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Thanks for the reply sir, very interesting. I'm new at this but I'm starting to realize that it can be very difficult to build a system that does it all very well, even with lots of money. I may be better off having 2 dedicated systems (one for low volume listening, one for mid to high volume for example) although this seems counter intuitive at first for someone with a limited budget like me.CCBios
WHARFEDALE EVO 4.4 [Polish] https://audio.com.pl/testy/stereo/kolumny-glosnikowe/3272-wharfedale-evo-4-4to English: https://translate.google.es/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Faudio.com.pl%2Ftesty%2Fstereo%2Fkolumny-glosnikowe%2F3272-wharfedale-evo-4-4
i just got these speakers the 4.4 and WOW what a treat. i comared them to the GR research MTM encore and i think i like it more. more "magic" in the top end and mid range with more tight bass. although the MTM is incredible at a quarter of the cost. the 4.4 blew me away. i would love to see someone upgrade the crossover or send to dany so i can buy the upgrade! what do you think about the cabinet? does it need extra damping? its seems ok but not great as far as resonance.
Wait until they break in at about 50-75 hours. The speakers become more punchy with better bass and more musical. That AMT tweeter is smooth but also benefits from breakin. My son is running it with a Cary Audio 300.2d integrated/DAC with about 450 wpc and a Rythmik F12 sub which blends perfectly and fills in the bass.We tried them in my reference system with my Pass amp, BAT pre and Luxman DAC and the speakers sounded great.I think the cabinet is fine. Haven't noticed any resonance. Changing the crossover will change the sound for sure. I spoke to the Wharfedale guys at RMAF and they tuned that AMT tweeter to not sound bright. Congrats!Larry's
I'd like to improve the components of the crossover, without changing the tonal balance. Which components could I use? Furthermore, some measurements show a distortion peak around 600 Hz. Improving the components, could the distortion decrease?
It’s very difficult to increase resolution with modern xo parts while retaining the original tonal balance and voicing. They are kind of tied at the hip. There’s no systematic way to swap parts knowing EQ will be same as stock with only added resolution. The parts aren’t characterized in a standardized way. You can only go by online comments and trial and error. With the better xo parts this method can get expensive. Also consider that the drivers and box construction will remain unchanged with vintage level performance which may not respond as well as you’d imagined to the improved signal quality from the upgraded xo. Could well be the 600hz distortion isbdriver related and was tamed (hidden) by the lesser quality xo parts that you want to replace. The xo, box and drivers were voiced together as one animal and probably can’t be “upgraded” without upsetting the musical balance the original designers targeted. If you want more resolution I recommend getting newer speakers that are designed with more resolution from inception, and keep the older speakers for when you want to enjoy their sound as different from the more modern higher resolution sound. Maybe a second system. The distortion could be caused by speakers or acoustics. The speakers could have a box panel resonance or driver cone resonance or something broken. Best to eliminate acoustic or electronic cause before modding the speakers. Run a pure sine signal through each speaker one at a time sweeping slowly through the suspected distortion band and listen with ear close to the speaker to listen for the distortion. Upclose might reveal the cause. Adjust volume accordingly. Note that the distortion may not occur at low volume. Good luck!
Then I'll explain better. I listened to these Wharfedales a long time ago and now I've decided to buy them. I found the distortion graph on another site. When I listened to them months ago, I didn't notice any distortion, but I didn't pay much attention to it. I know distortion can have many causes, but I thought that improving the xo I could improve it. I also know that it is impossible to maintain the exact same tonal balance, but maybe someone has already tried some components that sound similar to these Wharfedales.I preferred them over other more expensive speakers (for example the Kef R5), so I was just looking for a way to make them sound as good as possible.
These speakers need a good 75-100 hours of break in before sounding good. My son and I preferred them over the KEF 5's as well which sounded muddy in comparison. We were blown away when we heard them at RMAF with the Primare Prisma I35 Integrated amp/DAC. He is using a Cary SI-300.3d Integrated/DAC and they sound fabulous. Very dynamic, musical and punchy. No fatigue at all. They sounded even better when we inserted my Luxman DA-06 DAC.
They are all very expensive amps, I could never afford them. I was only interested in a possible crossover modification, without changing the sound to much. Anyway, since you talked about amps, do you think the Cambridge Audio CXA81 or the Musical Fidelity M5si can be a good math?
Looks like the Hegel H190 would be direct competition to the Primare I-25, but has balanced inputs and more power. It has rave reviews relating to sound quality and grip:https://www.dedicatedaudio.com/collections/hegel/products/hegel-h190-integrated-amplifierNeither has phono inputs though.Alan Shaw voices his Harbeth speakers on a Hegel.
