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Wharfedale EVO 4.1 Review (Speaker)

Rate this speaker:

  • 1. Poor (headless panther)

    Votes: 68 25.7%
  • 2. Not terrible (postman panther)

    Votes: 146 55.1%
  • 3. Fine (happy panther)

    Votes: 35 13.2%
  • 4. Great (golfing panther)

    Votes: 16 6.0%

  • Total voters
    265
I would like to get the evo 4.2s (now still have a chance to buy them on good price) but I am afraid the poor dispersion of the amt tweeters.I like wide - big sweet point when not need to sit in one position to enjoy the music.
We heard EVO 4.4 (same tweeter) at Audio Element. Really narrow sweet spot. The Lintons were the opposite-nice sound throughout their open plan shop. I got a set of 5 Diamond 11.2 on a good sale but in the end am using just three; will probably go in-wall (or maybe Genelecs wall mounted, mmmm!) and sell them all due to wife and kid complaining how big they are. The 11.2 have a nice strong bass without being boomy, I hate boomyness, it's an interesting trick to get the powerfulness without sloppiness.
 
Which Wharfedale are good for Surround speakers?
Are Wharfedale EVO 4.1 good enough for this setup?
Front - Wharfedale Linton 85th
Center - Wharfedale EVO 4.c
 
We heard EVO 4.4 (same tweeter) at Audio Element. Really narrow sweet spot. The Lintons were the opposite-nice sound throughout their open plan shop. I got a set of 5 Diamond 11.2 on a good sale but in the end am using just three; will probably go in-wall (or maybe Genelecs wall mounted, mmmm!) and sell them all due to wife and kid complaining how big they are. The 11.2 have a nice strong bass without being boomy, I hate boomyness, it's an interesting trick to get the powerfulness without sloppiness.
Hello! I really loved the low bass end of the 11.2 but it cheat a little bit - sound like deep and fat but not really goes down and could not handle bigger power.
I experienced that the 11.2s are very good for music but not good for movies.At musics I heard good bass,cler midrange and excellent trebles.
But at movies the speech is (highlighted male voices) thin and sinks into the bass so get muddy and not detailed.
I could test in my room and on my system head-to head the wharfedale 11.2 and polk audio es20.
I stayed ath the es20..not that fat bass at a part of low freq as the wharfies - but goes deeper,better detailed at low bass.In short I can tell the wharfies lifted the bass about 80-120 Hz when the polks lift less - but hear and feel basss down to 40 Hz-so more extended without distortion or port noise.
The polks are more opened in midrange-the vocals and at movies the speech is far better detailed,clear and not thin: male voices are in usual quality and tone.
The trebles: the 11.2s a little better detailed about 8-10 kHz while the polks has lifted treble about 10-12 kHz.In this part I loved better the 11.2s but in overall
sound the polks are better,opened,more universal for both movies and music,better power load capacity.
Both wharfedale and polk PRO: very wide dispersion,big sweet spot what I like: I think at a good loudspeaker You do not have stay (sit,lie) only in one position in room but tha sound fills the whole room :)
 
Hello! I really loved the low bass end of the 11.2 but it cheat a little bit - sound like deep and fat but not really goes down and could not handle bigger power.
I experienced that the 11.2s are very good for music but not good for movies.At musics I heard good bass,cler midrange and excellent trebles.
But at movies the speech is (highlighted male voices) thin and sinks into the bass so get muddy and not detailed.?
I could test in my room and on my system head-to head the wharfedale 11.2 and polk audio es20.
I stayed ath the es20..not that fat bass at a part of low freq as the wharfies - but goes deeper,better detailed at low bass.In short I can tell the wharfies lifted the bass about 80-120 Hz when the polks lift less - but hear and feel basss down to 40 Hz-so more extended without distortion or port noise.
The polks are more opened in midrange-the vocals and at movies the speech is far better detailed,clear and not thin: male voices are in usual quality and tone.
The trebles: the 11.2s a little better detailed about 8-10 kHz while the polks has lifted treble about 10-12 kHz.In this part I loved better the 11.2s but in overall
sound the polks are better,opened,more universal for both movies and music,better power load capacity.
Both wharfedale and polk PRO: very wide dispersion,big sweet spot what I like: I think at a good loudspeaker You do not have stay (sit,lie) only in one position in room but tha sound fills the whole room :)
Thank You!
Do you have any observation on EVO series?
 
Thank You!
Do you have any observation on EVO series?
Hello!
I think the wharfedale is a good old company-planning and manufacturing great loudspeakers.
I had several wharfedale loudspeakers and loved them from the vr to the jade series.
I almost had all diamonds,very good range for the price.
I think the 11.2 was the best diamond in the timeline.
In the evo the same woofer built in as the diamonds.
My problem with the evos: for this price they could have make it with a real 6,5" woofer (165 mm) and for better dispersion and wide sweet spot I like dome tweeters.
I heard the evo 4.2s only 1 time,1 situation.My friend have them - he told me hard-terrible to positioning and the upper treble sections rolls off too early but he lives them.
So in the moment I think super dentons or denton 85 is better for my taste in sound but not good with the vintage cabinets.
I would like a wharfedale with the diamond 10.2s kevlar woofer (real for its size) ,cabinet shape-type and slot loaded port and tweeter of the 11.2 and mid driver of the evo 4.2.
 
Hello!
I think the wharfedale is a good old company-planning and manufacturing great loudspeakers.
I had several wharfedale loudspeakers and loved them from the vr to the jade series.
I almost had all diamonds,very good range for the price.
I think the 11.2 was the best diamond in the timeline.
In the evo the same woofer built in as the diamonds.
My problem with the evos: for this price they could have make it with a real 6,5" woofer (165 mm) and for better dispersion and wide sweet spot I like dome tweeters.
I heard the evo 4.2s only 1 time,1 situation.My friend have them - he told me hard-terrible to positioning and the upper treble sections rolls off too early but he lives them.
So in the moment I think super dentons or denton 85 is better for my taste in sound but not good with the vintage cabinets.
I would like a wharfedale with the diamond 10.2s kevlar woofer (real for its size) ,cabinet shape-type and slot loaded port and tweeter of the 11.2 and mid driver of the evo 4.2.
Hey!
Thank You once again!
Today I bought the Wharfedale EVO 4.1 for surround speakers. They are huge and they can also be used very tone matchin with my center EVO 4.C for Front Left and Front Right speaker. Still did not have time to listen them, but they seem okay. Price was 480 usd
 
I will present my opinion of these Evo 4.1 referring two aspects: The sound and the design of the case.

The sound
sound.jpg

The musical timbre is generally a warm one specific to Wharfedale, but compared to the Diamond series, the tweeter area is much more present. This gives an extra fidelity to the listening. However, for the best experience, they must be placed carefully in positions with the tweeters not directed towards the ears. In order to temper the energy coming from the tweeter area, I placed the grilles on, and have the speakers almost parallel to the back wall, extremely slightly twisted. In that position they are perfect for me. They have a surprisingly present bass area that also gives them the warm sound signature, but for very low frequencies I still completed them with a subwoofer. That way I have depth in the frequency and the full experience (I set the LFE crossover to 80hz and made some adjustments with the Audyssey calibration from the Marantz 70c in the PreAmp mode). An important aspect of these speakers is that, even though they have 87db/1m, they are very "lazy" and require a lot of power to be fed. I have a 150w Emotiva amplifier. Without this amplifier, the sound is anemic as if was covered with a blanket. But once coupled to a powerful amplifier, these speakers transform substantially.
The 3D image is the main asset of these speakers. If they are away from the back wall and positioned well relative to the rest of the room and the listening position, the illusion of the stage image and the central voice is fantastic (1.80m between them and 2.20m from the central listening sweetspot, 1m from back wall). The presentation has depth and height, and the voices have volume. This holographic image is the strong point of the sound of these speakers.

Exterior design
sound.jpg

Like the sound, opinions about the appearance are very subjective, different from one person to another. I am extremely pleased with how these speakers look. The real veneer finish cut from the same trunk, both speakers have almost symmetrical wood edges! This belongs to the thousand euro class!! The curved shape of the flute means that these speakers are not perceived as visual obstacles even in the middle of the room. Classic speakers, like boxes with sharp edges, are visually perceived as blunt obstacles! Evo.1 are like musical instruments with smooth shapes that integrate beautifully into the space, like a stone in a river, polished by the waters. They are gorgeous! Maybe some of the most beautiful compact bookshelf speakers!
20230428_170422.jpg
 
An important aspect of these speakers is that, even though they have 87db/1m, they are very "lazy" and require a lot of power to be fed. I have a 150w Emotiva amplifier. Without this amplifier, the sound is anemic as if was covered with a blanket.
You mean that in similar sound volumes/dB this powerful emotiva amp makes them sound better? 80dB sounds better with emotiva than 80dB with a less powerful amp?
 
Regan,
Yes exactly. At the same measured volume of 80db for example, thanks to the power reserve of the 150w amplifier the speakers have no longer anemic sound. With less powerful amp this speaker struggle to survive.
 
Regan,
Yes exactly. At the same measured volume of 80db for example, thanks to the power reserve of the 150w amplifier the speakers have no longer anemic sound. With less powerful amp this speaker struggle to survive.
BTW, what model is the anemic amp here?
 
BTW, what model is the anemic amp here?
It's the Marantz Cinema 70 as mentioned in his review. Amir reviewed it and found it have distortion issues. It does have have preamp outs which tested out better making it ideal to use as an Audio video preamp. I do suspect that the flaws Amir found in its performance are likely inaudible, but in the OP's place would not hesitate to use an auxiliary amp.
 
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