Displaying items by tag: wharfedale - StereoLife Magazine

Wharfedale is one of those manufacturers that knows how to spread its ideas across several price levels without turning the more affordable ranges into stripped-down, characterless versions of its flagship designs. The Aura series is a particularly good example. It borrows heavily from technologies developed for the top-of-the-line Elysian range, but packages them in speakers aimed at a much broader audience. In terms of overall size, the Aura models remain relatively close to the popular Evo family, yet their drivers, cabinets, crossovers and bass-reflex systems have all been developed with Wharfedale's more ambitious designs in mind. This is not just a single pair of speakers, either, but a complete lineup capable of forming the basis of anything from a traditional stereo system to a full multichannel home theater. The range consists of two stand-mount models, the Aura 1 and Aura 2, two floorstanders, the Aura 3 and Aura 4, and two center-channel speakers, the Aura CS and Aura C. In other words, buyers can start with a relatively compact setup for a living room or office, move all the way up to a substantial three-way floorstander, or build a tonally consistent system for both music and movies.

Wharfedale has introduced the Elysian R series, a refreshed version of its flagship loudspeaker range. This is not an entirely new project, but rather a carefully considered evolution of speakers that already occupied a special place in the British brand's catalogue. The original Elysians showed that Wharfedale could move well beyond the world of very successful, sensibly priced loudspeakers for normal people and offer something on the edge of high-end audio - large, beautifully finished, technically ambitious designs that still did not pretend to be products with prices detached from reality. Now, under the direction of Peter Comeau, the engineering team has returned to the concept and refined almost every important area, including the drivers, crossovers, cabinets, finishes and construction details.

Wharfedale has introduced the Denton 1S, a new compact loudspeaker in its Heritage Series inspired by the original Denton 1 from 1974. Unlike the more traditional wood-veneered Denton models associated with the late 1960s and early 1970s, the Denton 1 was a forward-looking design with a molded white enclosure, rounded edges and an unusual coaxial driver. The new Denton 1S takes that idea as a starting point, but reworks it as a modern two-way speaker intended for contemporary rooms, flexible placement and much higher acoustic performance.

Wharfedale expanded its Heritage Series with the introduction of the Heritage Centre, a dedicated centre-channel loudspeaker designed to integrate seamlessly with models such as the Linton, Super Linton, Super Denton, Dovedale and Aston in multichannel home cinema systems. Developed in response to growing demand from users building AV setups around Wharfedale's retro-inspired stereo speakers, the new model brings the tonal character and driver architecture of the Heritage range into the crucial dialogue channel position at the front of a surround system.

Wharfedale has unveiled the new Evo 5 Series - a comprehensive update to the multi-award-winning Evo 4 line that builds upon its success with a series of technical and acoustic refinements. The British manufacturer describes the new generation as a natural evolution rather than a reinvention, with changes to the cabinets, crossovers and drive units designed to deliver higher-end sound without higher-end pricing. As before, the series includes both standmount and floorstanding loudspeakers, with the larger models employing true three-way configurations featuring dedicated midrange domes. The familiar layout, however, conceals deeper engineering improvements. The cabinets are slightly larger to increase internal volume, while new crossover designs and upgraded components contribute to a more immersive soundstage and smoother frequency integration.