Wharfedale Evo 4.1 Bookshelf Speakers Walnut

Product Information

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.

This symbiosis is immediately evident from the inclusion of Air Motion Transformer tweeters across all the models in the Evo series, a technology usually found in pricier products.

EVO4.1

Most notably within the Wharfedale EVO 4 series is the newly incorporated Air Motion Transformer, a specially engineered tweeter that pushes the boundaries of conventional tweeter technology by moving higher amounts of air around, encouraging a silky-smooth high frequency performance. With this highly efficient technology only do you enjoy finer musical details, but resolution is greatly improved as well as dynamics, accuracy and distortion levels. 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.

Champions of accessible loudspeaker design, Wharfedale Evo 4 series revisits what can be accomplished at such down-to-earth price points with incredible clarity and precision. Launched in 2019, the EVO4 range presents two bookshelf speakers (Evo 4.1 and 4.2), two floorstanders (Evo 4.3 and 4.4) and a centre speaker designed for home cinema use (4.C). 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). The tall AMT tweeter is beaming (surface too large relative to frequency being produced) causing that sharp drop off. This will be a recurring theme in measurements to follow including our predicted in-room response: 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. Not just the perfect match for the EVO4.1 speakers, the EVO4.1 stands are ideal for any smaller footprint speaker thanks to the general design which complements any speaker, in any room, aesthetically and acoustically.

EVO4 marries the low distortion motor system developed for the ELYSIAN bass units to a Kevlar cone. Woven Kevlar (the material of bullet-proof vests) is a superior material for woofer cones. It is both stiff, ensuring ideal piston motion up to frequencies above its crossover point well-damped. The cone is fitted with a low loss rubber surround that absorbs resonance modes that may build up in the cone. EVO4’s woofers blend perfectly with the dome midrange to produce a desirable lower-midrange response. Bass voices and lower register instruments have the weight, warmth, and articulation of a live performance, without the muddiness and loss of clarity of lesser designs. Simultaneously, EVO4’s bass is deep, impactful, and powerful yet tuneful, musical, and precise. I don't know if this is a dealbreaker but after reading this I kind of focused more on the Diamond 12.2. I wonder if the Evo 4.1 is still worth it For a finely tuning the crossover section between the drivers, EVO4 speakers are enhanced with Computer Aided Optimisation Technology. This sophisticated crossover array is the product of scrupulous listening testing to ensure a seamless crossover, improved transparency and great phase consistency. Kevlar Cones Alongside this, the Evo range use advanced Kevlar fibres which are durable yet lightweight for the woven cone which accompanies a low-distortion motor system, both which are fitted with a low-loss rubber surround. Great sound anywhere in the room No guessing why when a range ends, that not every model gets discounted. A couple never sold as well and end up in Richer Sounds or Sevenoaks at 40% off.