Wharfedale Evo 4.2 (Couple) Black Speakers Pair

Product Information

This provides clearance for a down-firing port, the narrow gap providing a measure of acoustic damping. With a size of 17.9 x 9.8 x 13.8 inches (HWD) and a weight of more than 29 pounds, EVO4.2 claims a 90DB sensitivity that invites you to coupling with a wide range of amplifiers. Experience Evo 4.2 yourself with the certainty of our 100% Music Direct Warranty . small ones. The AMT is a folded ribbon in effect and reaches down to 3.9kHz Wharfedale say. The problem this poses is of finding a drive unit that works up to 3.9kHz to match it – and this demands use of a midrange unit. A cone or a dome are options and in the Evo 4.2 Wharfedale use a dome, ‘cos they reach higher. 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. Sound best in medium sized rooms. In a small room they don’t have the space to create the soundscape that makes for a magical experience.

EVO4's AMT high-frequency unit produces sound in a completely different way than conventional dome testers. The ribbon technology uses a large, pleated, lightweight diaphragm, driven by a series of magnets. This is an extremely efficient and accurate method to create high-frequency sound, so that the EVO4 series has an open and smooth sounding top, without being too bright and hard. Speakers don't just sound good with a certain form of music complete myth, yes they may react differently to different pieces due to the recordings and the simple physics of the box. They have a small sweet spot which sometimes stopped me from relaxing fully as I was distracted by making sure I was in the perfect position at all times. Based on the multi-award-winning 4.4 model, the EVO 4.2 delivers stunning, 3-way sound from a compact enclosure. Having three speaker drive units instead of the more usual two, means each area of the frequency response gets a dedicated driver for more detailed and precise sound. They can either be used as they are, in stereo, or as part of an EVO AV speaker system, with matching centre and rear speakers available. I did decide to buy a pair of EVO 4.2 to have as a review tool for comparison purposes, their sound presentation is more familiar to me and is more inline with the sound I enjoy from HiFi, however if these were to be my main and only speakers and the budget permitted I would have likely bought the EVO 4.4 because their extra bass driver and inevitable increased bass output compared to the 4.2 would better suit my overall listening preferences.

That said, even from my initial listening sessions, I could definitely tell this was a quiet speaker, as they “disappeared” with no problem at all. This is the hallmark of an inert cabinet. On the front of the speaker, you have removable magnetic grilles for a clean look whether you use them or not. In the rear, two sets of binding-post speaker terminals allow bi-amping or bi-wiring. In the box, besides the speakers and the grilles, you get some rubber feet to isolate the speakers from surfaces, as well as a pair of white cloth gloves to let you put them in place without leaving fingerprints. Listening to the Wharfedale EVO4.2 Well, it gave music a strength but also a real confidence. As I say, bass didn’t dominate to any great extreme here. It never bloomed or strayed too far from where it should be but it acted like the foundation of a house. The sonic structure was given authority by the bass. Bass enabled the music to roam and venture forth with more self assurance than you might normally hear.

Hence, the bass and the treble provided true sonic bookends for a host of midband detail that entertained and delighted while the bass itself acted like a football coach, encouraging and influencing the rest of the music to greater heights. This SLPP (Slot Loaded Profiled Port) receives the lowest frequency energy, profiled, says the company to, “…equalise the high internal pressure to the low pressure in the room.” Of course, integrating three different drivers made of different materials takes some skill and expertise, and Wharfedale employs Computer-Aided Optimization to tune the crossover. This results in an excellent tonal balance, which is one of EVO4.2’s major strengths.However, whilst treble balance is mild to self-effacing there were occasions the Evos still jumped at me, notably with Willy DeVille’s Spanish Harlem where “It…s” had force in “it starts a fire there”. The dome pulls out upper mid diction but you don’t get high-end spit from the AMT tweeter. Here I understood why domes are used in studio monitors. Records the default button state of the corresponding category & the status of CCPA. It works only in coordination with the primary cookie. It’s a 3-Way design with an articulate AMT tweeter for the high end, a 2” soft dome for the midrange frequencies, and a 6-1/2″ woven Kevlar woofer for the low end. Air Motion Transformer tweeters are used across all the models in the Evo series (Image credit: Future) Looking at the front, up top you’ll see an AMT tweeter, spanning 55 x 80mm. This Air Motion Transformer was created for the Elysian range and features a pleated diaphragm, driven by rows of magnets which force the pleats to contract and expand to the music. The waveform is created as the air is squeezed between them.

Our frequency response analysis of the Evo 4.2 shows a broadly flat charac­teristic across the audio band from 40Hz to 16kHz, making the ‘speaker fundamentally accurate. There is no treble lift as is now so common, so no emphasis of distortion harmonics, from CD for example. The sudden dip and peak around 160Hz is due to floor return, so not an intrinsic FREQUENCY RESPONSE Same for dance. Listen to Poison and mindfileds by the prodigy, I've only heard them reproduced properly once and no bookshelf can do it. No budget floorstander either. 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.

Looking Good, Sounds Great

Wharfedale’s Evo 4.2s are interestingly different and appealed to me. What you get here is solid presence where vocals and solo instruments have power, projection and a sense of weight. What you do not get is sharpness, or edginess: highs are there but refined. At the price these loudspeakers are different and – I feel – ridiculously good. Get a listen if you can. MEASURED PERFORMANCE