Wharfedale EVO 5.C Centre Speaker - White

Sound EVOlved

Heavenly high-end sound at refreshingly down-to-earth prices is the promise fulfilled by the new EVO 5 Series from Wharfedale, Britain’s best-known loudspeaker brand.

The new range replaces the EVO 4 Series, a consistent best-seller since its launch in 2019. EVO 4 saw a complete redesign for Wharfedale’s mid-tier EVO concept, benefitting from technologies created for the flagship Elysian project. The result was a level of loudspeaker engineering not previously seen at such accessible prices, encompassing AMT treble units, domed midrange drivers and sophisticated cabinets with clever slot-loaded ports.

The Next Generation of Wharfedale Performance

The new EVO 5 Series takes the blueprint established by EVO 4 and elevates it across the board. The range comprises 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). Outwardly, a design refresh presents a more contemporary appearance; internally, every detail has been revised to enhance performance.

Like the equivalent models from the preceding range, both floorstanders and the larger of the two standmounters are three-way designs, incorporating dedicated domed midrange drivers. But while the driver configurations echo the previous generation, the new speakers are a little larger, allowing for greater cabinet volumes, upgraded drivers and new crossovers.

Engineered In-House for Pure, Evolved Sound

In contrast to many speaker manufacturers, Wharfedale designs and makes almost all component parts itself. This ensures complete freedom to create a perfectly synergetic loudspeaker without having to mix and match parts made by third parties. It also allows absolute control over key elements such as drive units and the ability to develop evolutionary changes from one generation to the next.

These benefits have been fully exploited in the development of the EVO 5 Series, devising ways to improve every element of EVO 4 and deliver an even more accomplished ‘whole’ through acoustic engineering of the highest standard, whilst maintaining highly competitive price points.

Feel the High

Precision in Motion: The Power of AMT Tweeter Technology

AMT drivers incorporate a pleated diaphragm made of an ultra-thin, lightweight polymer. Strong magnets are positioned on either side of the diaphragm, creating a powerful magnetic field. When an audio signal passes through the conductive traces, the diaphragm is energised, causing the pleats to contract and expand.

As the pleats move, they ‘squeeze’ and ‘expand’ the air between them, pushing it out in a highly efficient manner. This allows the AMT to move four times more air than a traditional dome tweeter of the same surface area, delivering lower distortion (since the diaphragm moves less) and faster transient response (owing to lower mass and minimal movement). It also produces a wider frequency range and excellent horizontal dispersion. product, collection, or blog post. Add details on availability, style, or even provide a review.

Next-Level Treble: Enhanced AMT with SilentWeave™ and ResoFrame™

The AMT unit developed for EVO 5 is larger than the EVO 4 equivalent – 35x70mm compared to 30x60mm – which further improves efficiency and dispersion. It also features a new sound-absorbing material that Wharfedale calls SilentWeave™ – developed for the EVO 5 Series, this cotton/felt hybrid is added to the cavity behind the diaphragm to reduce soundwave reflections inside the speaker.

All the EVO 5 drive units benefit from a new acoustic damping frame called ResoFrame™, made from elastomer and visible as a cog-like shape within the driver’s front panel. In the case of the AMT, an additional elastomer damping gasket between the diaphragm and the front plate further reduces mechanical resonances and smooths the response, especially in the important lower treble band.

Dome is Where the Heart is

Refined Midrange: EVO 5's Upgraded Driver Architecture

Seamless Synergy: Midrange Power Meets Treble Precision

Bass Instinct

Deep Roots in Kevlar: EVO 5 Bass with ResoSeal™ Precision

Wharfedale’s engineers have been working with Kevlar – a strong yet lightweight aramid fibre ideally suited to speaker diaphragms – for over 25 years. The experience gained over multiple product generations has enabled Wharfedale to continually refine its use of the material, producing drivers that reveal impressive instrumental texture whilst delivering bass with palpable depth and authority.

In addition to the ResoFrame acoustic damping frame, the EVO 5 bass drivers (or bass/mid drivers, in the case of the two-way EVO 5.1 and 5.C) are enhanced by Wharfedale’s new ResoSeal™ – a low-mass elastomer damping ring at the rear of the cone where it meets the surround. This further optimises the lower midrange, allowing vocals to sound richer, more natural and more emotionally engaging.

Musical Crossover

The drivers’ output is combined via a redesigned crossover network, developed through extensive computer modelling and real-world listening tests, with a revised PCB layout that shortens the path length between components and drive units. In the three-way speakers, the circuit is split onto separate PCBs – one for mid/treble and the other for bass – to minimise electromagnetic interference.

Specially chosen high-grade polypropylene capacitors and air core inductors are used for optimum clarity in the mid/treble section, with laminated silicon-iron inductors in the bass section to minimise signal degradation. The result is impeccable phase consistency and seamless driver integration.

Slot Machine

Triple Vented, Deeply Tuned

Box Clever

Acoustic Craftsmanship

Solid Foundations & Sleek Finishes

At the base of each EVO 5 speaker is a hybrid metal/wood plinth. This contains the SLPP vents, enhances structural rigidity and helps to isolate the speakers from the effects of external resonance.

Cabinet finishes have been upgraded for the EVO 5 Series. The popular walnut wood veneer option remains, but the white and black finishes are now super-smooth, high-quality matt, giving the speakers a more contemporary look and feel. There is also a smart new matt option: Lunar Grey.