AURA 2 SPEAKERS FROM WHARFEDALE

Standmounts they may be yet they remain imposing designs, topped with AMT tweeters. Paul Rigby bends his knees, his back and his ears to the Aura 2s

Announced in October of 2023, the new Aura range of speakers from Wharfedale stems from that company’s Elysium project. Wharefdale has positioned the Auras below the Elysiums but above the EVO4 range.

Within that series, the substantial Aura 2 stand mounts are 3-way designs topped by an AMT (Air Motion Transformer) tweeter.

Here, the diaphragm is folded. It doesn’t move like a piston as you might find in a domed tweeter. The folds create a pressure wave, extending the response to 36kHz. So I’m expecting good things in tonal terms from this driver. 

The 100mm midrange unit is a low mass but apparently high strength unit produced via a glass fibre matrix with a plastic coating that sits in an aluminium chassis. The bass unit has a similar construction, that spans 150mm.

As for the crossover? The bass/midrange and midrange/treble crossover networks are laid out on separate PCBs to lower noise.

The cabinets are available in black, white and a feature-grained walnut wood veneer, each cabinet is lacquered and polished. The smooth curves of the cabinets reduce standing waves while resonances are lowered because the cabinet is formed via various layers in a sandwich configuration and of differing densities.

At the bottom is a downward-facing, slot-loaded bass port. The 6 Ohm Aura 2s can be bi-wired if you wish.

You are provided with a set of jumper cables with both banana and spade terminations, if you want to stick with single-ended mode.

Spanning 560 x 286 x 350mm, these speakers have an 88db sensitivity so you’re looking at an amp of 25W an upwards to drive them. 

SOUND QUALITY

To begin the sound quality tests, I began with CD and The Cure’s 1996 album, Wild Mood Swings on Fiction. I chose the first track, Want, with its long electric guitar intro plus vocals, synths, drums and bass.

vs LEAK SANDWICH 150

As an initial comparison, I choose the Leak Sandwich 150 stand mount speakers. Much cheaper they are than the Aura 2s – £999, actually – so why pick them? Because, for their price, the Leaks are over-sized, although not as large as the Aura 2 designs, offering more bass than you would expect for that lower price point. In action, they provide a large soundstage and quite an epic presentation. They are also, like the Aura 2s, from a respected brand name. 

The idea then it to ask, are the Aura 2s better or not? If so, how and why and is it worth spending more to grab the Aura 2s?

What the Aura 2s give you that the Leaks do not is, firstly, a extended suite of upper frequencies. For example, cymbal hits seem to begin earlier and last longer via the Aura 2 speakers with a sense of weight during the strike itself.

Another plus point for the Aura 2s is the sense of space in between instruments. This provides a calmer presentation. As if the band have a larger studio to work within, more elbow room and you can sense the gaps between the guitars and the synth and the drums. 

Bass, as you might imagine just by looking at the things, was both strong and confidant via the Aura 2s. I didn’t hear any real effort in the bass regions and, subsequently, no hint of strain either. Bass, just eased into third gear to provide ‘enough’. Without over egging the pudding. You could sense there was plenty in reserve, if required. 

I wanted to investigate bass a little further and so grabbed a vinyl version of Rhythm of the Heat from Peter Gabriel’s 4. This tracks offers an end-of-track percussive break out. It sounds like 27 drummers are going 10 to the dozen so chances of percussive confusion are high. The Aura 2 speakers stayed calm though, addressing each strike with a measure of assurance. Thus bass never tripped over itself, it never smeared or boomed. Listening to this sequence via the Aura 2s was to truly hear a beautiful thing. 

Midrange does push itself towards the boundaries. It is never bright or excessive. It is not edgy but it does push itself towards the ear, threatening to beam while adding detail emphasis. Subsequently, I found that the speakers were best toed in, not pointing at the ears but shooting outside of the ear. Sort of in between straight down the tracks and at the ear. Sitting in the no-man’s land area. Once the threat of midrange beaming was removed, the Aura 2s enjoyed a balanced output.  

VS WHARFEDALE EVO 4.2

Bringing in the smaller, cheaper (at £649) yet similarly designed EVO 4.2 speakers from Wharfedale, the midrange from the 4.2s was not as focused as the Aura 2s. As a listener, you never felt as involved within the music either, partly because the soundstage from the Aura 2s was broad and deep. Gabriel’s voice seemed smaller and diminished on the EVOs, the Aura 2s gave you a performance. The Aura 2s also dragged you into the fun, connected you to the emotion from the Gabriel vocal, connected you to the energetic and wavering screams of the man just before that percussive onslaught. 

The extra subtle detail from the Aura 2 speakers, the thousands of extra fiddly bits hanging off synths, drums, vocals, bass and more meant that the Aura 2s surrounded you with sound, darting here and there, alerting the ear to this or that detail point, keeping the brain interested at every point along the song. 

I do love the EVO 4.2 speakers in isolation and when compared to other designs around the same price point but, when compared to the Aura 2s, the EVO 4.2s never offered that same impressive feat. They sounded like a flat canvas by comparison. They tended to offer only the core of the available information. Seventy per cent, say, of what was in the grooves. The Aura 2s bombarded you with information. I was often left breathless from the Aura 2s because of that. There was so much to take in.     

Playing Margret Whiting’s Great Hits LP on Contour and the track Moonlight in Vermont, the Aura 2s provided a firm bass foundation for this often delicate track with Whiting’s own smooth yet expressive vocal overlying low-key brass, piano, wind and string sections. The shy cymbal taps from the drums, in the early stages of the track were easily detected by the ear, such was the clarity from the Wharfedales. In the next track, Now is the Hour, I loved the firm and meaty guitar strumming sections that contrasted well with the delicate string picking rhythm section and hovering organ vibrato.

CONCLUSION

They are relatively large, they are relatively heavy and they will dominate a room when compared to many other stand mounts. If that lot isn’t an issue for your listening space then you will be impressed by the sound quality from the Wharefdale Aura 2 speakers. Take care to position them properly and spend time angling these speakers so that they meld properly with your own listening bias. 

Once done, the bass structure will impress, the clarity and midrange detail will keep your ears very busy indeed with the treble output will delight in its tonal accuracy. Ideal for both delicate jazz sounds and more robust rock outings, the Aura 2s will surround your listening room with sounds of many colours. 

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WHARFEDALE AURA 2 STAND-MOUNTED SPEAKERS 

Price: £1,999 per pair (Optional stands for Aura 2: £999 per pair)

Website: www.wharfedale.co.uk 

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GOOD: tonally accurate treble, midrange clarity, confidant bass, impressive detail 

BAD: careful positioning required, large

RATING: 8

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