Wharfedale Aura 1 Bookshelf-Speaker

Wharfedale Aura 1 Bookshelf-Speaker

AURA is the latest innovation in the market-leading Wharfedale loudspeaker family.

It draws inspiration from the flagship ELYSIAN series in terms of features, finish, and technological features. AURA is another boundary-pushing model that sets new standards in value for money while perfectly reproducing the detail, energy, and thrill of your music collection.

AURA continues the Wharfedale tradition, offering exceptional performance and excellent value. This means that not only dedicated audiophiles can enjoy this combination of supreme sonic transparency with features uncommon in this price range. The AURA incorporates advanced technology from the elite Elysian research project, including the Wharfedale AMT high-frequency transducer, fiberglass matrix midrange and woofer cones, the SLPP port system, and multi-layer cabinets.

Best-in-class innovation. Breathtaking realism.

AURA continues the Wharfedale tradition, offering exceptional performance at an excellent price/performance ratio. This means that not only dedicated audiophiles can enjoy this combination of supreme sonic transparency with features unusual in this price range. The advanced technology of the flagship Elysian project is incorporated into the AURA, such as the Wharfedale AMT high-frequency transducer, fiberglass matrix midrange and woofer cones, the SLPP port system, and the multi-layer cabinets.

Wharfedale AMT High-Frequency Transducer

The AMT cone operates over a large area, resulting in higher efficiency, and is capable of easily generating transient sound power. The Wharfedale development team has enhanced the AMT unit in the AURA loudspeakers to extend the frequency response to 36 kHz (-6 dB) and ensure smooth and linear reproduction up to 22 kHz (+-3 dB). The result is exceptional detail in the high frequencies, combined with a realistic transient response that gently emphasizes the harmonic overtones of vocals and instruments and produces shimmering realism for percussion instruments such as cymbals.

Fiberglass Matrix Cones

As the engineers discovered during the development of the Elysian series, the transient accuracy and efficiency of the AMT tweeter must be perfectly complemented by the midrange and woofers to ensure seamless audio performance. Accordingly, the AURA also uses a proprietary woven fiberglass matrix cone for the midrange and woofers, which are capped by highly flexible rubber surrounds. The voice coils driving the cones are immersed in magnetic fields, with inductance controlled by copper-plated pole pieces.

These low-distortion drive systems are mounted on die-cast aluminum enclosures, each secured to the cabinet with six high-strength screws to maintain structural rigidity and ensure precise transient response. The rubber rings around each driver are not merely a cosmetic feature but also control resonances that can occur at the junction between the aluminum chassis and the wooden cabinet.

Multi-layer lacquered cabinet

AURA cabinets are a work of art in many ways. Available in black, white, and a grained walnut real wood veneer, each cabinet is lacquered and polished to produce a beautiful piece of furniture that you'll be proud to display in your home. The smooth curves of the cabinet are more than just eye-catching. They help ensure the acoustic performance of the drives is evenly distributed throughout the room without creating unwanted reflections from sharp edges.

Beneath the polished lacquers lie cabinet walls constructed from multiple layers of different woods to reduce resonance below audibility. This multi-layer construction, PROS (Panel Resonance Optimization System), has another advantage – it prevents unwanted sound energy from escaping from the cabinet's interior, which would otherwise interfere with the speakers' forward-facing reproduction.

A large part of this internal sound energy is already absorbed by several layers of matted long-hair fibers - their damping factor was specially calculated to avoid back reflections by the driver's membranes while providing unobstructed airflow to the SLPP reflex port system.

SLPP Reflex Design

The SLPP (Slot Loaded Profiled Port) bass reflex design is based on an idea by Gilbert Briggs, the company founder who ran Wharfedale from 1932 to 1964. In AURA loudspeakers, the high-pressure, high-velocity airflow from a downward-facing port is matched to the low air pressure in the room by distributing the airflow through a series of slotted ports in the plinth. This both reduces unwanted turbulence at the port and improves the efficiency of the bass reflex system.

Combined with the low resonance of the bass units, the SLPP system for the AURA 2, 3, and 4 provides bass reproduction well into the 30 Hz range, reproducing the fundamental tones of most musical instruments with excellent articulation, clarity, and power. You can not only hear but also feel the true acoustic power of the musical performance.

AURA Crossover

In many ways, the crossover is the "heart" of every loudspeaker. Wharfedale was one of the first loudspeaker manufacturers to use a crossover to divide the frequency band between drivers optimized for bass, midrange, and treble.

But today's crossovers must do more than simply divide the musical input to the speakers and distribute it to the appropriate drivers. The crossover must also be tuned to the acoustic performance of each driver to achieve seamless acoustic reproduction. While this process is aided by sophisticated computer analysis based on measurements by Wharfedale engineers, fine-tuning must still be done by ear, using a variety of musical sources and styles as a basis.

In addition, each crossover component must be tested and evaluated for acoustic transparency. Bass and mid-high-frequency crossovers are housed on separate circuit boards to reduce electromagnetic interference. These are coupled with their respective connectors to enable bi-wiring.

This crossover fine-tuning can take hundreds of hours of listening and testing to not only achieve a seamless blend, but also balance the fundamentals and harmonics of voices and instruments so that they sound stunningly realistic when played back at home. The result: When you close your eyes, the AURA speakers seem to disappear, allowing them to immerse themselves solely in your musical experience.

Specifications

• General Description: 2-Way Bookshelf Speaker
• Enclosure Type: Bass Reflex
• Transducer: 2-Way
• Woofer Driver: 5" (130mm) Fiberglass Matrix Cone
• High Frequency Driver: 27 x 90mm AMT
• AV Shielding: No
• Sensitivity (2.83V @ 1m): 86dB
• Recommended Amplifier Power: 25-100W
• Peak SPL: 103dB
• Nominal Impedance: 6Ω (8Ω Compatible)
• Minimum Impedance: 4.1Ω
• Frequency Response (+/-3dB): 48Hz ~ 22kHz
• Bass Extension (-6dB): 44Hz
• Crossover Frequency: 2.9kHz
• Enclosure Volume: 16.5 liters
• Dimensions (mm): Height (at Base) 386mm / Width 246mm / Depth (with connectors) (300+52)mm
• Carton size: 640 x 425 x 510mm
• Net weight: 12.5 kg/unit / Gross weight: 26.5 kg/carton
• Finish: Walnut, White, High-gloss black