Wharfedale Evo 4.1 Bookshelf Speakers Walnut

Product Information

I often listen to music using Grado SR125e headphones, a sound that I like very much. These have a much closer tonal balance to the Mission speakers. The Evos have a tonal balance similar to my Sky sound box, which if you've ever used to play music is just awful. I'm not saying the Evos sound anything like it, it's just a similar tone.

The new EVO4 represents the dawn of a new standard in hi-fi, from Wharfedale – the most famous name in British loudspeakers. Wharfedale engineers were smart enough to know that this speaker would most likely be used in smaller listening rooms or on book shelves. Thus they chose to let the bass reflex port fire downwards. Great idea which allows the speakers to be placed nearer to your front walls. Less bass problems, more musical enjoyment.The best drivers and crossovers in the world would be naught in a poorly made, highly resonant enclosure. EVO4 cabinet walls employ a multi-layered sandwich design with soft, high loss chipboard sandwiched between stiff MDF layers. The dissimilar resonance characteristic of each material serves to cancel the other’s resonance for vibration and colouration-free performance. All of the drivers’ acoustic energy launches directly into the room instead of vibrating the enclosure. You will enjoy the kind of clarity, detail and three-dimensional imaging one expects from the costliest loudspeakers (but at a far more accessible price). Measurements are compliant with latest speaker research into what can predict the speaker preference and is standardized in CEA/CTA-2034 ANSI specifications. Likewise listening tests are performed per research that shows mono listening is much more revealing of differences between speakers than stereo or multichannel. The base model in the range is the Evo 4.1 standmount speaker, an ultra-compact 2-way bookshelf speaker with an exceptionally affordable price tag. Both bookshelf models in the series feature state-of-the-art Kevlar cone bass drivers and AMT treble drivers. The slightly larger Evo 4.2 benefits from a 3-way design and is joined by a soft-dome midrange driver. Designed for a beautifully musical performance, the Evo4 bookshelf speakers reveal gorgeous details and nuances in the music, whilst the midrange is as impressive as ever and a powerful lower end that is hard to match at this price point. EVO 4.3 and 4.4 Floorstanders

With the same class-leading tech as the multi-award-winning EVO 4.4, the Wharfedale EVO 4.1 speakers champion the compact market. The EVO 4.1 is the most compact bookshelf speaker in this series. The 4.1 can be used as a stand-alone stereo pair or as front speakers in your home theater system. A good pair of stands will help improve the sound of your speakers by placing them at an ideal listening height and avoiding vibration. The Evo4 series truly represents the pinnacle of Wharfedale’s dedication into research and development for the most advancing acoustic technologies. Research into the most premium materials for enhancing acoustics resulted in the use of Kevlar for the bass drivers. Kevlar is super lightweight aramid fibre known for its rigid, self-damping properties. Utilising Kevlar cones, allows the bass frequencies to be articulated with exception accuracy, with resonance virtually non-existent. Slot-Loaded Distributed Port Design: The EVO 4.1 uses a slot-loaded distributed port design, wherein the internal gate tube opens in a slot that is formed between the speaker cabinet and the base. This reduces turbulence and audible "chuffing" of conventional gate systems, caused by the sudden burst of high-pressure air in low pressure in space. Another advantage is the increased efficiency of the energy transfer of the bass reflex tuning to the space. Both ends of the gate are provided with a semi-parabolic input and output curve that controls the air flow through the gate tube and allows a higher air volume into the system loaded with slots for a further improvement of the low-frequency output performance of the speaker. Low frequencies are handled by Wharfedale's low-distortion motor system, coupled with woven kevlar cones to deliver powerful bass you can both hear and feel. The strong, lightweight Kevlar makes the driver both fast and powerful, delivering accurate bass that can be impressively low and loud when desired.

EVO4.1

With such a narrow directivity I would normally say "stay at tweeter axis" but in this case, I probed to see if any other response is better with respect to resonance and there is: Since it is in the crossover region, seems to me they could have pulled that down by adjusting the filter/crossover point but they chose not to do so. If you’re thinking that any speaker that stands 106cm tall and has twin 15cm bass drivers should deliver plenty in the way of bass, you’d be right. In a post-apocalyptic desert beset by giant worms and dubious farming practices there’s an authenticity and ease to the soundscape as it's rendered by the Evos, making this unhurried sci-fi saga a touch more captivating than when heard on a lesser system.

Acoustic measurements can be grouped in a way that can be perceptually analyzed to determine how good a speaker is and how it can be used in a room. This so called spinorama shows us just about everything we need to know about the speaker with respect to tonality and some flaws: The attractive EVO 4.1 bookshelf speakers of Wharfedale offer quality sound as a stand-alone stereo couple, or as a front speakers in a surround sound system. A good couple of tripods helps improve the sound of your speakers by giving them a stable, vibration-free platform. It also places them at ideal listening height. A clue can be the version most often reviewed at launch. Unsurprisingly, the manufacturers usually send out the one they think works best. Several decades ago when I worked part-time in a Hifi shop I occasionally got to hear a new range. The sales rep had brought them all in his car or van, typically five different pairs. My shop manager had pretty good ears and was fairly ruthless too. He’d want just one or two from the five. Naturally, the rep wanted him to take all five! The compromise was often one of each, for the display, and say a dozen of the ones that seemed most likely to sell. Based on experiences of other ranges of modestly priced speakers, there’s usually one that hits the sweet spot and one that’s a bit of a disappointment.

Sit Them Anywhere

I was mightily impressed with what I received for the money. I went with the white wood veneer version to fit in seemlessly with my IKEA furniture :) The build quality is reminescent of older generation B&W Nautilus 805 speakers(!). Yes, it’s that good. The MDF enclosure is well-damped and basically dead. On the rear end, you’ll find gold plated bi-wiring terminals. Everything feels premium about this little speaker. I also loved the magnetic dust covers. A slight disappointment is the cheapish metal bridge for the bi-wiring terminal. But hey, we’re talking about a 400 Euro bookshelf speaker here. Air Motion Transformer tweeters are used across all the models in the Evo series (Image credit: Future)

The Wharfedale Evo4.1 bookshelf speakers incorporate technology derived from the flagship Elysian series, featuring a 2-way speaker design. A newly designed AMT (Air Motion Transformer) high frequency transducer replicates point-source audio, and is capable of moving large amounts of air for lower distortion and highly accurate musical reproduction. Once in a while it is good to have a "control" to see if these ears are operating to spec. I started playing the EVO 4.1 and was surprised that I heard no brightness at all! If anything there was good bit of bass emphasis. I walked up to the speaker and put my ear next to AMT tweeter and as I expected, it was not playing. In the process of moving the speaker from measurement lab to listening room and tightening the bi-wire post, one had moved out of position so tweeter was disconnected. The woofer plays high enough frequency that the tweeter not being there did not have an immediate effect. But man, did putting it in the circuit did. There was dramatic amount of high frequency content and brightness. This dome midrange unit has a wide frequency response ranging from 800Hz to 5kHz. This response along with the powerful motor system helps it integrate with the AMT tweeter as well as the twin woven Kevlar bass drivers that sit below it on the front panel. The crossover point between the midrange and bass drivers is 1.2 kHz. In addition, these speakers feature a specially designed AMT tweeter for higher air volume displacement. This is reflected in the stunning and pristine clarity of the musical performance of the EVO 4.1 bookshelf speakers.The output of those two bass drivers is helped by a downward-facing port arrangement where the low frequency sound fires out through a gap between the base of the speaker cabinet and the floor plinth. This is a technique that Wharfedale has refined in recent years and is claimed to better match the acoustic output of the port to the room. I am orientating for my second setup and looking for a solid enjoyable speaker to maybe replace the Diamond 11.2 for the upcoming decades. The Diamond 12.2 and Evo 4.1 are good candidates. Bi-wiring: BI cabling can ensure noticeable improvements in the overall transparency of your speakers. Enter separate speaker cables to the low and high frequency drivers of a single amplifier (the upper set of binding piles is for the high frequency drivers; the lower set of binding piles is for the layer frequency drivers). The EVO4 line of Wharfedale uses technology and design elements that have been developed for the company's flagship, the Elysian line. The 4.1s are equipped with an advanced folded ribbon tasting that produces silky high frequencies, and a 5 "woven Kevlar Woofer offers a solid bass display. The drivers are housed in a few curved bas reflex cabinets that are carefully designed with internal reinforcements to dampen the vibrations. Placement in the home theater: the EVO 4.1 can be used as front and/or surround speakers in a home cinema application. When used as a front speakers, they must be placed at the same distance on either side of the television screen (6.5 to 13 'apart) and placed on ear height. The front speakers must be placed slightly diagonally (22° to 30°) so that they are directed to the main listening space.