Dynaudio vs Wharfdale speakers for vinyl setup

ckoz1

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HI guys. Vinyl guy here. Not audiophile... but appreciate good quality music to the extent that i can afford gear better than total consumer grade...but not true audiophile grade. heres my setup... Project Classic TT, Nagaoka 200 cartridge, Rega ElixR amp... I had Ortofon Blue and Polk Lsi7. Upgrading speakers... After consultation, I got Wharfdale Evo 4.3s from a place w 60 day return policy. Im currently trying them out. Seem really great...BUT getting a lil pushback from wife on floor standers in living room. So to please my wife, im considering Dynaudio Evoke 20s as a replacement (very nice looking larger bookshelf). (also note that once i upgraded my speakers, i found the ortolan blue to be distorting the highs...no matter how much calibration i did. Upon replacing the cartridge with the Naga 200, things sound really nice... a silkier...more to my taste.) my question is... has anybody had hands on with dynaudio evoke 20s? feedback on those? and if not, are there any general characteristics that Dynaudio is known for, vs Wharfdale? ie is one company more known for bright vs warm etc. my room is about 20 x 30, but its part of an open floor plan...so it also attaches to an open kitchen. my speakers will also need to be only 8-12 inches from wall. I listen to only vinyl on this system. No heavy metal, no rap, no hip hop... like instrumental stoner kinda music like Luna, Mutual Benefit, Youth Lagoon... also some indie rock like Wilco... and some Miles Davis, Ted Hawkins (blues). Any advice would e great Thank you all!
 
The Evoke range of Dynaudio is a wonder to hear especially against my modest dm2/6 models for sure.
For jazz and classical.. The Dynaudio are brutally honest and worth their weight in gold. The rega is a lovely amp sonically for jazz and classical too.. the only main issue i can see with the rega/dynaudio pairing is the reserves of the rega.. its a 72w a channel amp into 8 ohm load. The dyns are quite a stiff 6ohm 86db speaker. At low to mid volume you shouldnt have an issue.. but anything north of half stick.. you will rapidly run out of oompf with the rega. You will run into similar with the wharfedale but they are easier to drive being primarily an 8 ohm speaker but dropping to 4...

You can't compare the dynaudio evoke 20 to the wharfedale in any reason or form to be brutally honest.. the dynaudio is £1800 and the bookshelf version of the wharfedale is only £600.. (the floorstanders are only £900)

You would have to scale down to the likes of the dynaudio emit M20 to do that.. and thats where the fun starts.. the wharfedale evo 4.2 is a 3 way standmount with a 6.5 bass.. the M20 is a 2way with a similar size mid bass.. now they are worth the demo together as it is very much a preference on the ear and too tight to call really..

There are plenty of suggestions of other speakers etc to be had.. but this is a direct answer to your question on the 2 speakers.

Quick question though .. and nothing to do with speakers here.. but why did you have the ortofon blue with the Project and not the ortofon 2M silver that comes with it that was specifically made for the project classic tt ?
 
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Orobas.. thank you so much for reply! i have ordered the Evoke 20s to test in my system... seller gives 60 days to return, so ill be able to check it out. One note for you to consider though when u discussed pricing... maybe its a US v UK thing... but a PAIR of Evoke 20s here is $1999. a pair of Wharfdale Evo 4.3 is $1700. So they are close in price. Does that change your evaluation now that they are in same price range? THANK YOU AGAIN for GREAT REPY!
 
Orobas.. thank you so much for reply! i have ordered the Evoke 20s to test in my system... seller gives 60 days to return, so ill be able to check it out. One note for you to consider though when u discussed pricing... maybe its a US v UK thing... but a PAIR of Evoke 20s here is $1999. a pair of Wharfdale Evo 4.3 is $1700. So they are close in price. Does that change your evaluation now that they are in same price range? THANK YOU AGAIN for GREAT REPY!
The prices i quoted were indeed uk based... as dynaudio only come across the channel and wharfedale is based in the uk.. so you guys will have been hit with the export tax side of things where the price is concerned. I was aware of this when i did my reply and doesnt change my evaluation. Hope that helps!
Oh.. and you will want solid 60cm (24") stands for the dynaudio too... and stood out 50cm (20") from the back wall/corners

US price... Evoke 20 you say is $1999 ... The Evo 4.2 i referred too on the standmount comparison is $999.
 
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The Evoke range of Dynaudio is a wonder to hear especially against my modest dm2/6 models for sure.
For jazz and classical.. The Dynaudio are brutally honest and worth their weight in gold. The rega is a lovely amp sonically for jazz and classical too.. the only main issue i can see with the rega/dynaudio pairing is the reserves of the rega.. its a 72w a channel amp into 8 ohm load. The dyns are quite a stiff 6ohm 86db speaker. At low to mid volume you shouldnt have an issue.. but anything north of half stick.. you will rapidly run out of oompf with the rega. You will run into similar with the wharfedale but they are easier to drive being primarily an 8 ohm speaker but dropping to 4...

You can't compare the dynaudio evoke 20 to the wharfedale in any reason or form to be brutally honest.. the dynaudio is £1800 and the bookshelf version of the wharfedale is only £600.. (the floorstanders are only £900)

You would have to scale down to the likes of the dynaudio emit M20 to do that.. and thats where the fun starts.. the wharfedale evo 4.2 is a 3 way standmount with a 6.5 bass.. the M20 is a 2way with a similar size mid bass.. now they are worth the demo together as it is very much a preference on the ear and too tight to call really..

There are plenty of suggestions of other speakers etc to be had.. but this is a direct answer to your question on the 2 speakers.

Quick question though .. and nothing to do with speakers here.. but why did you have the ortofon blue with the Project and not the ortofon 2M silver that comes with it that was specifically made for the project classic tt ?
my silver got damaged... and in fixing it, i opted to do a presumed upgrade to the blue.
 
my silver got damaged... and in fixing it, i opted to do a presumed upgrade to the blue.
Ah enough said... better clarity with the blue but less warmth.. if the blue was less than about 50hours running time old.. then the treble was always harsh with them.. But the naga cartridge is like... 3 times the price so i'd expect the sound change for sure lol...
 
this has been a real learning experience the matching of components is sooooo vital. im so happy to have finally gotten to where i want to be. no joke, this has been a 7 month journey of trial, error, frustration. im actually pretty happy w the W Evo4.3 sound ... so now im really stoked to hear the Evoke 20s! thanks again for the feedback great to get non-marketing answers!
 
this has been a real learning experience the matching of components is sooooo vital. im so happy to have finally gotten to where i want to be. no joke, this has been a 7 month journey of trial, error, frustration. im actually pretty happy w the W Evo4.3 sound ... so now im really stoked to hear the Evoke 20s! thanks again for the feedback great to get non-marketing answers!
The evo floorstanders will have the bass extension.. but thats probably all they will have over the standmounting evoke 20. Try and get a run in pair of Evokes for your demo... they take forever and a day to run in from new but if you like the demo.. then waiting for them to run in is soooooooooo worth it!
 
I have the Rega Elicit-R driving KEF R300 speakers. They are well matched. Another hat in the ring for you. Don't know the old R Series availability in the States, the new model is designated R3.
 
I have the Rega Elicit-R driving KEF R300 speakers. They are well matched. Another hat in the ring for you. Don't know the old R Series availability in the States, the new model is designated R3.
Crutchfield run only the Q and LS series on the stands.. and the R500 floorstander in the states
 
I have the Rega Elicit-R driving KEF R300 speakers. They are well matched. Another hat in the ring for you. Don't know the old R Series availability in the States, the new model is designated R3.
as silly as it sounds... i need to consider aesthetics. looking for a wood grain... i think the Dynaudios match great sound with (subjective) beautiful look... so ill give them the first shot... happy wife, happy life! ;)
 
Dynaudio all day long although epos m5i runs em close 😉😉😉
epos m5i is a nice speaker yes.. but just $300 used these days.. against the evoke. it is nowhere close. against the OP's original Polk's .. yes i'll grant you the closeness call only
 
How about Buchardt s400s you can get them in oak as well 30 day free returns I really love mine great speaker.
 
How about Buchardt s400s you can get them in oak as well 30 day free returns I really love mine great speaker.
Given their dynaudio background being designed by an ex dynaudio engineer and mixed with amphion thought re the rear passive radiator they will sound nice.... but... given that setup on the speaker you will find you will have to nudge that volume further north than usual to get the best out of them. They could be worth a demo indeed but I'm not sure on colour availability and you'd have to keep em covered as aesthetically.. they are not that easy on the eye lol. Awesome suggestion though and does get a nod from me... just those minor drawbacks
 
hi guys... just following up... so that my experience can add to the knowledge base.
got the Dynaudio evoke 20s in blonde. first... what a beautiful product. solid physically and also (subjective) but very nice style... organic looking..
Im 20-30 hours into the run-in. not sure how long the run-in takes. Dynaudio evoke 20 vs the wharf dale EVO 4.3.... DA sound really rich, warm... whereas the WD may seem more detailed... maybe that detailed analytic sound is not my cup of tea.. but i do not mean to smash the WDs... still sound really nice. Im gonna listen more this weekend 2 both speakers and make a decision then. one thing.. the DAs seem to get a bit "muddled" in the mids. not sure if that's nature of being a 2 way speaker and being bookshelf, or if they just need a lil more team to break-in... the highs are silky and beautiful... the bass is surprisingly deep... so maybe the kids are a compromise for me? Either way, there's my update. I know not a lot of reviews for either of these out there... so hopefully this real word feedback helps anybody considering either of these. ill come back later with more info. thanks again everybody
 
How about Buchardt s400s you can get them in oak as well 30 day free returns I really love mine great speaker.
wow that is a beautiful speaker! trying the DA Evoke 20s now... actually glad i didn't see your recomendation earlier... cause it would've made my selection even harder! another danish company too. im sensing a dominant danish style that is seem to like
!
 
hi guys... just following up... so that my experience can add to the knowledge base.
got the Dynaudio evoke 20s in blonde. first... what a beautiful product. solid physically and also (subjective) but very nice style... organic looking..
Im 20-30 hours into the run-in. not sure how long the run-in takes. Dynaudio evoke 20 vs the wharf dale EVO 4.3.... DA sound really rich, warm... whereas the WD may seem more detailed... maybe that detailed analytic sound is not my cup of tea.. but i do not mean to smash the WDs... still sound really nice. Im gonna listen more this weekend 2 both speakers and make a decision then. one thing.. the DAs seem to get a bit "muddled" in the mids. not sure if that's nature of being a 2 way speaker and being bookshelf, or if they just need a lil more team to break-in... the highs are silky and beautiful... the bass is surprisingly deep... so maybe the kids are a compromise for me? Either way, there's my update. I know not a lot of reviews for either of these out there... so hopefully this real word feedback helps anybody considering either of these. ill come back later with more info. thanks again everybody
You realistically are looking at the 50-60 hour mark with those dynaudios to loosen them up before they really come alive.

Remember what i said though about the Dynaudios. they are brutally honest so they will show up any weaknesses in the chain from source to amp to room conditions and try and get a pair of "ready run in" ones to demo..

You will need to give them time and experiment with room placement to get the best from them but they will get there if you have the patience
 
HI all
Update: Dynaudios have like 40-50 hours on them. Spent a bit of time comparing the Dynaudio Evoke20 to the Whardale EVO4.3 today... listening to same songs...just swapping the speakers. Dynaudios have broken in really nice and (for my taste) are blowing away the Whardales. DA are rich, warm, better bass. The Wharfdales sound a bit harsh in comparison. I don't think anybody would be disappointed with either... BUT if you have the extra cash, I gotta say DA all DAY. Also interesting to note that the DAs are bookshelf vs the WD towers... can't imagine how sweet the Dynaudio Evoke 30 Towers would be... but alas, I'm outta cash... for now! ;). Thanks guys for all the feedback... huge help!
 
HI all
Update: Dynaudios have like 40-50 hours on them. Spent a bit of time comparing the Dynaudio Evoke20 to the Whardale EVO4.3 today... listening to same songs...just swapping the speakers. Dynaudios have broken in really nice and (for my taste) are blowing away the Whardales. DA are rich, warm, better bass. The Wharfdales sound a bit harsh in comparison. I don't think anybody would be disappointed with either... BUT if you have the extra cash, I gotta say DA all DAY. Also interesting to note that the DAs are bookshelf vs the WD towers... can't imagine how sweet the Dynaudio Evoke 30 Towers would be... but alas, I'm outta cash... for now! ;). Thanks guys for all the feedback... huge help!
So glad you stuck with the Dynaudio listening until they fully ran in so you got to hear them properly. The evoke 20 is actually better than the 30 ironically.... the 30 loses detail. Yes you gain the bass but you lose the overall control the standmounter offered. This is based only on the rega setup you have please note. Anyways... that's irrelevant... just really happy for you and enjoy!
 
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