Wharfedale Aura 4 Speakers (Pair)

The Wharfedale Aura 4 Speakers are the flagship model in the range. They have a larger power handling of 200 watts and larger 6.5”(150mm) bass drivers. There is also a 4”(200mm) midrange driver and an innovative ribbon tweeter. This beautiful design can be used with a standard stereo system or as the left and right front speakers with a surround sound setup.

The Aura 4 Speakers are a three-way design. Notably, the ribbon tweeter has a folded diaphragm that has built-in conductors. This allows the whole diaphragm to move when driven by the audio signal. The result is low distortion and a sweet treble.

Next, the quality crossover ensures a flat frequency response from the well-matched drivers. Moreover, both the bass and midrange units feature woven fibre-glass cones.

Innovative, Aura AMT ribbon tweeter

Ribbon tweeters usually provide a wider dispersion sound pattern and have lower distortion than coned types. As a result, the Wharfedale Aura 4 Speakers use an innovative ribbon design. This complex assembly features a folded diaphragm with built-in conductors.

These sit in a strong magnetic field. The audio signal drives the diaphragm in an even way resulting in low distortion and a high transient response. Transient response refers to how fast a driver can respond to changes in the music signal.

Aura fibre glass coned drivers

Fibre-glass is superior to paper for speaker cones. As a result, the Wharfedale Aura 4 Speakers use woven fibre-glass cones. Two 6.5” drivers are used for the bass while a 4” midrange driver delivers great vocals.

To improve the transient response highly flexible rubber surrounds are used. Moreover, the voice coils are placed in a high-flux magnetic field. As a result, the cones have a high excursion and can move a lot of air for a powerful output.

However, fine control is maintained by copper-clad pole pieces. Finally, six high-tensile bolts secure the drivers firmly to the cabinet.

Slot-loaded bass reflex Port

Many speakers use a bass reflex system that features a bass port. This is simply an opening in the cabinet. However, the design can cause turbulence that causes booming and distortion. As a result, the founder of Wharfedale, Gilbert Briggs developed a slot-loading system, in the 1930s.

The Wharfedale Aura 4 Speakers use this system. The system uses high-pressure, high-velocity airflow to reduce turbulence. This better matches the airflow in the room.

Aura 4 Speaker, three-way crossover

The Wharfedale Aura 4 Speakers use a quality three-way crossover. Wharfedale were pioneers in the use of speaker crossovers. They realized that a single speaker cannot reproduce the entire audio spectrum. The audio frequency range extends from around 20Hz to 20kHz.

As a result, most modern speakers use a series of different-sized drivers. High frequencies have a short wavelength and need a smaller driver. On the other hand, low frequencies need a large cone that can move a lot of air.

The crossover itself comprises a set of filters that are made using capacitors and inductors. The crossover ensures that only the high frequencies go to the tweeter, for example. These components need to be of a high quality so that they do not drift with temperature or deteriorate with age.

Aura cabinet design

Cabinet design is no simple task and the Wharfedale Aura 4 Speakers use a high-quality wood construction that ensures low resonance. The beautiful finish is available in black, white or walnut. The cabinet is made of different woods that act to suppress any resonances.

Also, there are no sharp edges to cause standing waves and a muddy sound. The Aura 4 speakers can be used as the left and right front speakers in a surround sound system. There are also two centre speakers available in the Aura range.