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.
-
Welcome to ASR. There are many reviews of audio hardware and expert members to help answer your questions. Click here to have your audio equipment measured for free!
Wharfedale EVO 4.1 Review (Speaker)
- Thread starter amirm
- Start date
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!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
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.
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
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
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!
The sound
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
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!
regan
Active Member
- Joined
- Jun 14, 2022
- Messages
- 246
- Likes
- 137
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
Active Member
- Joined
- Jun 14, 2022
- Messages
- 246
- Likes
- 137
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.
SynthesisCinema
Active Member
- Joined
- Oct 2, 2019
- Messages
- 184
- Likes
- 254
New EVO 5 Serie introduced at High End Munich designed by Peter Comeau once again! Sad to see they dropped off the large 3-way center channel, but i guess these are aimed more toward 2ch folks now as they also removed the 4.S surround speakers.
New Lunar grey finish. The popular walnut wood veneer option remains, but the white and black finishes are now super-smooth, high-quality matt, giving the speakers a more contemporary look and feel.
Updated cabinets, drivers and crossovers and new damping technology:
- In the Evo 5 range, the AMT driver is bigger, measuring 35x70mm compared with outgoing Evo 4's 35x60mm unit, while the 50mm domed midrange driver has been further developed to match the new high frequency unit.
- The AMT unit features a new sound-absorbing material called SilentWeave – a cotton/felt hybrid developed specifically for the Evo 5 speakers, which helps reduce sound wave reflections from inside the cabinet. Furthermore, another damping element in the form of a frame (called ResoFrame) is features across all drive units in the Evo 5 speakers. It is made from elastomer and looks like a "cog-like shape within the driver's front panel." The AMT tweeters have a further damping gasket between the diaphragm and front plate that minimises mechanical resonances even further for a smooth response in the lower treble.
- The domed midrange driver features both the acoustic damping frame and the SilentWeave hybrid material. Put together, Wharfedale promises a "sweetly extended" and purer treble, wide dispersion, greater efficiency and clarity.
- The bass and mid/bass drivers across the Evo 5 also feature dedicated new technology. Alongside the ResoFrame damping frame, a new low-mass elastomer damping ring is introduced, situated at the rear of the driver cone where it meets the surround. This aims to optimise the lower midrange, promising voices that "sound richer, more natural and more emotionally engaging," according to Wharfedale.
- The crossovers have also been redesigned, with shorter paths between the components and drive units. In the three-way speakers, the circuit layout is split into two – one for treble and mid, and the other for bass – to reduce any electromagnetic interference.
- Wharfedale's SLPP (Slot Loaded Profiled Port) bass reflex design has also been upgraded to fire in three directions – left, right and to the rear – in the Evo 5. This is designed to improve bass extension and integration, while also improving the uniform dispersion of air in the room – compared with the two-direction vent system in the Evo 4 – and help ensure the speakers are less fussy about placement in the room.
- And finally, the cabinet of all the Evo 5 speakers have been made proportionately a little larger to account for the larger driver and revised crossovers, while also offering larger cabinet volume for deeper bass and more expansive, immersive soundstage. The cabinet is made of layers of woods of different densities to reduce resonance, while a hybrid metal/wood plinth is at the base of every speaker (which incorporates the bass reflex vents).
New Lunar grey finish. The popular walnut wood veneer option remains, but the white and black finishes are now super-smooth, high-quality matt, giving the speakers a more contemporary look and feel.
Updated cabinets, drivers and crossovers and new damping technology:
- In the Evo 5 range, the AMT driver is bigger, measuring 35x70mm compared with outgoing Evo 4's 35x60mm unit, while the 50mm domed midrange driver has been further developed to match the new high frequency unit.
- The AMT unit features a new sound-absorbing material called SilentWeave – a cotton/felt hybrid developed specifically for the Evo 5 speakers, which helps reduce sound wave reflections from inside the cabinet. Furthermore, another damping element in the form of a frame (called ResoFrame) is features across all drive units in the Evo 5 speakers. It is made from elastomer and looks like a "cog-like shape within the driver's front panel." The AMT tweeters have a further damping gasket between the diaphragm and front plate that minimises mechanical resonances even further for a smooth response in the lower treble.
- The domed midrange driver features both the acoustic damping frame and the SilentWeave hybrid material. Put together, Wharfedale promises a "sweetly extended" and purer treble, wide dispersion, greater efficiency and clarity.
- The bass and mid/bass drivers across the Evo 5 also feature dedicated new technology. Alongside the ResoFrame damping frame, a new low-mass elastomer damping ring is introduced, situated at the rear of the driver cone where it meets the surround. This aims to optimise the lower midrange, promising voices that "sound richer, more natural and more emotionally engaging," according to Wharfedale.
- The crossovers have also been redesigned, with shorter paths between the components and drive units. In the three-way speakers, the circuit layout is split into two – one for treble and mid, and the other for bass – to reduce any electromagnetic interference.
- Wharfedale's SLPP (Slot Loaded Profiled Port) bass reflex design has also been upgraded to fire in three directions – left, right and to the rear – in the Evo 5. This is designed to improve bass extension and integration, while also improving the uniform dispersion of air in the room – compared with the two-direction vent system in the Evo 4 – and help ensure the speakers are less fussy about placement in the room.
- And finally, the cabinet of all the Evo 5 speakers have been made proportionately a little larger to account for the larger driver and revised crossovers, while also offering larger cabinet volume for deeper bass and more expansive, immersive soundstage. The cabinet is made of layers of woods of different densities to reduce resonance, while a hybrid metal/wood plinth is at the base of every speaker (which incorporates the bass reflex vents).
Mike_Trueman
Senior Member
- Joined
- May 9, 2024
- Messages
- 369
- Likes
- 211
They look nice.
Similar threads
- Poll
- Poll