tone. It did not sound natural enough. Plus, one came damaged, so I returned it. I can only imagine the 888s will be like that with a better upper midrange, tweeter, tone and timbre since the SP10 are really good in that regard (just less bass and midrange slam).

The mofi cost less, but is made in china. otherwise i think it will be expensier.

 

[617]

Getting treble energy into the room is the big unsolved problem in loudspeaker design, for me. This solution of having a flat axial response designed to be heard off axis is about as good as conventional speakers get.

The intrinsic dark tonality of a radiator that is omni at LF and a laser at HF is a huge blind spot in our speaker discourse. It doesn't help that most microphones and rooms have the same exact issues.