Wharfedale's next-gen speaker range brings upgrades across the board

Wharfedale has upgraded its best-selling EVO series speakers. The new EVO 5 series consists of five models: two standmount speakers (EVO 5.1 and 5.2), two floorstanders (EVO 5.3 and 5.4), and a home cinema centre speaker (EVO 5.C).

They've each been given a visual refresh on the outside, but it's what's inside that really matters here.

As before, the floor-standing speakers are three-way designs with dedicated domed mid-range drivers. In the fifth generation models the speakers are larger, enabling greater cabinet volumes, upgraded drivers and new crossovers.

Wharfedale EVO 5 speakers: key features and pricing

Each of the five EVO 5 models feature a new version of the Air Motion Transformer (AMT) originally developed for the EVO 4, which delivers lower distortion and better speed than many conventional dome tweeters.

The AMT uses a pleated diaphragm rather than a dome or cone, and that diaphragm is designed to move air more efficiently. Wharfedale says it moves four times more air than a traditional dome tweeter of the same surface area. The result is lower distortion and a faster transient response.

The AMT this time around is 10mm larger than before and features a new sound absorbing material that Wharfedale calls SilentWeave. It's a cotton/felt hybrid that sits in the cavity behind the diaphragm to reduce sound wave reflection inside the cabinet.

All the EVO 5 speakers get a new acoustic damping frame made from elastomer too, and the midrange drivers have been upgraded in the EVO 5.2, 5.3 and 5.4.

The damped fabric dome is vented into a specially shaped rear chamber that's been designed to scatter and absorb rear energy, enabling a linear response from 800Hz to 5kHz.

The bass drivers take the low-distortion motor system from Wharfedale's flagship Elysian models and combine it with a 130mm or 150mm Kevlar cone, and they also incorporate the new ResoSeal elastomer damping ring.

And there's more: you get new crossovers, cabinets made from woods of multiple densities to reduce panel resonance, improved bass reflex porting, and a hybrid metal/wood plinth.

They come in new finishes too. The walnut wood veneer is carried over from before, while the white and black finishes are now smooth matte. There's also a new matte option called Lunar Grey.

The Wharfedale EVO 5 series will be available to buy from June 2025.

The prices are:

• EVO 5.1: £549 per pair
• EVO 5.2: £749 per pair
• EVO 5.3: £1099 per pair
• EVO 5.4: £1399 per pair
• EVO 5.C: £549